Psalms 38:1 - Meaning and Application

The title of this psalm is worth noticing. It says it is a psalm to bring to remembrance, and Psalm 70 has the same title. It seems meant to help David remember two things: first, to remember his own heart in a time of suffering, and second, to help others know how to think and speak when they are afflicted.

If David wrote it while he was sick and in pain, then it teaches us to use times of sickness to remember our sin. In trouble, we should let our consciences speak plainly, set our sins in order before us, and humble ourselves before God. If he wrote it after he recovered, then it was a record of what he felt and learned in the middle of his affliction, so he could return to those good impressions and use them again. Hezekiah did something similar when he wrote after his sickness.

David begins by asking God not to punish him in anger: "O Lord, do not rebuke me in your wrath" (Psalm 38:1). He had used the same plea in another prayer for the sick (Psalm 6:1). This should be heavy on our hearts in suffering. Whatever God sends, we must beg that it not come in wrath and displeasure, because that would make the affliction much harder to bear.

He then speaks bitterly of how deeply God’s displeasure affected him: "Your arrows have sunk into me." By God’s arrows, he means the terrors of God, which lined up against him like an army. He felt haunted by the fear of God’s wrath because of his sins, and he expected judgment and burning anger. God’s arrows always hit their mark, and they stay there until he removes them and heals the wound with his comfort. That is part of the misery of the lost, too, since the arrows of God’s wrath will remain in them forever.

David also says God’s hand pressed him down hard. It was not only heavy for a moment, but long-lasting, and he knew the power of God’s anger. At times God had used his hand for David’s good, as in Psalm 18:14, but now it seemed against him. This shows how uncertain outward comfort can be, even when God’s saving grace remains sure.

He says, "There is no health in my body because of your anger" (Psalm 38:3). The inward bitterness of fear and grief affected his body as well. But worse than bodily pain was the trouble in his heart. The sense of God’s anger took away his courage as a soldier, his dignity as a king, and even the joy of the sweet psalmist of Israel. Nothing disturbs a good man more than feeling God’s anger, because it shows how terrible it is to fall into his hands. The best way to keep a quiet heart is to live in God’s love and avoid anything that offends him.

David then admits that his sin was the true cause of his trouble. He says his bones had no rest, and his whole being was shaken. Yes, he says, it is because of God’s anger, but then he adds, it is because of my sin. He puts the blame on himself, because his trouble was the fruit of his own evil. If our suffering comes from God’s anger, we should remember that sin caused it. If there were no sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones.

He feels sin as a heavy load: "My iniquities have gone over my head" (Psalm 38:4). It is like deep water rising over a drowning man, or a weight too heavy to bear. Sin is indeed a burden. The power of sin in us is a weight that holds us down, and all believers feel it as a body of death they carry (Hebrews 12:1; Romans 7:24). The guilt of sin is also a burden, one that first brings repentance and then, if refused, ends in ruin.

He also describes sin as a wound: "My wounds stink and are corrupt" (Psalm 38:5). Like an untreated wound that grows foul, sin left alone becomes worse and worse. He says this came from his own foolishness. Sin is a wound, often made worse because people will not confess it or seek help for it (Genesis 4:23; Psalm 32:3-4). Even a small sore, if ignored, can become deadly, and so can a small sin if it is not repented of.

David then pours out his sorrow before the Lord. His mind was troubled, his conscience hurt, and he found no rest in himself. A wounded spirit is hard to bear. He says he was bent low and went about mourning all day long (Psalm 38:6). He was gloomy and weighed down, and that made him feel like a burden to himself. His spirit was weak and broken, and his heart was restless (Psalm 38:8). In this, David pointed ahead to Christ, who in his agony said, "My soul is very sorrowful." This is one of the hardest pains a person can have. No outward suffering should make us complain as long as God keeps our reason and gives us peace in our conscience.

He was sick and weak in body. His waist was covered with a painful disease, a swelling, ulcer, or inflammation. Some think it was a boil, like Hezekiah’s, and there was no health left in his body. Like Job, he was sick all over.

This shows us, first, how weak these bodies are that we carry around. They are open to many painful diseases, and such troubles can quickly become a burden to the soul that lives in them. They are always a cloud and a weight. It also shows us that the bodies of both the greatest and the best people have the same roots of sickness as everyone else’s, and they face the same dangers. David himself, though such a great king and such a godly man, was not spared the worst diseases. There was no health even in his flesh.

This was probably after his sin in the matter of Uriah, and so he suffered in his body for the sins of his flesh. Whenever we are weak or ill, we should remember how God has been dishonored in and through our bodies. He was feeble and badly broken, as the psalm later says (Psalm 38:8). His heart pounded, and kept fluttering in fear and pain (Psalm 38:10). His strength and limbs failed him. The light of his eyes was gone, whether from much crying, some sickness affecting his eyes, or the low state of his spirit and repeated fainting.

Sickness will humble the strongest body and the boldest spirit. David was known for courage and great victories, but when God dealt with him through bodily sickness and inward fear, his hair was cut short, his heart failed, and he became weak as water. So let no strong man boast in his strength, and let no one challenge sorrow as if it could never touch him. Trouble can come when it is least expected.

His friends were unkind to him (Psalm 38:11). Those who had once shared joy with him now stood far away from his pain. They would not share his grief or even come close enough to hear his complaints. Like the priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side (Luke 10:31), they kept their distance. Even his relatives, who were bound to him by blood and family ties, stood afar off.

This shows how little reason we have to trust people, or to be surprised when human kindness fails us. Trouble tests friendship and separates what is true from what is false. It is wiser to make sure we have a friend in heaven, one who will not stay far from our pain and whose love cannot be cut off by tribulation or distress. In his troubles, David also pointed ahead to Christ in his agony. Christ on the cross was weak and badly broken, and his friends and relatives stood at a distance, watching from afar.

In the middle of his complaints, David comforts himself by knowing that God sees both his griefs and his prayers (Psalm 38:9). “Lord, all my desire is before you. You know what I need and what I long for. My groaning is not hidden from you. You know the burdens I carry and the blessings I am longing for.” The groanings that cannot be put into words are not hidden from the One who searches the heart and knows the mind of the Spirit (Romans 8:26, Romans 8:27). As we sing this, and pray it over, we should by faith lay every burden on God, along with all our worry about it, and then be at peace.