Psalm 38 We Don't Groan Alone

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Do not forsake me, O Lord!
    O my God, be not far from me!
Make haste to help me,
    O Lord, my salvation! (Psalm 38:21-22)

With what is the psalmist wrestling in Psalm 38? Was he crying out because of sickness, personal sin, and/or social isolation? There seem to be bits of all three woven together in this emotionally charged psalm.

What about us as readers, as disciples, and even as pastors and ministry leaders? What is it in our lives that brings us to the end of ourselves and prompts us to cry out to the Lord for deliverance? Is it something physical or emotional, something spiritual or relational? No matter what the cause, it is likely that this Psalm gives voice to at least part of our condition.

Bone-crushing Sickness Described

Some good Bible scholars, like Peter Craigie (WBC, Psalms 1-50), insightfully unpack the effects of prolonged sickness as the major theme of this psalm. The psalmist allows us to enter the depths of his physical condition in honest and emotional statements like these:

v. 3a There is no soundness in my flesh…
v. 3c There is no health in my bones…
v. 5a My wounds stink and fester…
v. 8a I am feeble and crushed…
v, 17 I am ready to fall… my pain is ever before me

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Certainly, the psalmist uses poetic language to describe his situation including a liberal dose of hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration for effect). Such use of hyperbole is not an indication that the psalmist is a “drama queen”, but rather that the psalm gives the reader a window into the deep pain and isolation felt by those with prolonged illnesses. Often there is an alienation that occurs with chronic illness as described in verse 11,

My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
    and my nearest kin stand far off.

Even those with the best of intentions can come to the end of their ability to stay engaged with those whose ailment/ issue/ suffering seems all-consuming. The psalmist may have faced such disappointment from his circle of family and friends.

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Then there are those who are quick the assign personal blame for those illnesses in an, “It’s your own fault” sort of way. With such a judgment comes its corollary, a self-justification that I/we are not suffering as you are because we are not guilty of such sins. Some suggest that it is our nature to begin to assign such circumstances to the wrath of God in punishment for our sins. Both conclusions are likely to be false.

If enduring such suffering despite the quitters and the critics with their hurtful comments was not bad enough, then there were those who were the psalmist’s enemies…the haters. Why do some people like to exploit the weaknesses of others like predators might cut down the weakest in the herd? The haters take advantage of the psalmist’s not being able to defend himself and pile on their accusations, plotting his destruction as described in verse 12,

Those who seek my life lay their snares;

    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin

    and meditate treachery all day long.

And, in verses 19-20,

But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
Those who render me evil for good
    accuse me because I follow after good.

The psalmist isn’t paranoid here, although chronic pain and a failed support group can lead one down that path. We know from David’s life that he had those who proved to be his enemies. Here he is specific about their behavior and their plans. They seem to be growing stronger while David’s strength melts away. Ironically, while those who should be expected to care for the psalmist “stand aloof” it is his enemies that had drawn near to hasten his demise. So, let me repeat the ironic situation—while the people the psalmist cared about had left him, the people who hated him came close taunting, plotting, and howling like human hyenas.

Heart-breaking Sin Confessed

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While we can gain much insight into the inner life of those facing prolonged illness through this psalm, I think that Craigie’s calling this a “sickness psalm” diminishes the psalm's very strong element of confession. The second theme in Psalm 38 is that of the psalmist’s confession of his sins. Much of his illness imagery may be a poetic description of how deeply his guilt has wounded him. He feels the poison of his sin at work in his whole being and expresses it in terms of severe and chronic physical conditions. This does not completely relegate the physical suffering he describes to merely a poetic expression for he may have physically experienced what he describes. While the psalmist’s perspective seems to make a direct connection between his personal sin and the dis-health of his body this does not mean that such is always the case. But for the psalmist, who knew all too well his own guilt, it certainly felt like he was rightly suffering for his foolish sinfulness.

There is no soundness in my flesh

    because of your indignation;

there is no health in my bones

    because of my sin.

For my iniquities have gone over my head;

    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds stink and fester

    because of my foolishness… (v.3-5)

Even more, the psalmist seems to know that he deserves even worse than he was getting and asked for mercy so that he might not feel the full burden of his sin.

Let me take a moment to stipulate that sin does anger God, but not necessarily for the reason that we might think. Sin does not anger God in either a curmudgeonly “get-off-my-lawn” or a vindictive "now-you're-going-to-pay" sort of way. Sin angers God because he wants us to fully experience his love, and his pervasive goodness, and to live in the holistic peace of an unbroken relationship with him and each other, but sin pushes all that away. Sin hurts us and wounds everyone around us. No good parent wants to see their children hurt and abused—neither does God. In fact, if God wasn’t angered at the sin of the world he would not be fully loving. Thankfully, the anger of God moves him to redeem and restore sinners, calling them back into a relationship with him. Jesus came to rescue us, not to destroy us...

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17)

Relational Isolation Hurts

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In any event, David’s illness/sin had brought a deep sense of isolation. On one hand, he was abandoned, or perhaps more strongly stated shunned, by those whom he loved. Illness and acute guilt have that effect on others. In David’s day, people would have withdrawn for several reasons. They would have wanted to avoid “catching” what he had while endeavoring to never fall into the same error that they might think he had committed. Still, others might have been exhausted by the long and seemingly hopeless illness (if it was an illness), or by his having gone beyond what was the culturally acceptable level from which rescue or deliverance might be expected. Finally, some "trolls" wanted to wag their tongues and their fingers in pointing out not only his sin but eagerly forecasting his certain destruction.

At some point, the psalmist stopped listening and responding to the unhelpful accusations as we see in v. 13-15,

But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.

I have become like a man who does not hear,

    and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

But for you, O LORD, do I wait…

    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

David was not interested in the negative things others might say about him. While his refusal to listen was not as provocative as the ‘90s “talk to the hand” statement, he was focused like a racehorse with blinders on to keep from being distracted. It helps to remember that he was not in denial of his faults, for this is a psalm filled with some powerfully self-aware confession, but he chose to turn down the volume of other voices, to cry out in faith, and to wait expectantly for the very-present Lord to answer and deliver!

So, amid our own seasons of pain and suffering—physical, or emotional/spiritual—to whom do we listen? Whom will we trust to plead our case and deliver us? The psalmist knew the answer and clung to it with tenacious faith.

Desperately Seeking Salvation

The third theme in Psalm 38 is that of the psalmist’s two-fold trust in the Lord—first, that God would hear his prayer, and second, that the covenant-keeping God would be his salvation! It is a powerful contrast that while friends and family may “stand aloof” and enemies will “stand against”, the Lord stands for us and enables us to stand secure in him. 

Even in pain and overwhelming circumstances, David wrote in honest faith,

I am feeble and crushed;
    I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my sighing is not hidden from you. (v. 8-9)

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Despite his intense suffering, he did not groan alone, for God heard and saw all his deepest longings and concerns, even those too deep and agonizing to be articulated!

The Christian life is no guarantee that we will be immune to pain, sickness, and criticism, nor does it instantly deliver us from our own foolishness and failures. What it does is give us constant access to an Advocate (1 John 2:1), a Great Physician (Matt. 9:35; Luke 9:6), and a loving God who will never stand aloof in our time of need (Heb. 13:5-6).

There are times when it seems that no one knows my inner struggles, the burdens I carry, or the complete desperation with which I am forced by circumstances and my own failures to lean on Jesus Christ. Yet, such a crucible of heart and mind is common among those in ministry roles. I am thankful for the testimony of Paul, who like the psalmist, relied on God to deliver no matter how hopeless the cause!

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)

Psalm 37: Fret Not Yourself

The following poem is based on an extended teaching from Psalm 37...

The wisdom of a Father heavenly

Sitting, sharing, such things we long to hear.

How to do this thing we call adulting?

Faithfulness, fruitfulness for the foreseeable future.

Envy, anger, wrath, 

Kindled byproducts of bitterness turned violent

Char the landscape still, as at the first,

Paradise lost in uncontrolled desire for more.

A fire that never says, “Enough.” (Pro. 30:16)

A Spiritual Smokey Bear, the psalmist instructs,

Kindle not yourself, but

Embrace the fact-fueled feelings of security

Found in trusting the Trustworthy One

Who enables us to dwell in the land

Delighting in the divine community

Whether circumstances change or not.

Feed on faithfulness, refusing to go astray

Not even one bite at a time.

Wait on the Lord, not your circumstances

Noticing, in refreshing moments of silence

Pervasive goodness of his presence.

Inoculating us against evil, ire alike

We move purposefully forward

Trusting the Lord for our inheritance

Speaking justice for others

Marking the blameless ones, not the calendar, as

Worthy of following to unending joy,

                                         © Greg K. Dueker

A Season of Thankfulness (Part 5)

This is Day 5 in our 5 Days of Thankful Preparation…Thanksgiving Day is here!

I am thankful that my family got to spend time together today and as part of our celebration of thanks, we drew some of these verses out of a jar and shared them with each other. I was blessed by some of the responses.

My hope is that this sequenced release of verses this week has helped to tenderize our hearts with thankfulness and re-center our view of God’s loving care for us.

With each of the following five passages from the Psalms, take time to read it out loud, and then after you finish it, ask two simple questions…

• How does this passage reveal God’s goodness?

• What can I learn from this passage about my gratefulness?

Psalm 118:19-21

Open to me the gates of righteousness,    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 138:1-3

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

    before the gods I sing your praise;

I bow down    toward your holy temple

    and give thanks to your name 
                             for your steadfast love 
                           and your faithfulness,

    for you have exalted above all things

                                  your name and your word.

On the day I called,   you answered me;

   my strength of soul you increased.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 140:12-13

I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,

    and will execute justice for the needy.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

    the upright shall dwell in your presence.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 142:6-7

Attend to my cry,

    for I am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

    for they are too strong for me!

Bring me out of prison,

    that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

    for you will deal bountifully with me.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 145:9-12

The Lord is good to all,

    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

    and all your saints shall bless you!

They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

    and tell of your power,

to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Here are just a few of my own answers to the questions asked above:

• Psalm 118… God, in his goodness, answers our prayers. He makes us righteous. Gratitude is an act of righteousness, for we know we are not able to save ourselves, but we have put our faith in the Lord to do what we cannot do.

• Psalm 138… We should be moved to wholehearted thankfulness for God’s wholehearted commitment to keeping his promises and showing his loving kindness to us.

• Psalm 140… God is just towards everyone, not just the powerful and privileged. My gratitude for God’s deliverance will pay it forward to the afflicted.

• Psalm 142… God’s goodness inspires us to hope that he will help…and he does. Gratitude recognizes that God will always deal bountifully with me, so I can deal bountifully with others.

• Psalm 145… Because what God does is good, his works will inspire gratitude to the Lord in our hearts. He invites us to share in his glory, power, and kingdom! Let us enter in by faith!

Happy Thanksgiving from our gathering to yours!

A Season of Thankfulness (Part 4)

This is Day 4 in our "5 Days of Thankful Preparation".

Now, as we travel home, or out of town, to be with friends and family, our gratitude can be tested by traffic, turkey drama, and terrible weather.

It is in exactly such moments that we need to break into our supply of psalms to give us the words of thankfulness with which to lead our hearts into the love of our faithful Savior!

My hope is that this sequenced release of verses this week will tenderize our hearts with thankfulness and re-center our view of God’s loving care for us.

With each of the following passages from the Psalms, take time to read it out loud, and then after you finish it, ask yourself two simple questions…

1. How does this passage reveal God’s goodness?
2. What can I learn from this passage about my gratefulness?

Psalm 106:47

Save us, O Lord our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 107:1

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 108:2-4

Awake, O harp and lyre!

    I will awake the dawn!

    I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

    I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;

    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 109:30-31

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 111:1-3

Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the works of the Lord,

    studied by all who delight in them.

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

    and his righteousness endures forever. (also 118:1-3, 29; 135:1-3)

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Here are just a few of my own answers to the questions asked above:

• Psalm 106... God’s goodness is committed to saving and gathering his people into a relationship with him and each other. When we pray, do we ask for help so that we will have one more reason to give thanks?

• Psalm 107... Some things are worth repeating because they are important, and sometimes because we are so quick to forget the important stuff. This is one I am thankful is repeated at least 45 times in the Old Testament!

• Psalm 108... God’s goodness permeates all of creation, and when we see it, we can’t keep it to ourselves. Sometimes, expressing gratitude with our words and deeds even gets us out of bed in the morning!

• Psalm 109… God’s goodness is not far away—he stands next to the needy to save them from those who condemn. So, we stand together to worship the Lord, for our gratitude is too great not to be spoken publicly!

• Psalm 111… The more we study the works of the Lord, the more we see the splendor and majesty with which they are infused. He leaves behind an enduring DNA of uprightness. Great work deserves our wholehearted gratitude, not just a “golf clap”.

A Season of Thankfulness (Part 3)

This is Day 3 in our 5 Days of Thankful Preparation. I hope you are reading these few verses along with me! I wonder how these verses are directing your heart and attitude this week? 

If you are like so many, the stress level can rise significantly with commutes lengthened, not to mention any out-of-town travel (oops, I mentioned it—Portland International Airport expects 67,000 passengers just tomorrow!), shopping, cooking, trying to create lasting memories, etc. I can either get caught up in the madness, adding my own thrashing about to the storm, or allow the oil of gratitude to calm some of the troubled waters around me for the good of others.

My hope is that this sequenced release of verses this week will tenderize our hearts with thankfulness and re-center our view of God's loving map of our life.

With each of the following passages from the Psalms, take time to read it out loud, and then after you finish reading it, ask two simple questions…

1. How does this passage reveal God’s goodness?
2. What can I learn from this passage about my gratefulness?

Psalm 92:1-4

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, 

    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 95:1-3

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 97:11-12

Light is sown for the righteous,

    and joy for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

    and give thanks to his holy name!

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 100:3-5

Know that the Lord, he is God!

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

    and his courts with praise!

    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;

    his steadfast love endures forever,

    and his faithfulness to all generations.

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 105:1-3

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

    make known his deeds among the peoples!

Sing to him, sing praises to him;

    tell of all his wondrous works!

Glory in his holy name;

    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Psalm 106:1-3

Praise the Lord!

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

    for his steadfast love endures forever!

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,

    or declare all his praise?

Blessed are they who observe justice,

    who do righteousness at all times!

His goodness?

My gratefulness?

Here are just a few of my own answers to the questions asked above:

Psalm 92… Thankful living starts the day trusting in God’s love and ends it by rehearing his faithfulness throughout my day. Noticing what God does should produce joy and gladness. My thankfulness is a good response to the steadfast goodness that God shows to me.

Psalm 95... The goodness of the Lord exceeds that of anything or anyone else we might be tempted to worship. I should have a word of thankful praise on my lips when I meet God—not because he demands it, but because (1) He delivered me, and (2) I get to meet the Lord! Wow!

Psalm 97… It is the goodness of God that lightens my soul, enabling me to rejoice instead of cowering in fear at my circumstances. It is a sign that things are right in my life when I rejoice in God and am thankful for everything about him.

Psalm 100… While I may not like being compared to a sheep, God’s goodness gives me a place to belong (we are his people!) and to celebrate the gift of his steadfast love. Because God doesn’t change, he remains faithful to all generations.

Psalm 105… Gratitude is more than saying thanks in the moment of enjoyment, it involves remembrance—a calling to mind of past expressions of his goodness—and declaring them thankfully! God is not a killjoy, but rather the source of all joy!

Psalm 106… The goodness of God’s love doesn’t end, and if we had eyes to see everything he does for us, neither would we be able to express all the praise in response. One way I can show gratitude is to live justly and do what is right for all we encounter.

[This is also posted on my Our Long View blog.]