Psalms 38
By Tanja
Ever since King David of the Bible was anointed as the next King of Israel, he had God’s favour. In the early days, King David fought the giant Goliath, who had been an enemy. He had complete confidence that God would fight the battle for him.[1] Despite his enemy laughing at his size, he started declaring that there is a God in Israel.[2] He also claimed it was God’s battle he was fighting, not his own.[3] Before David was officially Israel’s King, he had become popular and known among people who sang about his victories in battle.[4] Saul’s jealousy ignited, and David soon had to fight for his own life, even when playing the harp, his instrument, to calm Saul’s spirit.[5] Saul tried to use marrying off his daughters to David in hopes of taking his life and tried to convince his son Jonathan and servants to get rid of David.[6]
When David finally ruled as King and secured his kingdom, he hoped to build a temple in Jerusalem.[7]David’s life journey brought him through peaks and valleys, in Psalms 38, we can find it to be one of his toughest valleys. Maybe, his sighing would have sounded something like this:
When I was at the end of everything.
When I felt no hope.
When I felt there was nothing good in my life to hold onto anymore.
At the end of the line, it seemed like no one cared.
I mean, do they? All my friends left me here, and I used to be popular.
I feel heavy. I feel the weight of life on my shoulders.
I’m not seeing beyond this doom. I can’t.
Do I have a Saviour? How come the despair?
My body hurts! Is there healing?
I’ve known of God’s comfort, but do I deserve His embrace, and now?
I long for God’s forgiveness. My sin is full well in His sight. It’s made me heavy.
I long for joy.
Joy. Peace. Comfort.
God, won’t you restore me?
Don’t You satisfy me?
I need you, God, God of heaven.
You are good, God.
You are protecting me from all my enemies.
In Psalms 38, David was longing for forgiveness and healing from God at this point in his life. He cries out to the Lord in these words:
“All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from You.
My heart pounds, my strength fails me.” Psalms 38:9-10
Psalms 38 is a reminder Psalm, or a petition to God, like saying, “God, you need to remember!”[8] David was feeling weighed down by sin, and he might have been feeling pain in his body and emotions. David knew God was good since God had given him favour in his lifetime and since he had a personal relationship with God. He knew God’s character that God is loving, kind, righteous, merciful, faithful, holy, and just. David knew the answer to his problems; God was his hope. He was reminding God that He was his hope. “God, hurry to help me; run to my rescue! For you’re my Savior and my only hope.”[9]
It is hard to forget if you’ve been in the presence of God and you have been in His dwelling place. God is the One who makes us whole, and He brings us joy and completeness and renews us with goodness. God is the One who forgives us of our sins and takes that burden away. God is the One who can heal us physically and emotionally. He is more trustworthy than anything else we can put our trust in. Even though we live in a world that proclaims that we don’t need a Saviour, the truth is that we do. We need Jesus, our Messiah, more than ever. Let us look to Him today for help and everything we might need.
Prayer:
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you
and may He be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Amen
(Blessing found in; Numbers 6:24-26)
[1] 1 Samuel 17:45
[2] 1 Samuel 17: 46
[3] 1 Samuel 17:47
[4] 1 Samuel 18:7
[5] 1 Samuel 18:11
[6] 1 Samuel 19:1
[7] The Portable Seminary: A Master’s Level Overview in One Volume, 2nd edition. (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2018), 212.
[8] Phil Moore, Straight to the Heart of Psalms: 60 Bite-Sized Insights (Oxford: Monarch Books, 2013), 85.
[9] Brian Simmons, trans., The Passion Translation. The New Testament: With Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs (Racine, Wisconsin: Broadstreet Publishing, 2017), 60.