Psalm 38, Atomic Bible

About Psalms

The Psalms are 150 songs and prayers, written over many centuries by David and others, and gathered into five books for Israel’s worship. Every human feeling is here: joy, fear, anger, grief, confusion and thanks. Many begin in trouble and end in trust. Jesus prayed them too, even on the cross, where He spoke the opening line of Psalm 22. Read them slowly. They are meant to be prayed, not only read.

Before you read Psalm 38Written by AI

One of the traditional penitential psalms. David is sick, in pain, and abandoned by friends, and he connects his suffering with his own sin. He does not argue; he waits and confesses. The psalm ends without a clear answer, only a plea that God would not be far away.

Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger

A Psalm of David, for remembrance.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger

or discipline me in Your wrath.

For Your arrows have pierced me deeply,

and Your hand has pressed down on me.

There is no soundness in my body

because of Your anger;

there is no rest in my bones

because of my sin.

For my iniquities have overwhelmed me;

they are a burden too heavy to bear.

My wounds are foul and festering

because of my sinful folly.

I am bent and brought low;

all day long I go about mourning.

For my loins are full of burning pain,

and no soundness remains in my body.

I am numb and badly crushed;

I groan in anguish of heart.

O Lord, my every desire is before You;

my groaning is not hidden from You.

My heart pounds, my strength fails,

and even the light of my eyes has faded.

My beloved and friends shun my disease,

and my kinsmen stand at a distance.

Those who seek my life lay snares;

those who wish me harm speak destruction,

plotting deceit all day long.

But like a deaf man, I do not hear;

and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.

I am like a man who cannot hear,

whose mouth offers no reply.

I wait for You, O LORD;

You will answer, O Lord my God.

For I said, “Let them not gloat over me—

those who taunt me when my foot slips.”

For I am ready to fall,

and my pain is ever with me.

Yes, I confess my iniquity;

I am troubled by my sin.

Many are my enemies without cause,

and many hate me without reason.

Those who repay my good with evil

attack me for pursuing the good.

Do not forsake me, O LORD;

be not far from me, O my God.

Come quickly to help me,

O Lord my Savior.