Psalms

Psalms 38: Mercy beneath the weight of sin

Begin in prayer

Before we hear David's groaning under the weight of sin, let us come honestly before God. Let us seek mercy through Jesus, bringing God the weakness and guilt we cannot hide.

Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good: so we offer our lips like bulls.

Hosea 14:2

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word, and help us to see Christ. Show us that the LORD knows His people's guilt and grief, and they may cry to Him for mercy and help. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

David asks the LORD to spare him rebuke in wrath because God's pressing hand and his own sin have brought him low. Guilt feels like a burden over his head, and his pain, weakness and groaning leave no part of life untouched. He knows that every desire and groan is before God, even as friends stand far away and enemies lay traps. He gives no reply to their accusations because his hope rests in the LORD who will answer. While admitting his iniquity and sorrow for sin, he also names the injustice of enemies who repay good with evil. The prayer ends asking God to remain near and hurry to help as his salvation.

As you read Psalms 38, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD knows His servant's guilt and grief, and remains the salvation to whom he cries.

David names both God's indignation and his own sin as causes of his distress, so his plea asks for mercy under that heavy hand. The arrows and burden picture judgment and guilt he cannot bear, while his bodily anguish gives words to the reach of his grief. He traces this trouble to his own foolishness, without naming a particular offence or claiming that every sufferer's pain has the same cause. God's knowledge of every desire and groan becomes precious when friends and relatives keep their distance. The silence before accusing enemies rests on hope that the Lord will answer, leaving his defence in God's hands. Confessing guilt before God does not make the enemies' malice just, since they hate him without reason and repay good with evil. He therefore declares his iniquity while asking that they never gloat over his fall. His last cry asks the Lord he calls his salvation to remain near and hurry to help him.

How does Psalm 38 show us that the LORD knows His servant's guilt and grief, and remains the salvation to whom he cries?

The LORD knows the guilt His servant cannot carry.

David describes his iniquities as a burden too heavy for him. He asks for mercy beneath God's correcting hand and admits that his own folly has brought distress. His groaning and desires remain known to the Lord.

The LORD is the hope of the lonely sufferer.

Friends stand at a distance while enemies prepare traps and speak deceit. David answers no accusation because he hopes in the Lord's answer. He confesses his sin and still asks protection from those who repay good with evil.

The LORD is the salvation to whom David cries.

The closing requests ask God to remain near and hurry to help. Even while he feels close to falling, he calls God his salvation. The psalm closes with this urgent plea, without reporting that his pain or danger has ended.

Memorise

For in you, Yahweh, do I hope. You will answer, Lord my God.

Psalm 38:15

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what guilt and grief do I need to bring honestly to Jesus?

David confesses, “they are too heavy for me.” His own iniquities are the burden, and the prayer brings both guilt and grief before the Lord. It ends by calling Him his salvation and asking Him to hurry.

Our sin is also a burden we cannot remove. Jesus was without sin, yet He bore His people's punishment and died in their place. He rose from the dead. He has fully secured their forgiveness and acceptance, giving His people peace before God beyond the failures they confess. The guilt they could never carry has been answered by His saving work.

Turn from sin and trust Jesus. He grants pardon to all who come to Him. Bring Him the wrong you have done and the pain you struggle to explain. His people may still be waiting for relief, and they can cry to the Savior who knows their groaning and will never abandon them.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD knows His people's guilt and grief, and they may cry to Him for mercy and help. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He knows every groan and hears His people asking for mercy. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Behold, the time is coming, yes, and has now come, that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

John 16:32

Merciful Lord, our sins are a burden we cannot remove. Please bring us to trust Jesus, whose completed sacrifice is enough for pardon. Hear those who are suffering and feel alone. Keep us honest about our own wrongs and patient under false accusations. Please remain near and help Your people through this week. Amen.