Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me,
And Your hand has pressed down on 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 are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of my folly.
6 I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with burning,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c]groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.9 Lord, all my desire is [e]before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
And the light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h]loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
And those who seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they devise treachery all day long.
How many times have you heard, “no man is an island”? And while David might have felt alone and forsaken in the middle of his (self-inflicted) distress, the consequences of his sin didn’t stop with him. We don’t know what specifically inspired this psalm, or at least I can’t recall the Bible recording David being this sick due to any of his well-known mistakes. Yet, all of the the mistakes that are listed in the Bible affected those around David, sometimes even the entire nation.
When you are tempted to disobey God’s commands (or if you have), remember those around you. Our mistakes affect family, friends, and potentially even entire churches or communities. So seek God’s will in whatever you do, and lean on his strength (all the more) to overcome the temptations that come your way.
And if you do make a mistake? Be like David in this passage (especially vs. 5), and own it. Don’t try to shift the blame, or brush it off. Don’t attempt to compare your sin, and say it’s not as bad as someone else. Take responsibility, and seek God’s face. Repent as David did and get back on God’s path. Then, do the harder thing and open your eyes to the damage and heartache you may have caused others. Apologize and ask for their forgiveness, knowing you may not be able to “make it right”, but owning up to what you’ve done regardless.
It takes a lot of strength, more than we have on our own, but people can more easily forgive a grievance when we are “penitent”. It’s far better than just waiting and hoping people forget (because that’s even harder to do). Then leave it in God’s hands, and move forward in his grace and in the path that he has set before you.