Psalm 38 - Do Not Forsake Me
If Psalm 37 is a popular, feel good psalm, Psalm 38 is the opposite. The psalmist is in great distress, and is suffering under the rebuke of God for his sins. The psalmist is sick and in tremendous pain, and he attributes his distress to his own sins. He is deeply repentant, and is pleading with the Lord to remember him.
" 9 O Lord, you understand my heartʼs desire;
my groaning is not hidden from you.
...
18 Yes, I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins."
In all his distress, he does not abandoned his faith in God, but is asking the Lord to acknowledge his repentance in order to heal and forgive him.
"21 Do not abandon me, O Lord!
My God, do not remain far away from me!
22 Hurry and help me, O Lord, my deliverer!"
In this last verse, the psalmist is actually prophesying the Lord's words on the Cross "Lord, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). The psalmist was hoping for forgiveness for his sins, but we are assured of forgiveness because Jesus took all of our suffering and sins to the cross and suffered that abandonment in our stead. Where the Old Testament psalmist was hoping in his own suffering to convince the Lord to forgive him, in this New Testament age, we trust in the Lord Jesus who suffered and died for us, even though we richly deserve to suffer for our sins. Now we may yet suffer the consequences of our sinful actions, but that is separate from the Lord's grace in forgiving our sins. There are still those who embrace suffering in order to convince the Lord to have mercy on them, but it is not necessary to receive forgiveness when you believe in Jesus.
That being said, there is music that can encourage us to mourn for our sins and help bring us to repentance. Listen to Karl Kohlhase as he sets this psalm to music in a beautiful lament.
Psalm 38 - Do Not Forsake Me, by Karl Kohlhase
If you are interested, there is an even more mournful version by Stravinsky that provides a unique expression of Psalm 38:14-14
Psalm 38
A psalm of David, written to get Godʼs attention.
1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury!
2 For your arrows pierce me,
and your hand presses me down.
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;
I am deprived of health because of my sin.
4 For my sins overwhelm me;
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds are infected and starting to smell,
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am dazed and completely humiliated;
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame
and my whole body is sick.
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.
9 O Lord, you understand my heartʼs desire;
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me;
I can hardly see.
11 Because of my condition, even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;
my neighbors stand far away.
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;
those who want to harm me speak destructive words;
all day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man - I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.
15 Yet I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.
18 Yes, I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord!
My God, do not remain far away from me!
22 Hurry and help me, O Lord, my deliverer!
The NET Bible
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