Psalm 38:14 Komentář

This is one of the penitential psalms; it is full of grief and complaint from the beginning to the end. David's sins and his afflictions are the cause of his grief and the matter of his complaints. It should seem he was now sick and in pain, which reminded him of his sins and helped to humble him for them; he was, at the same time, deserted by his friends and persecuted by his enemies; so that the psalm is calculated for the depth of distress and a complication of calamities. He complains, I. Of God's displeasure, and of his own sin which provoked God against him (Psa 38:1-5). II. Of his bodily sickness (Psa 38:6-10). III. Of the unkindness of his friends (Psa 38:11). IV. Of the injuries which his enemies did him, pleading his good conduct towards them, yet confessing his sins against God (Psa 38:12-20). Lastly, he concludes the psalm with earnest prayers to God for his gracious presence and help (Psa 38:21, Psa 38:22). In singing this psalm we ought to be much affected with the malignity of sin; and, if we have not such troubles as are here described, we know not how soon we may have, and therefore must sing of them by way of preparation and we know that others have them, and therefore we must sing of the by way of sympathy. A psalm of David to bring to remembrance.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 38 A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. This psalm was composed by David under some sore affliction, and when in great distress of mind by reason of sin, perhaps his sin with Bathsheba; and was written as a memorial of his sense of sin, of his great afflictions, and deliverance from them; and therefore is said to be "to bring to remembrance", or to refresh his memory with the said things. Kimchi and Ben Melech think the psalm was made for the sake of such as are in distress, to put them in mind and teach them how to pray. The Targum calls the psalm, "a good remembrance concerning Israel;'' and Jarchi says it was to remember the distress of Israel before the Lord, and that it is said with respect to all Israel; though others think the word "lehazcir" is the name of a psalm tune; and Aben Ezra was of opinion that it was the first word of some pleasant poem. The Septuagint version adds, "concerning the sabbath,'' as if it was wrote to put persons in mind of that day; whereas there is nothing in the whole psalm that has any such tendency.

For in thee, O Lord, do I hope,.... That he would plead his cause against his accusers and revilers, and who sought his hurt; that he should be delivered out of their hands, and out of all his afflictions; that he should be healed of his diseases, both of soul and body, under which he laboured; and should again enjoy the light of God's countenance, and have the discoveries of his pardoning grace and mercy; and this was the reason why he was so calm and quiet amidst the unkindnesses of his friends, and the cruel usage of his enemies; thou wilt hear, or "answer", O Lord my God; in the midst of all his distresses of body and mind, he had not given up his interest in God, as his God and Father; which is the great blessing of the covenant of grace, and which ever continues; and is the great support of believers, under whatsoever they meet with in soul and body, from friends or foes; this his God the psalmist believed would not only hear his cries in his sore distress, but hear the reproaches of his enemies, and answer them in a providential way in his own time, by terrible things in righteousness to their conviction and confusion; and therefore he himself was silent.

My friends and neighbors have approached me and stood against me. And my neighbors stood from afar. And those who sought my soul were causing violence. And those who intended harm to me spoke emptiness and deceit all day long. But I, like a deaf man, did not hear, and like a mute man who does not open his mouth. And I became like a man who does not hear and who does not have reproaches in his mouth. I see those who cleverly argue these things. To me, especially in this verse of the Lord, the following opinion seems to be held: because in the temptations of the enemy, even his own household becomes an enemy to man. Therefore, holy David confesses this purely, sincerely, and sorrowfully. For true pain is the confession of the inner heart; when all things are enumerated by which the secret depths of the mind are stung with the most bitter affection, and are exacerbated by domestic bitterness. Therefore, the Prophet laments that he is attacked by friends and neighbors, who certainly should not attack him, but rather help him. This certainly aligns with the complaint of the holy Job (Job. XVI, 2 et seq.); because he himself argued with those three consoling kings of evil, who brought him greater struggles, when they had come to console him out of friendship: which we certainly must be cautious about. For consolation should be gentle, not harsh, which would alleviate pain, temper fervor, rather than stir up agitation. Certainly let medicine itself teach us the remedies which it is accustomed to apply to severe wounds, in order to alleviate the pain. And therefore, wounds are first warmed, then they are incised, so that the hardness itself does not cause offense, and the incision does not aggravate the wound. Therefore, it is fitting for us to take great care, so that when we come to console, we do not speak easily or cursorily. Job was silent for seven days, his friends were silent, and they would not have spoken if Job had not burst out in pain. For it must be considered where to begin, so that your consolation does not offend in the very speech. Even silence itself is medicine, and being quick in speech wounds more. Why are you surprised if he wounds another, when he often wounds himself; because from excessive talking sin cannot escape? For if a doctor waits for the time of healing, so that the aids of medicine may be deferred until the diseases have settled; lest the illness, still bitter and immature, as they say, may resist the remedies of treatment, and may not be able to feel the benefit; how much more, then, it is fitting for us to inquire that medical speech may proceed from us in a timely manner, which seems not to ignite grief, but to soothe? The force of sorrow presses upon the heart of a distraught woman who has lost her husband or children through premature death. Why are you hurrying when she cannot hear you unless her grief subsides? We have often seen arguments arise from attempts at consolation. You came to grieve, not to argue. The order of conversation itself must be sought; so that you do not commit a sin before God while longing to console a person; so that when someone says to you, "Listen to this, and to many other things that are of no benefit," you may answer, "Listen to those who console the afflicted"; so that you do not turn the sorrow of another into a contest of empty disputation; so that you do not approach when you ought to stay away; so that you do approach and your words are not harsher. Finally, let the holy Job teach you what is said about such things: "Sudden and severe afflictions came upon me; robbers came at me from all sides. My brothers have left me, and they know me less than strangers do. My friends have become heartless." (Job 19:12 et seq.) Here, therefore, is the natural sense of even the holy prophet David; to lament being attacked by friends and abandoned by those close to him. But even the mystical does not reject the emotions of devotion, as he said for the angels, who pretend to fear the Lord; that they may deliver them from the temptations which they could not bear. So how far are they who are attributed to assistance? But they do not separate themselves, but he who is pressed by temptations thinks that they are far away, whom he desires to be closer to himself; and he thinks that they are pretending when they await the time of their emperor's command, who instructed his athlete to compete longer in order to conquer more gloriously. And it seems that this is more fitting for those who follow; because when the angels of protection relax their vigilance, the enemies lie in wait, seeking to find something harmful in his soul. Therefore, greater power is granted to them to tempt him with more severe temptation, when the guilt of the soul is found to be more serious. Hence, you have that which is said in the book of the Kings of King Ahab to Elijah: "You have found me," he said, when the Prophet strongly reproved him and declared death upon him. And Elijah responded: I have found; because you have done evil in the sight of the Lord (3 Kings 21:20). Therefore, you see that it is not to be taken lightly or without harm for kings or priests to commit injustice against the prophets of God; if there are no more serious sins in which they should be accused: but where there are more serious sins, there it does not seem that priests should be spared; so that they may be corrected with just rebukes. Nevertheless, David says in this place that they seem to have found nothing; and therefore his enemies have spoken vanity, because they have not found anything to speak the truth about. Or certainly, even though I have sinned, I was purging my sins with the pain of repentance. In this matter, they spoke deceitfully with me: to confuse me with reproach and to turn me away from conversion. And see that he may have felt this more, they sought his evils: but when they wanted to accuse, they were prevented; because he had already revealed his own wounds, being his own accuser; and therefore the force of their accusation was nullified: but their words were in vain, which could no longer harm the one who had already confessed his guilt. Therefore, excluded from the envy of accusation, they employed deceit; so that they would rise up, he says, and insult me, in order to provoke me to some disturbance: but seeing their deceit, I feigned not to hear, like a deaf person. Consider the power of speech. He did not say that I pretended not to hear what they were saying: but he said I did not hear; and he excluded the voice of the speaker from the intention of his mind: nor did he open his mouth, like a mute. Blessed is he who can have such virtue, that when provoked, he does not become angry, and when disturbed, he does not seek revenge. The enemies do this in order to provoke anger: they curse so that we may curse; they accuse so that we may accuse in return; they insult so that they may incite us to reciprocal abuse. Hence Peter, in his letter, put it beautifully concerning the Lord Jesus: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten" (1 Peter 2:23). Therefore, desiring to shape the principles of his own life in the likeness and image of the Lord, the righteous man, accused, remains silent; he forgives when he is harmed; he conceals when provoked; and he does not open his mouth. He imitates Him who, like a lamb led to the slaughter, does not open his mouth; and even though he could have something to say in response, he chooses to remain silent rather than speak. For when the Lord Jesus was truly accused, he remained silent; and when he was struck, he did not strike back. Finally, when he was struck, he replied: If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if I have spoken well, why do you strike me? See how, as if truly weak and as if unable to defend himself, he spoke with a kind of childish affection: so, therefore, if you have something with which to refute the accuser, it would be better for you to remain silent; lest you reveal your agitation through the cycle of refutation. For it is better to conceal an injury than, when you expose it, seek revenge. Blessed is the dumb man, who does not know how to speak ill, from whose mouth a crime does not come out. This is truly a blessed dumb man, who, when silent, speaks within himself. The Lord gives me the tongue of instruction, so that I may know when it is necessary for me to speak. These are the things that Zacharias spoke within himself, when he had become mute: and truly because speaking had not benefited him, in order not to speak, he became mute; and in order to speak, he was heard by Christ. Finally, he wrote that Christ heard her; and she received a voice, which Christ granted; and she received grace, which she did not have before; so that she could prophesy about him, in whose commands she did not believe before. Why am I talking about the Lord of all powers, when the woman Susanna, not troubled by the weakness of her gender, when she realized that she had been subjected to the danger of death, let out a cry? She was accused, and she remained silent: she was led to death, and she covered herself in silence, so as not to expose her modesty. However, she spoke within herself to God, who heard her more when she was silent: if she had wanted to speak, perhaps she would not have been heard. And therefore you who intended to make satisfaction for your sins to the Lord your God, purify yourself inwardly with a sincere heart and behold Him who can wash away sins. He assists you who thinks you should be accused. Finally, when David was cursed and his commander Abishai wanted to avenge the king's injury, David said to him: Let him curse, for the Lord has told him to see my humility and repay me with good for this curse (2 Samuel 16:12). Do you see, therefore, that by assisting those who revile you, you may obtain that the Lord hear you, and forgive your sin? For since you should be your own accuser, and heap up offenses, and offer yourself to punishment, how can you deny what is objected against you? Repentance seeks patience, and patience mitigates great offenses. How can you be angry with others, when you yourself are guilty in your conscience? How can you be disturbed, when you should be pitiable? He who is accused, and (what is more) by himself, ought to heal his wounds, not wound another. No one heals themselves by injuring another. Doctor, heal yourself. If a doctor, how much more should they first heal themselves! You confess your sin and declare yourself a doctor for others: although what you twist is true, it is not the right time; for to the sinner God said: Why do you recount my injustices (Ps. XLIX, 16)? You usurp for yourself to argue about the Law, when you yourself have acted against the Law (Exod. XXIII, 1). Why do you waste time with tears? Why do you listen to or speak empty words when it is written: Do not receive empty hearing; when you read in the Gospel (Matthew 12:36) that judgment must be undergone for every idle word? Even if someone else speaks, be silent; even if someone else is insulted, close your ear.

"And I became as a man that hears not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs" [Psalm 38:14]. As if He had nothing to say unto them, as if He had nothing wherewith to reproach them. Had He not already reproached them for many things? Had He not said many things, and also said, "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees," [Matthew 23:13] and many things besides? Yet when He suffered, He said none of these things; not that He had not what to say, but He waited for them to fulfil all things, and that all the prophecies might be fulfilled of Him, of whom it had been said, "And as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so opens He not His mouth." [Isaiah 53:7] It behooved Him to be silent in His Passion, though not hereafter to be silent in Judgment. For He had come to be judged, then, who was hereafter coming to judge; and who was for this reason to come with great power to judge, that He had been judged in great humility.

History teaches this more clearly. Even when Absalom mounted a case against his father and drew to his side those who had lost cases in judgment, blessed David was long-suffering. When Shimei berated him with voice and hand upraised, he took the abuse in silence; and he forbade Abishai to try to exact justice against the culprit in the words, “Let him curse me because the Lord bade him curse David.”

You should walk as one that is deaf and dumb and blind, so that, putting aside the contemplation of him who has been rightly chosen by you as your model of perfection, you should be like one who is blind and not see any of those things that you find to be unedifying. Nor should you be influenced by the authority or fashion of those who do these things and give yourself up to what is worse and what you formerly condemned. If you hear anyone disobedient or insubordinate or disparaging another or doing anything different from what was taught to you, you should not go wrong and be led astray by such an example to imitate him, but, “like one who is deaf,” as if you had never heard it, you should pass it all by.

"And I became like a man not hearing." Here is set forth the effect of patience; but this is against the opinion of the wicked, who attribute this to cowardice, not to virtue. And he says, "I became," namely in their opinion, "like a man not hearing," and not a virtuous man. Hence it is said of Christ, "You will not speak to me?" Jn. 19. "And not having reproofs in his mouth," that is, as if he were not wise enough to respond. Hence it is said of Christ, Lk. 23, that Herod mocked him and despised him.

To bring to remembrance, or, remind God of His mercy and himself of his sin. Appealing to God for relief from His heavy chastisement, the Psalmist avows his integrity before men, complains of the defection of friends and persecution of enemies, and in a submissive spirit, casting himself on God, with penitent confession he pleads God's covenant relation and his innocence of the charges of his enemies, and prays for divine comfort and help. (Psa. 38:1-22) He deprecates deserved punishment, which is described (Psa 6:1), under the figure of bodily disease [Psa 38:3].