Psalms

Chapter 38

Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger

This psalm is a raw plea from a sufferer who feels crushed under the LORD's rebuke, physically broken, morally ashamed, and socially abandoned. David describes pain, guilt, isolation, and hostile enemies, yet instead of hardening himself he confesses his iniquity, waits quietly for the LORD to answer, and ends by begging God not to stay far away but to come quickly as his salvation.

Psalm 38 stands within the penitential tradition of the Psalter, showing how covenant sufferers can bring both sin and misery into God's presence without disguise. It teaches that repentance does not silence lament; rather, honest confession and desperate dependence meet in a prayer that God's nearness is the only true remedy.

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Psalms 38

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vv. 1-22

Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger

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A¹ Psalm of David, for remembrance. ²For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, ³There is no soundness in my body ⁴For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; ⁵My wounds are foul and festering ⁶I am bent and brought low; ⁷For my loins are full of burning pain, ⁸I am numb and badly crushed;

⁹O Lord, my every desire is before You; ¹⁰My heart pounds, my strength fails, ¹¹My beloved and friends shun my disease, ¹²Those who seek my life lay snares; ¹³But like a deaf man, I do not hear; ¹⁴I am like a man who cannot hear,

¹⁵I wait for You, O LORD; ¹⁶For I said, “Let them not gloat over me — ¹⁷For I am ready to fall, ¹⁸Yes, I confess my iniquity; ¹⁹Many are my enemies without cause, ²⁰Those who repay my good with evil

²¹Do not forsake me, O LORD; ²²Come quickly to help me,

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01vv. 1-22Do Not Rebuke Me in Your AngerDavid begs not to be rebuked in wrath as he describes God's hand resting heavily on him through bodily pain, festering wounds, exhaustion, and inward sorrow. He then turns to the loneliness of being shunned by friends and hunted by enemies, resolves to wait silently for the LORD while confessing his sin and instability, and closes by pleading that God not forsake him but come quickly to save.