Psalm 38 (Listen)
38:1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.
12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”
17 For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
Devotional:
For my iniquities have gone over my head; they are a burden too heavy for me to bear. Hurry to help me, my Lord, my salvation. (Psalm 38:4 & 22 CSB)
Our sin is too heavy a burden for us to bear. We may try to handle it by comparing ourselves to others with the excuse, “I’m not as bad as that person,” or we may think that if we do good works or give enough money away, that will outweigh our sin. But the Bible is clear that neither comparing ourselves to others or doing good things will overthrow the weight of our sin. Instead, we must turn to Jesus. In verse 15 David says, “For I put my hope in you, LORD; you will answer me, my Lord, my God.” Indeed God has answered, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . .” (John 3:16). Jesus overthrew the weight of our sin for us. Praise God!
Pray it: Father, my sin is both an offense to you and a burden to me. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that rescues me from my sin, for removing the barrier that stands between us and the weight it places on my shoulders. Help me to draw near to you and have you carry my burdens today. Amen.
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