Psalm 38
Psalm 38 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. For your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down upon me. Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness 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, O 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 seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception. I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot open his mouth; I have become like a man who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God. For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.” For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. Many are those who are my vigorous enemies; those who hate me without reason are numerous. Those who repay my good with evil slander me when I pursue what is good. O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
Psalm 38 includes the title “A Psalm of David. A Petition.” But the Hebrew actually includes the phrase: “to remember” in the title. The ESV renders that: “For the memorial offering.” The KJV simply states: “To bring to remembrace.”
Many scholars think that this Psalm was written by David as he is remembering a sin he has committed and one in which he believes he is suffering from a physical malady as a result. In essence this is a confession Psalm from David. The early church fathers included this Psalm among the seven penitential psalms. Those seven psalms were: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143.
One interesting side-note is that the opening words of Psalm 38 are identical to the opening words of Psalm 6:
Psalm 6:1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Psalm 38:1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
When you read through Chronicles you see that David, under God’s instruction, appointed the Levites “to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol, thank, and praise the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 16:4) The Hebrew word translated “to extol” also means “confession of sin.”
David spends time in this Psalm confessing his sin, but also recognizes that it has affected him physically. And he knows that this sin gives occasion for his enemies to use this as another weapon against him. So, he turns to the only One he can turn to.
The Bible presents two avenues for the confession of sins. First, we are to confess our sins to God. 1 John 1:9 says that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Second, we are to confess our sins to other believers. James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” When we have wronged someone, it is appropriate to confess our wrongdoing to that person and seek forgiveness.
Several factors can hinder or prevent our confession of sins. One is pride. We don’t like to admit we were wrong. Pride rushes in to justify, explain, or blame-shift instead of confessing and being forgiven (Proverbs 16:18). God resists a prideful person (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Confession of sin does little good when it is coerced or insincere because it is not true agreement with God but a temporary effort to appease a guilty conscience or pacify someone else.
Another factor that hinders the confession of sin is ignorance. In our modern age, people are growing more biblically illiterate, and hearts are growing cold toward the things of God. The neglect of Scripture means that many, including professing Christians, are woefully ignorant of God’s moral standards. Some indulge their sinful desires with little remorse, preferring to remain in the dark rather than have to confess and forsake their sin. Their attitude is “ignorance is bliss,” and they may even resist learning more about God’s Word for fear it will make them feel guilty about their lifestyles. God holds us accountable for all He has entrusted to us, so ignorance is no excuse for not confessing our sin to God and being forgiven.
When we confess our sins to someone we have wronged, that confession should be accompanied by an appeal for forgiveness. While we cannot force someone to forgive us, we should always make that option available to them so that they can live free of bitterness toward us. The Bible is filled with commands to forgive each other (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; Matthew 6:14). Jesus even gave us a step-by-step tutorial in confession and restoration within the church (Matthew 18:15–17). There are other times when our sin was not against a specific person, but we can confess it anyway to Christian brothers and sisters as a way of becoming accountable for change (James 5:16).
An old adage says, “Confession is good for the soul.” This is true. God wants us to live with a clear conscience and a pure heart (Matthew 5:8; Psalm 24:4). This is only possible when we regularly confess and forsake our sins, keeping the model of Jesus ever before us (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1). He never had to confess His sins because He never committed any (Hebrews 4:15). But no one else can truthfully say that, so we need to learn how to confess our sins regularly both to God and to other people so that we can live free of guilt and shame (Colossians 2:14).
PRAY
Father never let me hold sin in secret in my heart. Help me be quick to confess it to you and others.