PSALM 38
A psalm of David. A petition.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”
17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause ; those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.
21 LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.
FROM THE LESSON
The penitential psalms :
These are the psalms of repentance.
There are seven of them in the Psalter: Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143
Four characteristics of repentance:
A - Ask for His correction with mercy (verse 1)
B - Bring it all to Him (verse 9)
C - Convicted by your sin (verse 18)
D - Desperate for His help (verses 21-22)
Four areas David brought to the Lord:
1 the iniquity caused by his sin
2 the ill effects caused by his sin
3 the isolation felt because of his sin
4 the injustice experienced because of his sin
A person of repentance:
"I don't want to be known as a person who has made a difference,
I want to be known as a person who has been made different."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
ICE BREAKER: Do you have a testimony or story from your life about repentance that you can share with the group?
1. How do you feel about the prayer, "Correct me, Lord"? Read verse 1 again. David is not asking the Lord to not correct him, he is asking the Lord to correct him with mercy. Discuss the difference with your group.
2 The sermon highlighted all of the different areas that David brought to the Lord (each one begins with "my" - ie. my sin, my guilt, my heart). Read verse 9 again. David is bringing "all" of these areas to the Lord. How does his example encourage you?
3 Read verse 18. We must not only confess our sin with our mouths, we must also be convicted by our sin in our hearts. Discuss the importance of both of these responses to our sin.
4 Read verses 21 and 22. What do you hear in David's voice? Do you sense his desperation and his urgency? When are the times when you need the Lord's help most in your life?
