Psalm
Select chapter 38

Psalm 38

Prayer in Time of Discipline.

A Psalm of David; to bring to remembrance.

1O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor discipline me in Your burning anger.
2 
For Your arrows have sunk into me and penetrate deeply,
And Your hand has pressed down on me and greatly disciplined me.
3 
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4 
For my iniquities have gone over my head [like the waves of a flood];
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 
My wounds are loathsome and foul
Because of my foolishness.
6 
I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go about mourning all day long.
7 
For my sides are filled with burning,
And there is no health in my flesh.
8 
I am numb and greatly bruised [deadly cold and completely worn out];
I groan because of the disquiet and moaning of my heart.

9 
Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 
My heart throbs violently, my strength fails me;
And as for the light of my eyes, even that has also gone from me.
11 
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my neighbors stand far away.
12 
Those who seek my life lay snares for me,
And those who seek to injure me threaten mischievous things and destruction;
They devise treachery all the day long.

13 
But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 
Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
In whose mouth are no arguments.
15 
For in You, O Lord, I hope;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16 
For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.”
17 
For I am ready to fall;
My sorrow is continually before me.
18 
For I do confess my guilt and iniquity;
I am filled with anxiety because of my sin.
19 
But my [numerous] enemies are vigorous and strong,
And those who hate me without cause are many.
20 
They repay evil for good, they attack and try to kill me,
Because I follow what is good.
21 
Do not abandon me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me.
22 
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my Salvation.

Psalm 38