Psalm 38
Faith in Weakness
Because of the cross of Christ, all those who have believed in the Son, will never be cursed by God (Gal 3.13). Yet there might be times in our Christian life when we stand under the Fatherly discipline of God (Hebrews 12.7-11). We want to be careful diagnosing that, but it is a reality that occurs for the beloved sons and daughters of God.
This Psalm of David records his prayer when he was under the Fatherly discipline of God. John Flavel, in his pastoral duties, noted the human tendency to not grasp God’s work of discipline in their lives. He wrote that,
“God shoots an arrow which sticks in your clothes, and was never intended to hurt, but only to drive you from sin, and you will thrust it deeper, to the piercing of your very heart, by despondency and discontent.”
In this Psalm, we do not see despondency but patient dependency. This is a prayer of faith. And we will focus our attention on that and this invitation to bring our anguish to God in faith.
A Psalm of David. A petition.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.5 My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord:
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbours stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 LORD, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, ‘Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.’17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.21 LORD, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Saviour.
The language here is vivid and striking. Here is a King whose strength has been sapped, whose vigour has been drained and whose body has been warped. We have noted before how the Psalms put into words often what we might be cautious of exposing to God. But this is his reality. And God can cope with hearing about our distress. Sometimes what true faith looks like is pain and lament. It is articulating the depths of agony we find ourselves in.
See v9, David says he has held nothing back from God. He is not trying to hide anything. This is him in all his weakness and misery. His anguish and affliction is on full show. We are aware that God knows everything about us. Yet too often we feel as though he just will not be able to cope with what we bring before him. We are too dirty or broken or ugly.
But this Psalm is a real prayer of faith. Real faith is not seen in perfection. Authentic faith is visible when we collapse upon God as our only hope. Like the bleeding woman who reached out in desperate faith just to touch the hem of Jesus’s robe seeking healing and restoration (Luke 8.43-48). Or like the blind beggar who would not be silenced and continued to cry out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18.35-43). In that cry of desperation, Jesus heard true faith. And in this Psalm, amidst the pain, we hear true faith.
Because where does the King look? What does he cling to? To whom does he address? It is the LORD and his faithfulness.
He is barely holding on.
Yet he declares that he will wait (v15). He will be patient.
He knows God is good. He knows God is in control. He knows God is faithful.
So he will wait. He will be patient.
Because God will not fail him. God will not remain silent. God will not leave him in the cruel hands of his oppressors. God will keep his promises. God will be merciful. God will act.
It is like this that Jesus on the cross cried out, “Into your hands, I commit my spirit”, trusting his Heavenly Father.
The fear of abandonment which compels the final prayer (21-22) is one we will have all felt at some point. We wonder where God is. We fear. We worry. And so here we call on him to make himself known and felt. And Jesus did promise that he would be with us always (Matthew 28.20).
Paul, in one of his final letters, wrote to Timothy commenting that everyone abandoned him when he was arrested. He was an outcast, rejected by even his close associates. Yet he knew the Lord was with him, staying by his side. He might just have prayed v21. And God heard.
Our prayers might be weak. And they might be so because we are weak. But God hears the faith in our weakness, and meets us by his Grace in his Son.
Glory be to God the Father, who hears the weakest cries of faith and answers them in grace.
Glory be to God the Son, who became weak so that we might be strong in him.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who is ever present with us, both now and forevermore.
Ever three and ever One.