Psalm 41 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹Blessed is he who considers the poor;

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.

⁴I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;

Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies speak evil of me:

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;

His heart gathers iniquity to itself;

When he goes out, he tells it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me;

Against me they devise my hurt.

⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.

And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

⁹Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,

That I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me,

Because my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,

And set me before Your face forever.

¹³Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

Commentary

Vs. 1-3 ¹Blessed is he who considers the poor;

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.

Psalm 41 opens with some great truths that will affect the quality, and very likely the length of one’s life. For in its first three verses, we get some very clear instruction that will put one on the pathway to a long and prosperous life if one heeds it. To begin then God’s blessing is upon all who consider the poor, (i.e., the helpless, the powerless, NKJ margin). For throughout the Holy Scripture, Old Testament and New there are so many passages that call us to defend the poor, to strengthen the needy, to be a father to the fatherless, and a defender of the widow and helpless etc. so that to know and do them is to know and do the will of God. Therefore, there is no Christian who can know these things and justify they’re not doing them as they are able, or opportunity presents itself (Gal. 2:10). Therefore, do not turn a blind eye to the poor in their time of need (Luke 16:19-31), for to do so is only asking God to turn a blind eye to you in yours. Consider these verses then as a keyway to living an abundant life. For again God’s blessing is upon all who consider the poor, and not just His material blessing, but one’s own body and soul will be blessed by Him, and who can put a value on one's health and emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Thus, in providing for the poor in their time of need, God will provide for yours.

“The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” The Lord’s promise of being delivered from trouble then comes to all those who consider the poor, who deliver them in theirs.

“The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.”

Even in times of famine and drought, (when the Lord visits His judgment on the earth), or during a depressed economic state, the Lord will be watching over you to preserve you and keep you alive, and you will be blessed on the earth when others are not. And when your enemies rise against you, the Lord will not hand you over to their will, whether individuals or nations.

“The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.”

Therefore, in caring for others the Lord Himself will also care for you, He will strengthen you on your bed of illness, and He will sustain you when you are sick!

Vs. 4 I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;

Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

Even though one has considered the poor, has been merciful and compassionate towards others, this does not put us beyond needing God’s mercies ourselves. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us all to seek the Lord and ask Him to be merciful towards us when we have sinned against Him. For this is what a Godly and righteous person does, they acknowledge and confesses their sins and transgressions to the Lord. Denying this then is only to be living and practicing a lie (1 John 1:8-10; Rev. 22:15). Thus, it's not zealous religious service that makes one right in the sight of God, its genuine faith!

Vs. 5-6 My enemies speak evil of me:

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;

His heart gathers iniquity to itself;

When he goes out, he tells it.

Far worse than being afflicted by God for one’s sins and transgressions is when one is afflicted by man. When one has to endure their open and indifferent cruelty on the one hand and their secret hypocrisy and backbiting on the next. And this is what was taking place in Davids's life then. And so instead of receiving solace or comfort all he heard was his enemies speaking openly of his demise, of their whispering, and wanting him to die and his name perish. Yet worse still, was the feigned friendship and concern that some were showing him in his time of need. Who were sending one of their own to come and visit him to see how he was "doing," but not out of concern for him, but only to see and hear of his miseries for themselves. Their words then to him were like daggers and knives in his wounded and broken heart, for he already knew their heart towards him, and yet he still had to endure them, be affable towards them, while they were only playing the evil hypocrite towards him. And so, it is here in his time of prayer with the Lord, that he can lay all of this bare before Him. 

Vs. 7-8 “All who hate me whisper together against me;

Against me they devise my hurt.

⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.

And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

And while he was on his sickbed all who hated him began whispering amongst themselves plotting his hurt. Some even had already writing him off saying an evil disease clings to him, and now that he lies down, he will rise no more. For them his death was certain, nothing more for them to do but wait on it.

Vs. 9 “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me.”

This is the worst, David’s friend and companion (here unnamed), a person whom he trusted in, who shared with him at his table, (all the joys and laughter of intimate friendship), and thus was one of his close associates, had now is his vulnerable state lifted his heal against him to betray him. Now it is to be noted that the Lord Jesus Christ cites this verse in reference to Judas Iscariot betraying him, however He notably leaves out the part of being a friend whom He trusted, for the Lord Jesus never trusted him, though He chose him, for Jesus knew Judas would betray Him (John 6:64, 70-71; 13:18).

Vs. 11-12 ¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me,

Because my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,

And set me before Your face forever.

Just when it seemed all hope is lost, David recalls that even though such things were occurring to him, yet the Lord was not allowing his enemy to triumph over him. Indeed, the Lord knowing David's integrity was upholding him, For the Lord knows our heart. Therefore, by this we also know that the Lord is pleased with us, because does not allow our enemies to triumph over us. 

Vs. 13 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”

David closes this Psalm then on a high note, on blessing and praising the Lord God of Israel, who is from everlasting to everlasting amen. For He endures forever, our enemies do not!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson. 

Psalm 40 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹I waited patiently for the Lord;

And He inclined to me,

And heard my cry.

²He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock,

And established my steps.

³He has put a new song in my mouth—

Praise to our God;

Many will see it and fear,

And will trust in the Lord.

⁴Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,

And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

⁵Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works

Which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

They are more than can be numbered.

⁶Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;

My ears You have opened.

Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.

⁷Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

⁸I delight to do Your will, O my God,

And Your law is within my heart.”

⁹I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness

In the great assembly;

Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.

¹⁰I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;

I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;

I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth

From the great assembly.

¹¹Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;

Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.

¹²For innumerable evils have surrounded me;

My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;

They are more than the hairs of my head;

Therefore my heart fails me.

¹³Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;

O Lord, make haste to help me!

¹⁴Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion

Who seek to destroy my life;

Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor

Who wish me evil.

¹⁵Let them be confounded because of their shame,

Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

¹⁶Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”

¹⁷But I am poor and needy;

Yet the Lord thinks upon me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Do not delay, O my God.

Commentary

Vs. 1-3 ¹I waited patiently for the Lord;

And He inclined to me,

And heard my cry.

²He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock,

And established my steps.

³He has put a new song in my mouth—

Praise to our God;

Many will see it and fear,

And will trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40 opens with a declaration of answered prayer, of one’s patient resolve being rewarded, of the faithful child of God who has put their trust in the Lord now being delivered and being established, established by God’s Hand. And so, such is our delight in His excellent works towards us, that He has done this for us, but He has also given us a new song to sing, a song of praise to Him coming from deep within us for Him. Therefore, not only does His deliverance bear an undeniable witness to those who observe us, but we ourselves also bear witness to the same, through our worship of Him. Therefore, many people will see this and fear, fear the Lord who only could’ve accomplished this, our salvation which is self-evident then will bring others to also trust in the Lord.

Vs. 4 “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,

And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.”

Truly then blessed is everyone who makes the Lord their trust, who puts their faith in Him, who does not respect the proud who think they need nothing from Him, nor those who turn aside to lies, that is those who instead turn to all manner of falsehoods and lies, religious or otherwise that will not bring them, nor anyone else God’s grace and salvation.

Vs. 5 “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works

Which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

They are more than can be numbered.”

Reflecting upon the Lord our God and all His wonderful works towards us fills us with gratitude, with awed thanksgiving. For all His thoughts towards us are always His seeking to extend His grace and truth to us. Such then are His marvelous Works towards us that they cannot all be declared and recalled, for they simply cannot be numbered! Therefore, remember this when things go south or sour, for every sour and bitter thing that comes in our lives there is always countless good things that He has done and is doing and is always working out for us.

Vs. 6-8 ⁶Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;

My ears You have opened.

Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.

⁷Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

⁸I delight to do Your will, O my God,

And Your law is within my heart.”

The Psalm now moves into the Messianic realm, here clearly foretelling of Christ’s coming (see Heb. 10:5-9), which He did but not as a mere priest, but as God's Son come to fulfill God’s Word and Will for the Redemption of believing humanity from sin and death, because His delight is and will always be to do the Father's will, upholding every dot and tittle of the Law, while bringing forth in a perfect union grace and truth. 

Vs. 9-10 ⁹I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness

In the great assembly;

Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.

¹⁰I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;

I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;

I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth

From the great assembly.

David when he wrote these verses under Divine Inspiration and by Divine Guidance, he did not yet know the Gospel. Yet he himself had a longing heart for it, wanting to both hear and proclaim it. And so, he proclaimed the revelation he had, the good news of righteousness in the great assembly to all his brethren, declaring then God's faithfulness and God's salvation, His lovingkindness and His truth to one and to all!  For true passion for the Lord can never remain silent. That said, the Lord Jesus Christ’s Divine Purpose as it is being revealed here through David was then to be the One to first declare the Gospel; first to Israel, then to all the world; before He Himself fulfilled it by His death on the Cross then Resurrection from the dead. And so here this is being related to us as the good news of God’s righteousness, which is now imputed to everyone who believes in Him. No longer then must anyone try to stand before Him based on their own works or merits, (which can never be enough, nor could anyone ever be good enough to stand justified before God). Therefore, everyone and anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall have remission of all their sins and everlasting life (John 3:16), because it is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Righteousness alone that makes us righteous in the sight of God (Rom. 5:1). Therefore, only in the Lord Jesus Christ is found all of God’s lovingkindness and truth, which connects us to all of His faithfulness and thus to His eternal salvation, which saves everyone and anyone who believes in Him (Acts 4:12). This Testimony then of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what He has done, and what He will do, belongs then not just to Him to declare, but to us all, to freely share and declare with one and with all what He has done for us all!

Vs. 11 “Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;

Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.”

This appeal then in many ways transcends David’s own appeal for mercy but belongs to every repentant individual who also is seeking God's mercies and salvation. 

Vs. 12-13 ¹²For innumerable evils have surrounded me;

My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;

They are more than the hairs of my head;

Therefore my heart fails me.

¹³Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;

O Lord, make haste to help me!

In David’s own troubles we can also see our own. For no child of God is promised a life free of sin and failure (1 John 1:6-10), of never again needing to come to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:14-16). And here David is most graphic about his need and his person, and his souls tormented state. Therefore, he does not turn away from the Lord when troubles or torments or calamity befalls him. Instead, he once again returns to Him, laying it all out before Him. For that is the measure and depth of a man's faith, not during his prosperity and ease, but when things go south and when he himself must face what he himself has done. And in this David's heart remains tender and humble towards the Lord. 

Vs. 14-15 ¹⁴Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion

Who seek to destroy my life;

Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor

Who wish me evil.

¹⁵Let them be confounded because of their shame,

Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

David’s appeal here then is that the Lord now look upon those who were looking upon him, but not for his good. Who like opportune snakes lay hiding in the brushes waiting to leap out and strike their prey. For he was being surrounded by evil people who were now seeking to destroy his life, just as he was well aware that there were now many people who were wishing him evil, who were taking great delight in his fall, who even though they had their own sins and transgressions were only watching him and saying, Aha, aha! As if finding fault with him removed their own. 

Vs. 16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

Let such as love Your salvation say continually, 

David then by His faith in the Lord transcends them all; for he now moves past them all who have rejected the Lord to looking out for and looking forwards to rejoicing once again in the great assembly of believers drawn from every generation. Therefore, he now asks the Lord to let all those who seek Him rejoice and be glad in Him, that everyone who loves His salvation which he has sought to proclaim say, "The Lord be magnified!”

Vs. 17 “But I am poor and needy;

Yet the Lord thinks upon me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Do not delay, O my God.”

Now in closing David once again declares his own need for the Lord, identifying himself as poor and needy, just as every humble person does, who sees themselves as they really are. For it is in that state of honest humility that the Lord looks most favorable upon us (Luke 18:9-14). Therefore, when we do, He is our help and our deliverer, for he is who is more than willing and able to save anyone from eternal damnation when one turns to Him, for “anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ^{Rom. 10:13.}

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson. 

Psalm 39 To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will guard my ways,

Lest I sin with my tongue;

I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,

While the wicked are before me.”

²I was mute with silence,

I held my peace even from good;

And my sorrow was stirred up.

³My heart was hot within me;

While I was musing, the fire burned.

Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, make me to know my end,

And what is the measure of my days,

That I may know how frail I am.

⁵Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my age is as nothing before You;

Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah

⁶Surely every man walks about like a shadow;

Surely they busy themselves in vain;

He heaps up riches,

And does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in You.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions;

Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

⁹I was mute, I did not open my mouth,

Because it was You who did it.

¹⁰Remove Your plague from me;

I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.

¹¹When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,

You make his beauty melt away like a moth;

Surely every man is vapor. Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

And give ear to my cry;

Do not be silent at my tears;

For I am a stranger with You,

A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

¹³Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,

Before I go away and am no more.”

Commentary

Vs. 1-3 ¹I said, “I will guard my ways,

Lest I sin with my tongue;

I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,

While the wicked are before me.”

²I was mute with silence,

I held my peace even from good;

And my sorrow was stirred up.

³My heart was hot within me;

While I was musing, the fire burned.

Then I spoke with my tongue:

David opens this Psalm with a declaration of determined restraint and of inner resolve to not let his circumstances dictate his reactions and faith. Therefore, David once again puts his frustrations to pen, but not just to vent, but also to instruct. For its easy thing during such times to give into temptation, to just vent all of one's feelings and let unbecoming words and speech be unleashed out of one’s mouth, for the blameless Job eventually did that, and it didn't profit him. Therefore, David determined within himself to put a muzzle on his mouth, while the wicked were before him, and he himself was once again under chastening hand of God. However, as he held his peace, and as he pondered his own plight, his heart was stirred with all manner of emotions within him, sadness of the one hand, frustration and anger on the other, and so it all came to boiling point, therefore when he could no longer keep silent, he spoke with his tongue and said…  

Vs. 4-6 ⁴“Lord, make me to know my end,

And what is the measure of my days,

That I may know how frail I am.

⁵Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my age is as nothing before You;

Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah

⁶Surely every man walks about like a shadow;

Surely they busy themselves in vain;

He heaps up riches,

And does not know who will gather them.

It is then Davids inner reflection that causes him to think before speaking, to consider his (and every mans) temporal state and being. What then is the measure of a man? What then is the meaning of his days? If all of his strength, beauty, riches, and whatever else he acquires in this life and busies himself with is only being stored up for the grave, stored up for those who will acquire it and use it all at their own pleasure and leisure after he is gone. Life then lived devoid of the Lord is never really lived, nor can it be enjoyed forever. 

Vs. 7-8 ⁷“And now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in You.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions;

Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

Knowing this life’s meaningless can be a turning point, it can lead one to the Lord. And it is there that David finds his purpose, renewal, and strength. For it is the Lord that he waits for, that we ourselves wait for, for we who believe in Him have also set our desires upon Him. For as his hope is in Him, so is ours. Hope then of everlasting life, hope then of a resurrection of the dead, of both the just and the unjust, hope then of an eternal and everlastingly just and peaceful and glorious future and home in heaven with the Lord where sin will not be, and the foolish will reproach no more!

Vs. 9 “I was mute, I did not open my mouth,

Because it was You who did it.”

David now acknowledges that his silence was born out of his reverence for the Lord, out of a healthy fear of Him, because He was chastening him, thus he didn't give himself over to ways and the words of the foolish who will not receive correction from God but will only rebel against Him. 

Vs. 10-11 ¹⁰Remove Your plague from me;

I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.

¹¹When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,

You make his beauty melt away like a moth;

Surely every man is vapor. Selah

Therefore, David asks the Lord to remove his plague from him, acknowledging that he has been brought low by Him, that He has done this to correct for him for his iniquity. For David is not being singled out, or being mistreated, or wronged, nor does he see himself as being so, for the Lord deals justly with all. Therefore, David acknowledges that it is the Lord who sustains him or brings him low (consider 1 Sam. 2:6-8, "For by strength no man shall prevail" 1 Sam. 2:9). Any man who then thinks that he is self-made or self-sustained is a total fool, for just as the Lord makes his beauty melt away like a moth, so too his life is but for a moment, like a vapor that briefly appears, it too then vanishes away. Confidence in oneself, to save or deliver oneself, then is the ultimate folly! 

Vs. 12-13 ¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

And give ear to my cry;

Do not be silent at my tears;

For I am a stranger with You,

A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

¹³Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,

Before I go away and am no more.”

David concludes his prayer with a heartfelt plea from a broken place, not an angry, arrogant, or prideful place, but a true place, a place of humility where he knows the Lord will look upon Him, where He will see his tears and remember that David, like every child of God, is also a stranger with Him, a sojourner in this world like all of our forefathers in the faith were (consider Heb. 11). In closing then David asks that the Lord remove His gaze from him so that he may regain his strength before he goes away and is no more.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson. 

Psalm 38 A Psalm of David. To Bring to Remembrance.

 ¹O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

²For Your arrows pierce me deeply,

And Your hand presses me down.

³There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger,

Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;

Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds are foul and festering

Because of my foolishness.

⁶I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;

I go mourning all the day long.

⁷For my loins are full of inflammation,

And there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am feeble and severely broken;

I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before You;

And my sighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart pants, my strength fails me;

As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

¹¹My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,

And my relatives stand afar off.

¹²Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;

Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,

And plan deception all the day long.

¹³But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴Thus I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth is no response.

¹⁵For in You, O Lord, I hope;

You will hear, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,

Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall,

And my sorrow is continually before me.

¹⁸For I will declare my iniquity;

I will be in anguish over my sin.

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;

And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

²⁰Those also who render evil for good,

They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, be not far from me!

²²Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

Preamble: Psalm 38 is so passionately and intimately written that it deserves everyone’s consideration and contemplation, whether a brand-new creation in Christ, or someone who has walked and lived many years with the Lord Jesus. At its core is an honest plea for God’s mercy, coming from a broken man who knows the depths of his own sin, and because of it is now in great despair. Therefore, it is not pretentious, nor self-justifying, but it is truthful, needful, helpful, because it reveals a man who does not turn away from God when he has failed Him, rather He turns to Him, and lays it all out before Him. How one then views this Psalm, and those who lean on it, will say a lot about them.

Commentary

Vs 1 “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!”

Is this not every remorseful sinner’s fear, that the Lord will unleash His just wrath upon them for what they have done. For when He judges who can stand? The plea prayed here then is not done as a trivial thing, for anyone who knows the Lord, knows that if He judges in wrath (which is different than anger) we would be consumed, and that His chastisement if done unchecked would leave one utterly ruined.

Vs. 2-3 ²For Your arrows pierce me deeply,

And Your hand presses me down.

³There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger,

Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin.

David now speaks of his plight, which does not come from others (at least not the origins of it) but from his own sin, which must have been very severe given the metaphors he uses to describe the Lord’s chastening him. Saying the Lord’s arrows now pierce him deeply, clearly indicating that this is no light chastisement that he is now enduring. And so, the seriousness of his sin he is now fully aware of. Indeed, the Lord has even raised His own hand against him, and He now presses him down so that he cannot rise. In other words, he cannot then simply walk away from what He has done, he must now face it all, all that it has done to others, and all that it is now doing to him! And with all of this pressing down on him, David’s flesh has lost its soundness, because the Lord is angry with him for what he has done. For the Lord can love us, and He can also be angry with us, just ask any sound parent, for these are not mutally exclusive from each other. Therefore, David’s health and vitality has departed from him because of his sin. Therefore, in acknowledging all these things David is taking ownership of his plight and circumstances, for he knows that this is his rightful due before the Lord.

Vs. 4-8 ⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;

Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds are foul and festering

Because of my foolishness.

⁶I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;

I go mourning all the day long.

⁷For my loins are full of inflammation,

And there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am feeble and severely broken;

I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

David now acknowledges to the Lord that the iniquities he let pile up in his life have now gone over his head, and like a heavy burden he can no longer bear them, neither bear the consequences, much less the shame and guilt of them all. For sin always has that way with us when we look the other way and say, some other day I’ll deal with this. And so now he has wounds that are foul and festering, because as he admits, this happened because of his own foolishness; of his either willfully engaging in them, or not taking the consequences of them serious from the start. And so now he is troubled and bowed down greatly, his loins are full of inflammation, and his once healthy body has thus become feeble and severely broken, even his heart has lost its joy, for his once cheerful countenance and laughter have now been turned into mourning and despair, turmoil then is what now fills his heart. Morally and emotionally conflicted, physically broken and afflicted, this is all so very sad because David is a man after God’s heart. For David was never defiant and rebellious, he was not a man who mocked the way of righteousness; indeed, he sought it, and stood up for it. But as it so often happens, when men rise to power, they soon forget that it's not they themselves who has established them, but the Lord, and when a man forgets that he becomes susceptible to engage in all kinds of lusts and temptations and foolishness (consider Prov. 5; 14:13). For when a man leads himself, he is always misled.

Vs. 9-11 ⁹Lord, all my desire is before You;

And my sighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart pants, my strength fails me;

As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

¹¹My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,

And my relatives stand afar off.

In the midst of his despair David again turns his face to the Lord, who knows all his desire, (as He knows ours) He knows his heart. And David also knows that the Lord knows his sighing, it is not hidden from Him. Thus, David is now leaning on the Lord's tender mercies and compassions to heal and restore him. For David’s once sound (i.e., peaceful) heart now pants (i.e., pounds, racing inside him). And as for his strength; which he so often relied upon to lift himself up out of trouble; it now fails him. Even the light of his eyes which once sparkled with life is now gone. As for his loved ones, friends, and relatives they all see what is happening to him, and yet instead of comforting or consoling him, they all just stand afar off, for they don’t want to get involved with him when he is plagued like this. No one then is going to come to his aid or help, for they have all effectively written him off!

Vs. 12-14 ¹²Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;

Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,

And plan deception all the day long.

¹³But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴Thus I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth is no response.

Worse yet, while he is in this weakened state, David’s enemies now feel utterly emboldened, and so they begin to lay snares to take away his life. So sure, are they of his demise that they now even speak openly of his demise and destruction, even while within earshot of him (vs. 12). Yet David retains his composure and remains silent, pretending that he does not hear and does not know, for to rebuke them now might mean that God will not (vs. 13-14). And what can a man say to such people that would change them? It is like trying to negotiate and reason with a shark before it attacks. 

Vs. 15-17 ¹⁵For in You, O Lord, I hope;

You will hear, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,

Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall,

And my sorrow is continually before me.

Therefore, Davids's hope is never found in the people around him, (in trying to build up allies to himself), but only in the Lord. For even in his darkest times, he remains sure of the Lord’s faithfulness. Therefore, he asks the Lord not to let his enemies rejoice over him, not to let them see him fall down, lest they exalt themselves against him. For they are so cruel that they would exude and delight themselves in nothing more than to see his downfall and ruin. Indeed, they can hardly wait to exalt themselves against them. Truly then such people are deserving of all the calamity and troubles that the Lord has reserved for them! Now if you want a Biblical example of such evil people and the Lord’s response to them, consider the Edomites who exalted themselves and rejoiced at Israel’s own downfall when God was chastening them. Therefore, do not be like them lest you end up like them, for as God deals with nations so He deals with individuals (Consider Psalm 137:7; Ezekiel 25:12-14; 35:1-15; Obadiah 10-14 etc.).

Vs. 18 “For I will declare my iniquity;

I will be in anguish over my sin.”

David then was not trying to conceal his iniquity, he was not trying to excuse his sin, indeed he was greatly remorseful about his transgression. For he was grieved by his own sin and what it had done, therefore he would receive the Lord’s mercies, just as you will if you are remorseful about yours.

Vs. 19-20 ¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;

And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

²⁰Those also who render evil for good,

They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

In contrast to David’s humility and brokenness before the Lord was his enemies who felt no remorse for all the troubles, grief, and pain they had caused him. Indeed, even while he was in such a terrible state, they were now multiplying themselves against him, and this without any just cause. Even when he did good towards them, they only quickly forgot it, or outright dismissed it, so that they could continue on in their evil ways towards him. And why were they doing this to him? Because he followed what was good, and they didn't, and they couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand to see him succeed in ways that they were not. Therefore, the more David did what was good and right in the sight of God the more they hated him, for the wicked will always hate the righteous (Pr. 29:27; John 15:18; 17:13; 1 John 3:13-15). 

Vs. 21-22 ²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, be not far from me!

²²Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

Therefore, in a final appeal David in all faith and trust now asks the Lord not to forsake him, not to be far from him, to make haste and help him, because He is our salvation!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.