Psalm Thirty-Eight: Faithful and Just to Forgive

Psalm 38

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger

    or discipline me in your wrath.

 

Your arrows have pierced me,

    and your hand has come down on me.

 

Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;

    there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

 

My guilt has overwhelmed me

    like a burden too heavy to bear.

My wounds fester and are loathsome

    because of my sinful folly.

 

I am bowed down and brought very low;

    all day long I go about mourning.

 

My back is filled with searing pain;

    there is no health in my body.

 

I am feeble and utterly crushed;

    I groan in anguish of heart.

All my longings lie open before you, Lord;

    my sighing is not hidden from you.

 

My heart pounds, my strength fails me;

    even the light has gone from my eyes.

 

My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;

    my neighbors stay far away.

 

Those who want to kill me set their traps,

    those who would harm me talk of my ruin;

    all day long they scheme and lie.

I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,

    like the mute, who cannot speak;

 

I have become like one who does not hear,

    whose mouth can offer no reply.

 

Lord, I wait for you;

    you will answer, Lord my God.

 

For I said, “Do not let them gloat

    or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”

For I am about to fall,

    and my pain is ever with me.

 

I confess my iniquity;

    I am troubled by my sin.

 

Many have become my enemies without cause[b];

    those who hate me without reason are numerous.

 

Those who repay my good with evil

    lodge accusations against me,

    though I seek only to do what is good.

Lord, do not forsake me;

    do not be far from me, my God.

 

Come quickly to help me,

    my Lord and my Savior.

-

One thing that I have always admired about David is his attitude toward confession and forgiveness. He says, "I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my inequity; I am troubled by my sin". How often can we say this? The first part, yes. We often admit that we feel unsteady and that we are in pain. However, do we acknowledge that our sin can play a part in those feelings? Do we take take to check our hearts, confess our sin, and accept Christ's forgiveness? Are we troubled by our sin? The thing is, David confessed his sin because he knew that when he did, he was guaranteed to receive forgiveness! 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness". Wow!! Will you join me today in confessing to the Lord? Confess jealousy, anger, apathy, addictions, mistakes past and present, malice, and anything else that God brings to mind. Just admit to the Lord that you are a sinner in need of grace and watch as he lavishes you with his forgiveness! "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). 

What stood out to you in this Psalm?

Take time today, to ask for the forgiveness of the Lord and receive his grace!