Day 81

Psalm 38 Part 2

David was known as the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Samuel 23:1). Yet with great honesty, he could also groan before God and man, composing a sour psalm describing his misery in the strongest of terms. The sinner can never reach the sunny heights of communion with God until he goes down to the depth of penitence & confession. When we come to the end of ourselves we come to the beginning of the almighty. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.

Speaking to God as his master (Adonai) David appealed to God with complete transparency (v9-10). His misery was not ‘hidden from’ God or from any who would hear this Psalm. Our instinct is to follow the pattern of our first parents and hide our sin and hide from God. David here is an example of the kind of unconcealed communication that is important for the one who truly desires God.

David’s misery was unrelieved by either ‘friends or relatives.’ His ‘loved ones’ either did not care or could not help him. Foes stood waiting. David was so depressed and afflicted that he felt powerless to respond to these attacks. His inability to defend himself meant that he needed God more than ever. 

In v10 I see Him who fell beneath the weight of the cross, and the one who was forsaken by His friends v11.

Vs13-14 reminds me of Jesus whose marvellous silence before Pilate was far more eloquent than words. When reviled He reviled not in return and when He suffered He threatened not. At His trial, He astonished His enemies by not speaking a word.

Psalm 38:15 is an example of the use of the three Hebrew words most commonly used to refer to God in one verse: Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel. Adonai, as Master or person of respect, & Elohim, the plural of the word for God. These are also repeated in vs21-22

The Psalm closes with eloquence & a heartfelt cry v21-22. More than anything David wanted the sense of God’s presence. It is likely that the absence of that sense was David’s greatest trial in this dark season.