Prayer in Conviction and Correction

Psalms 38:1-22
A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.

6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.

10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.

12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.

15 For in You, O LORD, I hope;
You will hear, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, "Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me."
17 For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.

18 For I will declare my iniquity;
I will be in anguish over my sin.

19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

21 Do not forsake me, O LORD;
O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

David prayed in earnest as he poured out his heart in this song.  This prayer is one of conviction and correction; conviction of his sin, and the correction of the LORD yearned for to be taken to heart.  The king did not want to be rebuked or disciplined in God’s great anger or hot displeasure which his sin deserved, for his sin had caused him enough suffering already.  The pain in his soul was as if God held him down and shot him through with arrows.  That is a picture of great pain and pressing judgment which he could not move out from under!  Because of God’s just anger over his sin, he did not feel whole anymore, and because of his sin he felt sick.  He felt in over his head, buried in sin, and burdened beyond measure by the consequences.  He was festering in his own foolishness, deeply troubled and mourning because he had so offended God.  He was a broken man in intense turmoil, but had his desire set before and on the LORD.  The psalmist felt his heart racing and was weary beyond measure, the spark having left his eyes and even rejected by his loved ones.  He was in great despair and suffering over his sin.  Meanwhile, his enemies still pursued him with deceit and traps and deception.  He was assaulted on all sides and despondent due to the conviction of his own sin against God.  In the face of the enemy, David acted as if deaf and mute to not give in to nor respond to their attacks.  Why?  Because he trusted in God to hear his cries for help as he confessed his sin.  He hoped in the LORD for mercy, forgiveness, and deliverance.  He prayed to be saved from his enemies because the LORD was his Rock of deliverance (2 Samuel 22:47, Psalm 18:46) to be exalted in praise and with thanksgiving.  He therefore openly confessed his sin (Psalm 32:5) with anguish of soul )2 Corinthians 7:9-10).  He did not stop Praying to be delivered from his enemies, asking for deliverance because he pursued doing what was good as they gave evil for that good in response (Psalm 35:12).  We must do likewise when falsely accused, following the example of Jesus who did not open His mouth to fight back as he was verbally assaulted (Isaiah 53:7).  He did not render evil for evil (1 Thessalonians 5:15, 1 Peter 3:9) as the psalmist gave the example here, and neither should we.  We instead cry out for the Lord to help, protect, and deliver us, for He Himself is our salvation, our deliverance - both in the difficult times and for eternal life.  He did not just save us from eternal and just wrath we are due to deliver us from judgment, but He also delivers us day by day from our adversaries (2 Corinthians 1:10, Galatians 1:4, 2 Timothy 4:18).  Remember 2 Timothy 3:16-17, how His word corrects us with godly discipline to make us like Christ in holiness and righteousness, that we may do the works given for us to accomplish from before we were born (Ephesians 2:10).  Let us then welcome His discipline and correction as we are convicted of our sins.