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Commentary on Psalms 38 verses 1–11
The title of this psalm is very observable; it is a psalm to bring to remembrance; the 70th psalm, which was likewise penned in a day of affliction, is so entitled. It is designed, 1. To bring to his own remembrance. We will suppose it penned when he was sick and in pain, and then it teaches us that times of sickness are times to bring to remembrance, to bring the sin to remembrance, for which God contended with us, to awaken our consciences to deal faithfully and plainly with us, and set our sins in order before us, for our humiliation. In a day of adversity consider. Or we may suppose it penned after his recovery, but designed as a record of the convictions he was under and the workings of his heart when he was in affliction, that upon every review of this psalm he might call to mind the good impressions then made upon him and make a fresh improvement of them. To the same purport was the writing of Hezekiah when he had been sick. 2. To put others in mind of the same things which he was himself mindful of, and to teach them what to think and what to say when they are sick and in affliction; let them think as he did, and speak as he did.
I. He deprecates the wrath of God and his displeasure in his affliction (Psa 38:1): O Lord! rebuke me not in thy wrath. With this same petition he began another prayer for the visitation of the sick, Psa 6:1. This was most upon his heart, and should be most upon ours when we are in affliction, that, however God rebukes and chastens us, it may not be in wrath and displeasure, for that will be wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery. Those that would escape the wrath of God must pray against that more than any outward affliction, and be content to bear any outward affliction while it comes from, and consists with, the love of God.
II. He bitterly laments the impressions of God's displeasure upon his soul (Psa 38:2): Thy arrows stick fast in me. Let Job's complaint (Job 7:4) expound this of David. By the arrows of the Almighty he means the terrors of God, which did set themselves in array against him. He was under a very melancholy frightful apprehension of the wrath of God against him for his sins, and thought he could look for nothing but judgment and fiery indignation to devour him. God's arrows, as they are sure to hit the mark, so they are sure to stick where they hit, to stick fast, till he is pleased to draw them out and to bind up with his comforts the wound he has made with his terrors. This will be the everlasting misery of the damned - the arrows of God's wrath will stick fast in them and the wound will be incurable. "Thy hand, thy heavy hand, presses me sore, and I am ready to sink under it; it not only lies hard upon me, but it lies long; and who knows the power of God's anger, the weight of his hand?" Sometimes God shot his arrows, and stretched forth his hand, for David (Psa 18:14), but now against him; so uncertain is the continuance of divine comforts, where yet the continuance of divine grace is assured. He complains of God's wrath as that which inflicted the bodily distemper he was under (Psa 38:3): There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy anger. The bitterness of it, infused in his mind, affected his body; but that was not the worst: it caused the disquietude of his heart, by reason of which he forgot the courage of a soldier, the dignity of a prince, and all the cheerfulness of the sweet psalmist of Israel, and roared terribly, Psa 38:8. Nothing will disquiet the heart of a good man so much as the sense of God's anger, which shows what a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands. The way to keep the heart quiet is to keep ourselves in the love of God and to do nothing to offend him.
III. He acknowledges his sin to be the procuring provoking cause of all his troubles, and groans more under the load of guilt than any other load, Psa 38:3. He complains that his flesh had no soundness, his bones had no rest, so great an agitation he was in. "It is because of thy anger; that kindles the fire which burns so fiercely;" but, in the next words, he justifies God herein, and takes all the blame upon himself: "It is because of my sin. I have deserved it, and so have brought it upon myself. My own iniquities do correct me." If our trouble be the fruit of God's anger, we may thank ourselves; it is our sin that is the cause of it. Are we restless? It is sin that makes us so. If there were not sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones, no illness in our bodies. It is sin therefore that this good man complains most of, 1. As a burden, a heavy burden (Psa 38:4): "My iniquities have gone over my head, as proud waters over a man that is sinking and drowning, or as a heavy burden upon my head, pressing me down more than I am able to bear or to bear up under." Note, Sin is a burden. The power of sin dwelling in us is a weight, Heb 12:1. All are clogged with it; it keeps men from soaring upward and pressing forward. All the saints are complaining of it as a body of death they are loaded with, Rom 7:24. The guilt of sin committed by us is a burden, a heavy burden; it is a burden to God (he is pressed under it, Amo 2:13), a burden to the whole creation, which groans under it, Rom 8:21, Rom 8:22. It will, first or last, be a burden to the sinner himself, either a burden of repentance when he is pricked to the heart for it, labours, and is heavy-laden, under it, or a burden of ruin when it sinks him to the lowest hell and will for ever detain him there; it will be a talent of lead upon him, Zac 5:8. Sinners are said to bear their iniquity. Threatenings are burdens. 2. As wounds, dangerous wounds (Psa 38:5): "My wounds stink and are corrupt (as wounds in the body rankle, and fester, and grow foul, for want of being dressed and looked after), and it is through my own foolishness." Sins are wounds (Gen 4:23), painful mortal wounds. Our wounds by sin are often in a bad condition, no care taken of them, no application made to them, and it is owing to the sinner's foolishness in not confessing sin, Psa 32:3, Psa 32:4. A slight sore, neglected, may prove of fatal consequence, and so may a slight sin slighted and left unrepented of.
IV. He bemoans himself because of his afflictions, and gives ease to his grief by giving vent to it and pouring out his complaint before the Lord.
1.He was troubled in mind, his conscience was pained, and he had no rest in his own spirit; and a wounded spirit who can bear? He was troubled, or distorted, bowed down greatly, and went mourning all the day long, Psa 38:6. He was always pensive and melancholy, which made him a burden and terror to himself. His spirit was feeble and sorely broken, and his heart disquieted, Psa 38:8. Herein David, in his sufferings, was a type of Christ, who, being in his agony, cried out, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful. This is a sorer affliction than any other in this world; whatever God is pleased to lay upon us, we have no reason to complain as long as he preserves to us the use of our reason and the peace of our consciences.
2.He was sick and weak in body; his loins were filled with a loathsome disease, some swelling, or ulcer, or inflammation (some think a plague-sore, such as Hezekiah's boil), and there was no soundness in his flesh, but, like Job, he was all over distempered. See (1.) What vile bodies these are which we carry about with us, what grievous diseases they are liable to, and what an offence and grievance they may soon be made by some diseases to the souls that animate them, as they always are a cloud and cog. (2.) That the bodies both of the greatest and of the best of men have in them the same seeds of diseases that the bodies of others have, and are liable to the same disasters. David himself, though so great a prince and so great a saint, was not exempt from the most grievous diseases: there was no soundness even in his flesh. Probably this was after his sin in the matter of Uriah, and thus did he smart in his flesh for his fleshly lusts. When, at any time, we are distempered in our bodies, we ought to remember how God has been dishonoured in and by our bodies. He was feeble and sorely broken, Psa 38:8. His heart panted, and was in a continual palpitation, Psa 38:10. His strength and limbs failed him. As for the light of his eyes, that had gone from him, either with much weeping or by a defluxion of rheum upon them, or perhaps through the lowness of his spirits and the frequent returns of fainting. Note, Sickness will tame the strongest body and the stoutest spirit. David was famed for his courage and great exploits; and yet, when God contended with him by bodily sickness and the impressions of his wrath upon his mind, his hair is cut, his heart fails him, and he becomes weak as water. Therefore let not the strong man glory in his strength, nor any man set grief at defiance, however it may be thought at a distance.
3.His friends were unkind to him (Psa 38:11): My lovers (such as had been merry with him in the day of his mirth) now stand aloof from my sore; they would not sympathize with him in his griefs, nor so much as come within hearing of his complaints, but, like the priest and Levite (Luk 10:31), passed on the other side. Even his kinsmen, that were bound to him by blood and alliance, stood afar off. See what little reason we have to trust in man or to wonder if we disappointed in our expectations of kindness from men. Adversity tries friendship, and separates between the precious and the vile. It is our wisdom to make sure a friend in heaven, who will not stand aloof from our sore and from whose love no tribulation nor distress shall be able to separate us. David, in his troubles, was a type of Christ in his agony, Christ, on his cross, feeble and sorely broken, and then deserted by his friends and kinsmen, who beheld afar off.
V. In the midst of his complaints, he comforts himself with the cognizance God graciously took both of his griefs and of his prayers (Psa 38:9): "Lord, all my desire is before thee. Thou knowest what I want and what I would have: My groaning is not hidden from thee. Thou knowest the burdens I groan under and the blessings I groan after." The groanings which cannot be uttered are not hidden from him that searches the heart and knows what is the mind of the Spirit, Rom 8:26, Rom 8:27.
In singing this, and praying it over, whatever burden lies upon our spirits, we would by faith cast it upon God, and all our care concerning it, and then be easy.
(Verse 3.) There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of your anger. Isaiah explained this passage to us: We have sinned, and you are angry with us (Isaiah 64:5). But who can withstand the face of the Lord's anger? Perhaps he can, because the eyes of the Lord are on those who do evil (Psalm 34:17). For if the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, how can the Prophet be weakened by the face of God's anger? Therefore, consider this, which David himself said later: For you have delivered me from all my troubles; and my eye looks upon my enemies (Psalm 54:9). For just as He looks upon the good deeds of the righteous, so He also uncovers the hidden sins of the wicked. Unless, perhaps, you refer this to Christ, who was delivered from all those who oppressed Him, when He withdrew Himself from the Jewish people, who were constantly wearing Him down with sacrileges and daily impieties; and He called His enemies to His grace, whom the eye of God saw and loved. Therefore, because God is merciful, there is no reason for despair. Though He may be angered, He forgives; though He may strike, He heals; though He delivers the flesh to destruction, He saves the spirit. Therefore, do not fear the weakness of the flesh; for when the holy one is weak, he is stronger.
But what does he mean when he says, 'There is no peace in my bones because of the face of my sins'? What are these bones; are they of the soul or of the body? But the care for bodily pain would not be so great if the soul did not also suffer; for it is the desire of the holy to have the flesh scourged for the sake of the soul, just as Paul himself scourged himself lest his teaching be discredited. There are certain inner bones of man, just as there are other members, the eyes of the mind, and the nostrils; as Job said, 'The divine spirit is in my nostrils' (Job. XXVII, 3). Therefore, there are also bones by which a certain bond of charity is formed. Hence, Adam said of the partner of charity and co-heir of the grace of life: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.' (Gen. II, 23). The Apostle, interpreting this, said: 'This is a great mystery; but I speak in Christ and in the Church.' (Ephes. V, 32). And who would doubt that the sacrament of Christ and the Church is not carnal but spiritual, since every good person is bound in that marriage not by the flesh but by the beauty of virtue? And should one love the character of morals in his wife, not mere physical satisfaction? Finally, listen, because he speaks not according to the flesh, but according to inner virtue: My mouth is not hidden, which you made in secret (Psalm 138:15). Therefore, virtue is not flesh, which knows the hidden things of God the Father.
Therefore, there is no peace for the soul with virtues, when our sins come together before our eyes and pour into our minds. And this has been well interpreted by the chosen Doctor of the Gentiles, in the second letter to the Corinthians, saying: For even when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in all things: fights outside, fears within (II Cor. VII, 5). The sins of the Macedonians troubled them; how much more do our own sins disturb each one of us, so that there can be no rest for us? Our greatest enemy is our own guilt, which disturbs the idle, afflicts the healthy, saddens the joyful, unsettles the peaceful, agitates the meek, and awakens the sleeping. We are guilty without an accuser, tormented without a torturer, bound without chains, and sold without a seller. As Scripture says, 'You were sold for your sins' (Isaiah 50:1). These, therefore, are the sins that are always against us, as the Prophet said, 'They have sold us and hold dominion over us' (Isaiah 3:12). The servant who is sold leaves with his previous service; to migrate to another Master: we neither remove the yoke of the past nor are we bent towards new sins.
"For Your arrows stick fast in me, and Your hand presses me sore" [Psalm 38:2]. "There is no soundness in my flesh, from the face of Your anger" [Psalm 38:3]. He has now begun telling these evils, which he is suffering here: and yet even this already was from the wrath of the Lord, because it was of the vengeance of the Lord. "Of what vengeance?" That which He took upon Adam. For think not that punishment was not inflicted upon him, or that God had said to no purpose, "You shall surely die;" [Genesis 2:17] or that we suffer anything in this life, except from that death which we earned by the original sin....Whence then do His "arrows stick fast in" him? The very punishment, the very vengeance, and haply the pains both of mind and of body, which it is necessary for us to suffer here, these he describes by these self-same "arrows." For of these arrows holy Job also made mention, [Job 6:4] and said that the arrows of the Lord stuck fast in him, while he was labouring under those pains. We are used, however, to call God's words also arrows; but could he grieve that he should be struck by these? The words of God are arrows, as it were, that inflame love, not pain....We may then understand the "arrows sticking fast," thus: Your words are fixed fast in my heart; and by those words themselves is it come to pass, that I "called the Sabbath to remembrance:" and that very remembrance of the Sabbath, and the non-possession of it at present, prevents me from rejoicing at present; and causes me to acknowledge that there "is neither health in my very flesh," neither ought it to be so called when I compare this sort of soundness to that soundness which I am to possess in the everlasting rest; where "this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality," [1 Corinthians 15:53] and see that in comparison with that soundness this present kind is but sickness.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 38:3 is a profound lament from King David, a penitential cry that vividly portrays the severe physical and spiritual distress he experiences. He attributes his suffering directly to God's righteous anger and his own sin, revealing a deep sense of conviction, brokenness, and the holistic consequences of transgression on the human being. This verse encapsulates the psalmist's recognition that his inner turmoil and outward affliction are not random but are intimately connected to his unconfessed sin and the divine displeasure it incurs.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 38:3 employs several powerful Literary Devices to convey the depth of David's suffering and conviction. Parallelism is prominent, specifically a form of synonymous parallelism where the two clauses ("no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger" and "neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin") convey similar ideas through different but related imagery, reinforcing the holistic nature of his distress. The phrases "my flesh" and "my bones" serve as examples of Metonymy, where a part represents the whole, emphasizing that the suffering affects David's entire being—physical, emotional, and spiritual. The intensity of his description, suggesting a complete lack of "soundness" and "rest," can also be seen as Hyperbole, an exaggeration used to underscore the severity and pervasive nature of his affliction. Furthermore, there's a subtle Personification of "anger" and "sin" as active agents causing his physical and internal turmoil, highlighting their destructive power.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 38:3 profoundly illustrates the biblical understanding of the pervasive and often tangible consequences of sin, not merely as a legal transgression but as a spiritual disease that can impact the entirety of a person. David's experience serves as a stark reminder that sin, especially unconfessed sin, can lead to a profound sense of divine displeasure and a resultant loss of inner peace and physical well-being. It underscores God's holiness and His righteous opposition to sin, yet within the context of a covenant relationship where discipline is often a means of drawing His people back to Himself. This verse invites believers to consider the holistic impact of their choices and to recognize the importance of prompt confession and repentance as a pathway to restoration and renewed fellowship with God.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 38:3 calls believers to a deep and honest self-examination regarding the state of their hearts and lives. While not all sickness or distress is a direct result of specific sin, this verse powerfully prompts us to consider if unconfessed sin, unresolved guilt, or a lack of repentance might be contributing to our spiritual, emotional, or even physical burdens. David's raw honesty about the link between his sin and his suffering encourages us to approach God with similar transparency, recognizing that hiding our transgressions only exacerbates our internal turmoil. It reminds us that true peace and "soundness" are often contingent upon walking in integrity and quickly confessing our failures, trusting in God's faithfulness to forgive and restore. This passage serves as a pastoral invitation to embrace the liberating power of confession and to seek holistic well-being through reconciliation with God.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is all sickness a direct result of sin, according to the Bible?
Answer: No, the Bible presents a nuanced view regarding the causes of sickness. While Psalm 38:3 clearly links David's physical and spiritual distress to his sin and God's anger, this is a specific instance of penitential suffering. Other biblical passages demonstrate that sickness can arise from various sources: living in a fallen world (Romans 8:22), for God's sovereign purposes or glory (as seen in the man born blind in John 9:1-3), or even as a test of faith (Job). This psalm highlights that sin can indeed have tangible, holistic consequences, but it does not establish a universal rule that all illness is a direct punishment for specific transgression. It primarily serves as a reminder of the profound impact of unconfessed sin on one's well-being.
What does "no rest in my bones" mean beyond physical pain?
Answer: The phrase "no rest in my bones" signifies a deep, pervasive lack of inner peace and tranquility that extends to the very core of one's being. While it certainly includes physical discomfort, the use of "bones" (often symbolizing the deepest part of a person, their very essence or strength) suggests a profound spiritual and existential disquiet. It implies that the guilt and burden of sin have permeated David's entire being, leaving him without any internal solace, ease, or relief. It's a state of profound spiritual agitation and mental anguish, a direct consequence of his unaddressed sin and the accompanying divine displeasure.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While David's lament in Psalms 38:3 powerfully articulates the holistic consequences of sin and the pain of divine displeasure, its ultimate fulfillment is found in Jesus Christ. David's suffering, though real and deeply felt, was a temporary and personal experience. Christ, however, bore the full weight of human sin and the perfect wrath of God on the cross, experiencing a depth of anguish and separation far beyond anything David could have known. It was through His suffering that the ultimate "soundness" and "rest" became available to humanity. The Lamb of God took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our diseases, and "by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus, who "knew no sin, became sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21), suffered the separation from God that our sin deserved, thereby making peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20). He offers true rest for our souls, inviting all who are weary and burdened to come to Him and find peace (Matthew 11:28). In Christ, the anguish of sin and divine anger is fully absorbed, offering believers not just temporary relief, but eternal soundness and an unshakeable peace that penetrates to the very core of their being.