Psalm 38

Observations:

V.1-8, David is clearly experiencing an afflection of some sort by God (David knows his afflection is divine in nature) in response to his sin. Is it physical or spiritual agony? Both?

V.13-22, David makes it clear that he is helpless, a man who cannot hear or speak (repeated twice between 13-14), unable to resolve his problem. He is dependant on God, who is his Hope. David is desparate, on the edge of spiritual collapse because of his sin. His enemies take advantage of his fallen demeanor. David beckons for God’s nearness and stronghold presence. He calls God to be dilligant in His provision of help; it is important to note that David concludes with, O Lord (Adonai), my salvation. Regardless of circumstances, God is still salvation to David.

Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Read Passage

P1. The Weight of Sin

P2. The Weight of Confession

P3. The Weight of Hope

Introduction:

has been also been traditionally known as one of the penitential psalms, (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) as well as an individual prayer for help by someone who is ill. ...to argue for sickness begs for caution as such theology that implies that God punishes sin with sickness. This theology was put on trial in the book of Job and found wanting by the very canon of Scripture.

also been traditionally known as one of the penitential psalms.

(6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) as well as an individual prayer for help by someone who is ill.

also been traditionally known as one of the penitential psalms.

Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: . In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 355). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41. In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 355). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.has been traditionally understood as an individual prayer for help by someone who is ill.

Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: . In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 355). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.as well as an individual prayer for help by someone who is ill.

Certainly this is possible, but it is not the only possibility. But the psalms are poetry, and as such the images are just as likely to be metaphorical, describing in graphic physical terms what suffering and sorrow feel like in the soul and body of one who is in extreme emotional pain. If the problem is left more open to interpretation, then this may be an in-depth description of how guilt from sin can affect a person both mentally and physically.

The first and the last two verses summarize the theme and wonder of this psalm.

P1. The Weight of Sin (v. 1-8)

The Book of Psalms Psalm 38: I Am in Need, Please Come!

Indeed, to argue for sickness here is a dangerous theology that implies that God punishes sin with sickness. This theology was put on trial in the book of Job and found wanting by the very canon of Scripture.

Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: . In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 358). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

If ever a psalm was designed to warn us off sin by exposing its consequences, this is it. Sin offends the Lord and burdens the sinner, replaces wellbeing by wounds, induces lowspiritedness, with pain of body and disquiet of heart (1–8).

P2. The Weight of Confession (v. 9-12)

It saddens and devitalizes, isolates us from friends, and excites enmity (9–12);

V, 9-12, David prays; he lays everything in himself before God. David’s confession reveals the reality of sin. Sin impacts:

Our peace

Our wellbeing

Our perception

Our relationships (community as well as divine)

Our safety

Read

Do our confessions carry the burdens of weariness from sin?(This is not guilt-trip Christianity) David is demonstrating that there is always a pain that is stapled to sin.

I don’t believe this was merely an expression of Hebraic grief. At one point, every Christian has felt the bitterness of their own sin when they looked at Christ on the Cross. And like every fiber of our being that is exposed to the Truth of Christ, no forced emotional grief will ever emerge. The Light of Christ brings out of you an authentic response.

So what does it mean when our confession is a bit light? When the weightiness of sin just isn’t so weighty?

I

A theologian by the name of Reinhard Hutter wrote an article (Pornography and Acedia) addressing Acedia, better understood as spiritual apathy.

He states that spiritual apathy creates a void that we try to fill with temporary rushes of pleasure (which he states are normally activities that can lead to addiction) to protect ourselves from the boredom of life that we often experience. But these unsatisfactory imitations that promise us the fulfillment we seek betray us. They cannot fill the void created by the loss of our transcendent calling to the love and friendship of God. Rather, they only increase the craving to fill the void we cannot fill, breeding compulsion and intensifying spiritual apathy, thereby encouraging its most dangerous manifestation: despair.

You don’t have to go far in Scripture to get an idea of how God feels about sin. Look at Jesus’ response to sin in . *Someone read 29 and another 30*

Maybe for some of you, you’re numb to the stench of sin. You’ve been trying to fill that void in your soul for so long, you’ve learned to trick yourself into thinking that this is what Christianity is. If that’s you, please prayerfully read .

Maybe for some of you, this has been an internal struggle; you recognize you’re in a rut. It bothers you to no end. You pray, you read your Bible, you show up to the Bible studies, you try to walk out your Christian faith, but you’re still wrecked by your return to familiar sins.

Do your prayers carry the weight of hopelessness?

How do we get out of this rut?

P3. The Weight of Hope (v. 13-22)

When the Lord is offended, and his anger (exploding rage) and wrath (flaming anger) loom (1) and his arrows begin to fly (2), it is to the same Lord that we appeal, for his presence, nearness (21), help and salvation (22). Only the Lord’s favour can deliver us from the Lord’s disfavour.

Our psalm helps us to see that acknowledging sin is the only way out of this trap of fear and destruction. The phrase used in Twelve-Step circles is true: “We are only as sick as our secrets.” As long as we refuse to acknowledge our sin, we feed the fear that controls us and allow it to work its destructive way within and without. Confessing our sin to God and even a single trustworthy person can have the effect of removing the power our secrets wield over us. It does not mean that the destructive consequences set in motion by our sinful actions can always be fully avoided. We may still have to restore what we have taken or pay the legal price of our acts. We may have to deal with the destructive results of an adulterous affair and work long and hard to rebuild lost trust and effectiveness. But confession can remove the fear of discovery and enable us to accept the forgiveness of God.

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 622). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Here in lies the hope for us who are stuck in the mires of our sins: God.

What instructs David’s hope?

Testimony

Scripture

Promise

David’s faith in who God is is only reflective of what it is he understands about who God is.

Devotions by Beautiful Eulogy (Art Arzurdia)

“Do you wish to be a more consistently obedient, steadily persevering Christian? A stronger Christian? A more courageous and outspoken Christian? Then you need to strengthen your faith! Your faith instinctively strengthens in direct proportion to the expansion of the object of your faith! You expand your understanding of the object of your faith and faith itself will obediently follow The object of your faith--if indeed you are a Christian--is Jesus Christ and all of his promises Is your faith weak? It is owing to the fact that you don't know the object of your faith well enough But when Jesus Christ becomes progressively bigger, or better yet, your understanding of who he is progressively conforms to reality, your faith will become increasingly stronger But how does that happen? By immersing yourself in the faith-arousing Word of God Read of Jesus Christ! The same powerful Word that long ago brought the universe to life is the same Word that can bring you to life and furnish you with a faith that is truly and authentically Christian”