A Brief Explication of the First Fifty Psalms, Psalm 38
PSAL. XXXVIII. A Psalme of David, to bring in remembrance.
In this Psalme David in trouble both of soul and body, as an example of the hardest exercises that Christs followers can fall into; First, prayeth for the mitigation of his trouble, and removall of wrath, vers. 1. And secondly, layeth out this sense of the trouble which he felt immediately from God, vers. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Thirdly, having put up his confused desires to God, for prayers, in the sense of his inability to expresse himself, vers. 9, 10. He lays out his sense of the grief and troubles which he felt from men, and endured with great patience, vers. 11, 12, 13, 14. Fourthly, he sets down the wrestling he had in prayer to God, because of his persecution by his adversaries, vers. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. And closeth the Psalme, not having gotten comfort for the time, vers. 21, 22.
FRom the Inscription; learn, that exercises of conscience, the more heavy they have been, the more should they be remembered, and the passages thereof more carefully marked; when the sense thereof is most fresh, lest they passe without the fruit which may be had of them after delivery: for thus much are we taught by the Inscription of this Psalme, wherein it is intituled: A Psalme of David, to bring to remembrance.
Ver. 1. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure:
FRom his prayer for mitigation of trouble and removall of wrath; learn, 1. It is consistent with Gods Fatherly love, and our Sonship, to taste of Fatherly wrath against our sinnes, as this place proveth. 2. Albeit it is not lawfull for us to follow our natural desires in prayer, or to seek to be free of chastisement; yet may we seek mitigation of trouble, and tempering of our cup, so as we may digest it, and we may pray for the removall of Fatherly wrath also; Rebuke me not in thy wrath, nor chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Ver. 2. For thine arrows stick fast in me: and thine hand presseth me sore.
3. There is no soundnesse in my flesh, because of thine anger: neither is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin.
4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5. My wounds stink and are corrupt, because of my foolishnesse.
6. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly: I go mourning all the day long.
7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundnesse in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and sore broken, I have roared by reason of the disquietnesse of my heart.
He giveth the reason of his prayer from his pitiful case both in soul and body. Whence learn, 1. When it pleaseth the Lord to make his children sensible of their sinnes, and of his dreadfull justice; he can make the tokens of his displeasure against sinne piercing sharp, and pressing heavy: Thy arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. 2. Although the Lord should set us as a marke to shoot at, and lay the heaviest load of judgements on us for our sinnes; yet we must not seek the ease thereof, nor can we have ease from them, save by coming to God himself, to bemoan our misery, as this example teacheth us. 3. As the sense of trouble on our body, or any way else will waken the conscience of sinne; so the conscience of sinne, and feeling of wrath due for our sin, will make no small alteration on our very bodies: There is no soundnesse in my flesh, because of thine anger, nor rest in my bones because of my sinne. One sinne will waken the memory of moe sinnes, till they present themselves as an innumerable army; My iniquities are gone over my head. 5. How light soever sin may seem when it is committed, it will be found insupportably heavy, when God pursues for it: As an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 6. When the Lord doth smite the conscience for sin, the rod will not fail to make a wound, which shall have need of the cure of the Physician, according to the bruise made by his hand, or deep peircing of his arrowes; for after arrowes and pressing hand, he mentions wounds more then one. 7. When a wounded spirit is not timeously by a right cure bound up and healed, the wounds do grow the longer the worse; the longer, the more guiltinesse, filthinesse and perplexity of spirit doth grow: My wounds do stink and are corrupt. 8. As through our inconsideration of our duty, and danger of sinning we fal actually in sin, and do draw upon our selves wrath: So by our inconsideration of the right remedie, we augment that measure of both: My wounds stink and are corrupt, because of my foolishnesse. 9. So long as the conscience of sin and sense of wrath kept on therby do last, the mans wit and his courage, and his countenance and his joy are smitten, both before God and men: I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I go mourning all the day long. 10. To add to the pace, and to make the sense of sin more bitter, the Lord can lay his hand on the body, and make the loathsomness of the sickness resemble the loathsomness of the sin which drew it on, and to speak unto the conscience in its own language, the cause why it is sent unto him: For my loines are filled with a loathsome disease; and there is no soundness in my flesh. 11. A wounded spirit wil dash and beat down the stoutest heart it can meet with, I am feeble and sore broken. 12. If the Lord pursue a mans conscience for sin, and intimate his displeasure against him, and continue this exercise for any time; it wil pass the mans power to hide or smother his grief, or hold in the expressions thereof: I have roared b… reason of the disquietness of my heart.
Ver. 9. Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
10. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me; as for the light of mine eies, it also is gone from me.
In the third place, that he may bring forth the trouble which he suffered from men, and his patience towards them, he presenteth his heart to God, as it was ful of confused desires, in stead of explicite prayers, being now unable to express himself more largely▪ Whence learn, 1. As sin causeth wrath, and wrath sore … and sorrow; so these evils looked upon, should waken desires to have them removed, and send us to seek the true remedie … in God, as here doth the Psalmist. 2. As desires and … if they be presented to God, have their own speech, which we cannot express in time of our confusions; so should we … of them, not as of vanishing expressions of nature, but as prayers stirred up by God, and standing before him til they receive their answer; Lord, all my desire is before thee. 3. It is not wrestling with trouble within our selves, nor venting our grief as natural men, which can give us ease, but pouring out one heart before the Lord which must do it: All my desire is before thee. 4. The strength of faith in the godly is not so great, as to swallow up all infirmities; but so great as to wrestle with them, and confess them to God, who useth to supply his own with his strength & wise direction, when their own strength is evacuate, and the man is before God humbled: For here even Davids heart panteth and his strength faileth him, and the light of his eyes is gone from him; not so much in regard of the bodies decay, as in his spiritual condition, expressed in bodily terms; and thus much for the troubles, which he felt immediately from Gods hand.
Ver. 11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore: and my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 They also that seek after my life, lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt, speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
From the troubles which he felt from men; Learn, 1. A wounded spirit is a disease which the natural man hath no skil of, nor wil to meddle with; but flieth from it, as from a plague or pest; My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore. 2. In time of sad affliction and narrow trial of our faith, natural bonds between us and our kinsfolk, wil shrink and fail us, so as we shal have little comfort in the earth; My kinsman stand afar off. 3. In time of sad exercises and hard trials, as friends may fail, so enemies may make head; and by craft and cruelty, by slanders and cunning policy, open enmity and secret plotting may conspire against a mans fame, good cause and life, They also that seek after my life, lay snares for me; and they that seek my hurt, speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. 4. The more emptied, afflicted, disconsolate, forsaken of friends, pursued by foes a man be; if he go to God for reconciliation and relief, he hath ground of hope to be helped, and to have God engaged to him so much the more; for here David maketh this use of all his troubles, he layeth all out before God. 5. It is possible, yea and oft-times cometh to passe, that the godly have so many lies made of them, calumnies and slanders devised and vented against them by so many mouths, that they are not able to follow them, or to answer and refute them, but are forced to misken them, and in patience hold themselves quiet till God make matters clear for them: But I as a deafe man heard not, and as a dumb man opened not my mouth. 6. When the godly overloaden with multitude of calumnies, and the multitude of enemies backing them, do sit down in patient silence, nor seeing to what purpose they speak: They are taken readily as guilty, or as such who cannot refute the thing which is alledged of them, or maintain the truth which they profess, and this is an addition unto all the rest of their trouble; As David importeth, saying: Thus was I as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
Ver. 15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoyce over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnifie themselves against me.
17. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I wil declare mine iniquity; I wil be sorry for my sin.
19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully, are multiplied.
20 They also that render evil for good, are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
In the fourth place he setteth down his wrestling against his persecuters, seeking to destroy both him and his righteous cause, Hence learne, 1. It is a sore and high degree of the trial of the godly, when at one time God pursueth for sin, and friends withdraw from them in the duties of humanity, and persecuters are likely to destroy their lives, and withal do suppress Religion in their person by this means; and yet this hath been the case of many of Gods children, and may be also, as this example teacheth us; yea, also our Lord Jesus, his condition was like this, when he suffered for our sins. 2. Sore trials cannot be born without holding fast the gripe of the Covenant of Grace; for this fixeth faith, and strengthens hope, and furnisheth patience in greatest troubles; for David rendereth this reason, for his bearing patiently his foresaid hard condition: In thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou wilt hear, O Lord, my God. 3. If the Covenant be holden fast, wherby we may warrantably cal God our God; we may be as it were, surety to our self for a good answer from God; Thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God. 4. When the enemies of the godly in their righteous cause, are ready to triumph over the godly and their cause, and the godly are like to be discouraged, if the Lord help not; then the godly may be sure the Lord wil hear and help: For David giveth this for a reason of his perswasion, that God would hear him, ver. 15. because the enemies otherwayes would triumph, and he be made to halt, and turn off the way, vers. 16, 17. for in this the Lords glory is interested. 5. When the outward prosperous condition of the godly is changed, and their feet slip, and the hand of the Lord lieth on sore without relaxation, even they of strong faith are ready to be discouraged and faint; so weak are we in faith when a hard trial cometh: For, When the enemy magnified himself against David; When his feet slipped, when his sorrow was continually before him; He confesseth he was ready to halt; To warn the godly, that they might guard against this tentation. 6 To keep our selves from fretting under trouble, it is expedient that we compare our sins with Gods fatherly chastisements of us, and that we take course for remission of our sin, and turn… the sorrow raised by affliction into godly sorrow for sin; for this David resolved in his distress, I will declare mine iniquity, I wil be sorry for my sin. 7. The Lord so disposeth of the outward condition of the godly and the wicked in this life, that the godly oft-times have the mourning part, and the wicked the rejoycing part, and that so much the more as they see the head of the godly is born down: I wil be sorry for my sin, but mine enemies are lively and strong. 8. As it is a matter of grief to see the affliction of the godly growing, and the enemies growing in joy, and strength, and number; so it is a matter of comfort, that the enemies of the godly are enemies without a just cause given to them: They that hate me wrongfully, are multiplied. 9. We must not leave off the doing of what God requireth at our hands, albeit we should have the hatred of the world; for David followed that which was good, albeit his adversaries for that very cause did render to him evil for good.
Ver. 21. Forsake me not, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me.
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
He closeth the Psalm with prayer, laying all his weight on the Covenant, not having gotten comfort for the time. Whence learn, 1. We must not limit the Lord to give us comfort and deliverance, when we think we have greatest need of it, but must leave our prayer at his feet, as the Prophet doth. 2. The believer must be so warie to lean unto sense, that he must hold the gripes of faith not only when he misseth sense of comfort, but also when Gods dispensation toward him, and his sense therof doth seem to speak most contrary to faith: Forsake me not, O Lord; be not far from me: Make haste to help me, saith Davids Faith, when his sense speaketh what his prayer here importeth, that is, present perdition. 3. The bond of the Covenant of Grace is able to bear the weight of the believers most heavy burden, and by vertue of it, he may lay claim unto God, as his own God, and lay claim also unto salvation in him; for notwithstanding of all the troubles and tentations laid forth in this Psalm, the Believer sustaineth all on this ground; O my God, O Lord my salvation; And here is the victory of Faith.