Psalm 38:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.

NIV: Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.

NASB: For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me.

CSB: For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has pressed down on me.

NLT: Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.

KJV: For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

NKJV: For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down.

David felt the deep pain of God's discipline (Psalm 38:1). He compares the pain of God's correction to arrows penetrating deeply into his body. Furthermore, the discipline felt like God's hand had struck him. It's not clear what sin David is speaking of in this passage (Psalm 38:18), but it might have been his fall regarding Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7–9).

To be "disciplined" by the Lord for sin is a mark of belonging to God. Hebrews 12:7–8 declares: "It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." If sinning does not bother someone, it is a sure sign that he does not know God as his heavenly Father. David could not escape the pain of being disciplined. And yet, neither could he escape the fact that he belonged to God. In verse 15 he will address God as "O Lord my God."

Psalm 38:1–8 resembles Psalm 32:3–4. In both passages, David describes pain he experiences because of his sin. He recognizes here that his physical suffering has come because of his immoral action. He sees the pain as part of the Lord's disciplining of him. In the moment, his situation seems too much to bear, making him miserable. It's possible Psalm 38 was written in response to David's sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7–9).

David cries out to God in repentance for his sin. He feels the weight of shame and conviction, as if being pierced by arrows, ravaged by disease, crushed, and blinded. His friends have abandoned him; his enemies plot his demise. All of these have been brought about because of his "iniquity." Throughout this misery, David does not abandon hope. Instead, he confidently calls on the Lord to forgive and rescue him.

Psalm 38 and Psalm 32 are similar. They both express David's deep sense of guilt, his contrition, and his confession. Both psalms refer to the ill effect David's sins exerted on his physical condition. Psalm 38's descriptions seem mostly symbolic, but his anguish is very literal. Likely, the sins in question were adultery with Bathsheba and the arranged murder of her husband (2 Samuel 12:7–9). If so, these themes connect directly to Psalm 51. David asks God to forgive him and heal him.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.

Accessed 4/29/2024 6:51:31 AM