Psalms 38 — Tyndale Study Notes
Ps.38.1-22
This psalm is a lament and prayer for healing. The psalmist’s suffering is associated with his unconfessed sin. He confesses his sin and entrusts his case to the Lord.
Ps.38.1
title asking God to remember him: The meaning of this phrase is uncertain (also in 70:title).
Ps.38.1-17
These verses form a prelude to the psalmist’s confession (38:18) and describe his woeful condition.
Ps.38.1-4
The psalmist’s sins had triggered the Lord’s anger and rage, resulting in the arrows and blows of discipline and rebuke; as a result, his whole body is sick.
Ps.38.3
Sin can lead to sickness and even death (1 Cor 11:30). Whether the psalmist actually felt physically ill or his sickness was a metaphor for emotional turmoil, he knew that it came from God and threatened his life (see Pss 32:3; 39:10).
Ps.38.4
The psalmist’s burden results from sin (see 40:12; 41:4; cp. Gen 4:13).
Ps.38.5-8
The severity of God’s punishment brings anguish that affects every part of the psalmist’s being.
Ps.38.9-12
The psalmist longs for a restored relationship with God, but he feels alienated. He finds himself lost and alone as his friends disappear.
Ps.38.13
The psalmist suffers quietly before his opponents (see Isa 53:7).
Ps.38.15
The Lord alone will resolve the conflict (9:18; 27:14; 37:9, 34).
Ps.38.17-20
No longer able to endure his suffering and teetering on the verge of collapse (cp. 15:5), the psalmist confesses his sin (see 32:5).
Ps.38.19
That the psalmist’s enemies hate him without reason compounds his pain.
Ps.38.22
Asking the Lord to act quickly in times of great need is common in the Psalter (22:19; 31:2; 40:13; 69:17; 70:1; 71:12; 79:8; 102:2; 141:1; 143:7). However, wisdom and experience teach that God’s people must often wait for him to act (27:14; 37:7; Isa 8:17; 40:31).