Salmi 38:2 Commento

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.

There is no soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger,.... Such was the nature of the affliction the psalmist laboured under, and which he took to be an effect of the anger of God towards him, that the whole frame of nature was affected with it, and from the crown of the head to, the soles of the feet there was no health or soundness, as in Isa 1:6; where the same word is used as here; some think the word (g) here used has the signification of man; and that the sense is, that through, the violence of the distemper he had not so much, as the form of a man, as his antitype in Isa 52:14; and as this led him to a view of his sins, as the cause of his affliction, he was so far from thinking himself sound and whole, or perfect in a spiritual sense, that he saw he was all over diseased with sin, and that in his flesh dwelt no good thing; neither is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin; or "peace" (h) there; sin breaks the believer's rest, and disturbs his peace; nor can he, in a view of it, find any rest in himself, nor in any creature, nor in any service or duty, only in Jesus Christ, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice. (g) "non superest amplius ulla forma seu figura hominis", Amama; so Joseph Kimchi. (h) "non (est) pax", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

We observe … that when Scripture speaks of “the Lord’s hand,” it refers to temptation that a person undergoes from the attacks of Satan.… When the devil wounds him, the arrows are the Lord’s, and it is the Lord who has given Satan the power of hurting him.… There is, too, that … reason why the Lord gives power to the tempter; it is so that one’s love might be tested by temptations. That is why there are persecutions, so that faith may shine out and virtue excel and the inner thoughts of one’s heart may be made manifest to all.

(Verse 2.) And he added: Because your arrows have pierced me. He seems to be saying the same thing as the holy Job; but they are different. For he also says: The arrows of the Lord are in my body, the fury of which drinks my blood: when I begin to speak, they pierce me (Job 6:4). He complains about the wound of his body; here he deplores the wounds of his soul. And perhaps here he is repenting of sin: he pleads the cause of human weakness; and as an advocate of our frailty, he seeks the remedy of the Creator's work. Therefore he prays, and he intercedes. And for this reason, the pain of this one is more intense; because the wounds of the soul are more severe than those of the flesh. He says that the arrows of the Lord are in his own body, while this one laments those which are embedded; his blood is drunk, while this one's is spilled; he is pierced, while this one is wounded; the hand of God has touched him, while it is confirmed upon this one by the weight of the burden; he laments that his soul is filled with illusions, while this one laments his body with wounds. But the hand of God, we understand as the power of punishing. This hand punished the king of the Egyptians because of the injury to Abraham, for the attempted chastity of Sarah. This hand sank the chariots, horses, and people of the Egyptians in the deep of the Red Sea. This hand burdened the mind of king Saul, so that he hated the favor of his preserver; and for his transgression of heavenly authority, deserted by his companions and also forsaken by his sons who were killed, he turned his sword against himself, a spectacle nothing is more deformed than for a king, so that the captive old man would not live, surviving his sons and his kingdom. David, having experienced in himself and his children the one's incest, the other's parricide, lamented and wept both the disgrace of his offspring and the destruction of his piety, which is more serious for a devoted father. One of them, inflamed with desire for his sister, was driven to incest, while the other, armed with zeal for chastity, was driven to parricide. See how they have been ensnared in the most serious crimes by the closest bonds of virtue. Would that either he had not loved his sister, or this one had not sought revenge! Finally, even he himself, driven from the boundaries of his homeland by his son, fled from the enemy whom he desired to inherit: he feared to win, lest he be conquered at the expense of his piety. But perhaps someone may say: How can God's hand be in the act of murder or incest, when that work belongs to the enemy? Let us therefore understand that just as the devil wounds, the arrows of the Lord are said to wound. For we read this, that when the Lord turned to the devil in the council of the holy angels and spoke about his servant Job (Job 1:8 et seq.): that the envious one and adversary of the human race (for the praise of a lower substance is condemnation of the one who has been cast from a higher state) the devil replied, saying that Job did not worship the Lord gratuitously, who had been blessed by the will of God with abundance for all. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and see if he will not curse you to your face (Job 1:11). And God allowed the devil to have power, to stretch out his hand over all that Job possessed. After these events, when the holy Job remained unyielding in his strength, because Job was not moved by the death of his children or the loss of his possessions: the Lord again spoke to the devil, mocking him, that he had scattered all that Job had, and killed his children; yet he could not in any way move Job from his position of virtue. And he answered: Whatever a man has, he will give it for his soul. But put forth your hand, he said, and touch his flesh and bones (Job 2:4-5). And he took power again, to put his hand upon his body; but to keep his soul. And he poured out ulcers on the holy Job (Job 19:21), where is his going out from the Lord. Therefore, we understand that the hand of the Lord is said to be where the man is, the devil attacking, temptation. Indeed, Job said that the hand of the Lord is the one that touches him (Job 16:12), and he mentioned that the arrows of the Lord are the arrows of pirates. And he said, 'He has delivered me into the hands of the unjust' (ibid., 14). Therefore, he absolves himself, because when the devil wounds, the arrows belong to the Lord, who allowed the devil the power to wound. Finally, if you command that your servant be beaten, is he not considered beaten by you even if he is beaten by someone else standing by? And there is this reason; because the Lord gives power to the tempter, so that the affections of men may be tested in temptations. Therefore persecution occurs, so that faith may shine, virtue may excel, and the inner mind may be revealed to all. Therefore, temptation pierces the innermost part of a person like an arrow, and it is like the sword of God that examines the inner thoughts. And indeed, the sword is the powerful word of God, sharper than any sharp sword, as we hear in the saying of Simeon to Mary: 'And a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed' (Luke 2:35). For by the word of God, everything is revealed, in whose presence all things are naked and open. The soul itself seems to be, the innermost thoughts are revealed: and there is no creature finally, as the Scripture says (Heb. IV, 12 and 13), which hides itself from His knowledge. Therefore let us sell all things, in order to buy the word, and hide it in our hearts. Finally, the devil himself testifies that man gives everything he has for his own soul, and does not consider that price worthy of the redemption of one soul. Why do we spare our possessions, which the devil himself deems worthless for salvation? I have said too little for salvation, he also declares that it is too little for error. Finally, he says, 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me' (Matt. IV, 9). He showed not only the riches of the world, but also honors and kingdoms. It is agreed that the devil should be worshipped; how much should a Christian offer to be resurrected with Christ? But let us send the devil away like a goat sent into the desert; for he is not a faithful advocate of the truth; although sometimes he transforms himself into an angel of light. We have abundant testimonies from divine scriptures which teach us that nothing is more precious in a person than faith, and that there is no greater inheritance that can be offered to our salvation and soul. By faith, Abraham left his country (Gen. XII, 4 et seq.), his land, and even the neighbors whom he saw, and he followed the One whom he did not see as though he were seeing Him. Moses also esteemed the price of his soul greater than all the riches of Egypt (Heb. XI, 26). What lofty things shall I speak of? Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2, 4 et seq.) that foreigner from another age, nevertheless thought that her soul should be redeemed not only by the contempt of all that she possessed, but also by the perils of life: she denied the spies of Joshua to her fellow citizens who were searching for them; and she chose to hide the enemies of her homeland rather than betray them, the messengers of faith. Neither the threats of her fellow citizens, nor the perils of war, nor the burning of her homeland, nor the dangers to her own people frightened her. Learn, man, learn, Christian, how you should follow the true Jesus; when a woman despised all her possessions and followed Jesus in appearance because of the similarity of their names. Therefore, Solomon wisely said: The wealth of a man is the redemption of his soul (Prov. XIII, 8). So redeem your soul. Money is cheap, but it becomes precious through faith: it is cheap when accumulated, precious when dispersed; for it is written: He scattered, he gave to the poor: his righteousness endures forever (Psal. CXI, 9). Therefore, if you are such that you are able to despise not only all your possessions, but even your own flesh for the sake of justice, which is the most valuable possession (for a righteous person is rich), and although the rivers may enclose you on all sides, you cross over. For even if the Lord gives the power of temptation to you, He commands the devil to guard your soul himself, as it is written: 'That you may destroy the enemy and defender' (Psalm 8:3); for he tempts as an adversary, but defends as a servant. For it is written: And the unicorn will serve you (Job XXXIX, 9). He serves, indeed, who executes not what he wishes from his own will, but unwillingly obeys the imperial commands out of necessity. Consider the height of Christ, how He turned back against the devil the price of His own malice. He forces us to do what we hate: For what I wish, that I do not; but what I hate, that I do, as the Apostle said (Rom. VII, 15). The Lord repays him in the same way, as he often does not do what he wants; but he does what he hates. In conclusion, he keeps in check the soul that he wants to subdue. We condemn the corruption of the flesh, yet we follow it; like that widow who breaks her promise to her husband and then wants to remarry, which she had previously avoided (1 Timothy 5:20). He is an enemy to the saints, and a defender is employed, so that he may be punished even more; so that he who desires to harm may not dare to do so. And how much more bearable it is to love virtues, even if you cannot fulfill them, than to hate virtues, which you cannot harm.

"For Your arrows stick fast in me, and Your hand presses me sore" [Psalm 38:2]. "There is no soundness in my flesh, from the face of Your anger" [Psalm 38:3]. He has now begun telling these evils, which he is suffering here: and yet even this already was from the wrath of the Lord, because it was of the vengeance of the Lord. "Of what vengeance?" That which He took upon Adam. For think not that punishment was not inflicted upon him, or that God had said to no purpose, "You shall surely die;" [Genesis 2:17] or that we suffer anything in this life, except from that death which we earned by the original sin....Whence then do His "arrows stick fast in" him? The very punishment, the very vengeance, and haply the pains both of mind and of body, which it is necessary for us to suffer here, these he describes by these self-same "arrows." For of these arrows holy Job also made mention, [Job 6:4] and said that the arrows of the Lord stuck fast in him, while he was labouring under those pains. We are used, however, to call God's words also arrows; but could he grieve that he should be struck by these? The words of God are arrows, as it were, that inflame love, not pain....We may then understand the "arrows sticking fast," thus: Your words are fixed fast in my heart; and by those words themselves is it come to pass, that I "called the Sabbath to remembrance:" and that very remembrance of the Sabbath, and the non-possession of it at present, prevents me from rejoicing at present; and causes me to acknowledge that there "is neither health in my very flesh," neither ought it to be so called when I compare this sort of soundness to that soundness which I am to possess in the everlasting rest; where "this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality," [1 Corinthians 15:53] and see that in comparison with that soundness this present kind is but sickness.

"For your arrows." Mercy has no place except where there is misery. And therefore concerning this he does two things. First, he commemorates his manifold misery. Second, he asks for divine help, at "Do not forsake me." He shows the misery, first, which he suffers from above, namely from God inflicting it. Second, he shows the misery which he suffers from within, namely from a remorseful conscience, at "There is no peace." Third, from without, namely from men despising him, at "My friends." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he sets forth the divine striking. Second, the effect of the striking, at "There is no soundness." Here he speaks so as to refer in one way to the striking of tribulation which God sends, and in another way to the stirring of contrition. In the first way these three things are fitting. The striking is grievous for two reasons: namely, because it penetrates to the innermost parts, and because from this a person is converted. And with respect to this it is said, first, that it reaches even to the innermost parts; hence he says, "Your arrows," that is, your striking, "are fixed in me," namely even to the interior. Job 6: "The arrows of the Lord are in me, whose indignation drinks up my spirit." Second, because such strikings do not pass quickly, but remain; hence he says, "You have set firm your hand upon me." Is. 30: "The passage of the rod shall be established, which the Lord shall cause to rest upon him." Heb. 10: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Third, because they are grievous; and this is the reason for what he says, "not in fury," because I am already sufficiently struck with arrows.

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].

arrows . . . and thy hand--the sharp and heavy afflictions he suffered (Deu 32:23).