Psalm 38 - O LORD, Rebuke Me Not in Thy Wrath
A raw penitential prayer linking physical suffering to unconfessed sin.
Psalm 38, one of the penitential psalms grouped in this Psalms overview, opens with David asking the LORD not to rebuke him in wrath. He describes his suffering in physical terms: arrows stuck fast, no soundness in his flesh, wounds that stink, and a heart that pants with exhaustion.
A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin.
For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.
My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly.
I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning.
For my loins are full of burning pain, and no soundness remains in my body.
I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
O Lord, my every desire is before You; my groaning is not hidden from You.
My heart pounds, my strength fails, and even the light of my eyes has faded.
My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
But like a deaf man, I do not hear; and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.
I am like a man who cannot hear, whose mouth offers no reply.
I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Let them not gloat over me— those who taunt me when my foot slips.”
For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever with me.
Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
Many are my enemies without cause, and many hate me without reason.
Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.