Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryPsalms 38

Rebuke me not. Compare Ps. 6:1.

Thine arrows. Symbols of God’s punishment (see Ps. 7:13). Presseth me sore. See Ps. 32:4.

Soundness. See Isa. 1:6. The symptoms portrayed here, coupled with the fact that the sick man’s friends left him alone (see vs. 7, 11), convey the idea that the sickness was an extremely loathsome disease. Rest. Heb. shalom, “peace,” cessation from suffering. Because of my sin. The psalmist feels that his suffering is punishment for his sin. All suffering is the result of the entrance of sin into the universe, and personal suffering is often the direct result of wrongdoing. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). God does not work a miracle to preserve men from suffering the consequences of violating nature’s laws (see CD 29). If men were shielded from the disastrous results of their wrongdoing, sinners would become greatly emboldened in their iniquity. However, not all suffering is the direct result of personal sin on the part of the sufferer. Many of the ancients regarded every affliction as the penalty of some wrongdoing either in the sufferer or in his parents (see John 9:2). Conversely they judged the degree of man’s guilt by the amount of suffering. “Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to look upon disease and death as proceeding from God,—as punishment arbitrarily inflicted on account of sin” (DA 471). Because of this

misconception they regarded the heavenly Father as a stern and exacting executor of justice. Many Christians are under the same misapprehension. In spite of the lessons of the book of Job, and the lessons taught by Jesus (see Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38; cf. 1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor. 12:7), these Christians look at God as the one who brings disease. Here is the true philosophy of suffering: “Suffering is inflicted by Satan, and is overruled by God for purposes of mercy” (DA 471). The reason God does not always shield His children from disease and suffering is that if He did, Satan would bring the same charges against God as he did in the case of Job, that God was unfairly placing a hedge about His servant (Job 1:10). God must allow Satan the opportunity to afflict the righteous, so that all charges of unfairness will ultimately be shown to be groundless. The sufferer may thus find comfort in the thought that though a “messenger of Satan” buffets him (see 2 Cor. 12:7), God is overruling for purposes of mercy and will cause the affliction to work for the good of the individual (see Rom. 8:28).

Mine iniquities. Emphasizing the meaning of v. 3. Too heavy. The sudden change of figure from the idea of sin passing over the head, for example, like waves of the sea, to the idea of the unbearable burden of sin, may suggest confusion of thought as a result of the illness (see on vs. 8, 10).

Are corrupt. Literally, “fester,” “putrefy.”

I go mourning. Compare Job 1:20; 2:8; Ps. 35:14.

Loathsome disease. The symptoms seem to indicate a loathsome disease with an intense inflammation. Soundness. See on v. 3.

I am feeble. Or, “I am benumbed.” I have roared. Compare Ps. 22:1. The voice gives utterance to the deeper anguish of the soul. With this verse the psalmist closes the major part of his discussion of the physical symptoms of his suffering.

Before thee. The psalmist recognizes that God knows his desire for forgiveness and healing, and that there is no need of repeating his prayer. He must rest his case with God. The faintest prayer is heard in heaven. We are not heard for our much speaking, but according to the intents of the heart and the completeness of our devotion. “True prayer engages the energies of the soul and affects the life” (4T 535). This verse is the single ray of comfort in vs. 1–14. It is enough for the psalmist to realize that he can unburden his heart to a God who knows and cares.

My heart panteth. The complications of the disease include palpitation of the heart, weakness, and partial blindness. The sufferer is exhausted from the agony of his suffering, and is practically on the verge of death.

My lovers. Compare Ps. 31:11. They are unwilling to come near the sick man, probably from fear of contagion (see Job 19:13–20). Perhaps this estrangement was one of the arrows of v. 2. Sore. Heb. nega‘, “stroke,” “plague,” used of a calamity or judgment (see Gen. 12:17; Ex. 11:1). Here the psalmist turns from the suffering that arises from his own state of body and mind to the suffering that is aggravated by the conduct of his friends who had deserted him and his enemies who were plotting against him.

A deaf man. The psalmist took no notice of the slander of his enemies, and remained silent under persecution.

In thee. The third direct appeal to God (see vs. 1, 9).

I will declare. A complete confession of sin. The psalmist withholds nothing. The suffering has been salutary (see on v. 3). The psalmist knows the satisfaction of true repentance.

But mine enemies. The psalmist is perplexed over the observation that the wicked continue to be prosperous and in good health.

Because. The underlying reason for the conduct of his enemies was that he was a good man, doing good. Sin cannot tolerate goodness. Total depravity abhors righteousness (see 1 John 3:12).

Forsake me not. See Ps. 22:11, 19.

My salvation. See Ps. 27:1. The closing words of the psalm show the salutary results of the psalmist’s suffering. The trials caused the psalmist to cry out earnestly to God, in whom alone he recognized his hope of salvation.