Psalm 38 — The pain of guilt and shame

A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath:
Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 For thine arrows stick fast in me,
And thy hand presseth me sore.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation;
Neither is there any health 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 foolishness.
6 I am pained and bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are filled with burning;
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am faint and sore bruised:
I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee;
And my groaning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart throbbeth, my strength faileth me:
As for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
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, hear not;
And I am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Yea, I am as a man that heareth not,
And in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope:
Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, Lest they rejoice over me:
When my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
17 For I am ready to halt,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquity;
I will be sorry for my sin.
19 But mine enemies are lively, and are strong:
And they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
20 They also that render evil for good
Are adversaries unto me, because I follow the thing that is good.
21 Forsake me not, O LORD:
O my God, be not far from me.
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord my salvation.

What a powerful expression of the pains and difficulties of guilt & sin. David's words aren't too extreme, though. I myself know the ugly shame of guilt - the way it plagues your heart so much you feel it in your body. The heading for this psalm is "to bring to remembrance": I imagine so that we will never step away from God's good path again.

We don't want to leave his good instruction because of the pain of guilt, but also because of the difficulties we find from our enemies. They pounce on our mistakes and greedily snatch at our problems. They love to kick us when we're down.

When faced with these internal and external pains, what should we do? We should reach out to God in trust! This is the opening and closing of the psalm: God, in whom we trust, can deliver us and forgive us. 

Praise God for his deliverance and keep him in remembrance!