Neal Pollard
I have read, studied, taught and preached Psalm 38 throughout the years, but reading it today I saw it from a different angle. What David says about his sin in this psalm reveals why he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). The common tendency of even good people is to deny, deflect, defend, and dispute their sins, and pride is the best explanation for such an unrighteous response. David, on the other hand, humbly admits and confesses his sins. As I study his inspired words, it convicts me to adopt the same attitude in my own heart when confronted with my sins. It also encourages me to examine my life to see if I am harboring and holding onto sin.
David shows me several attitudes I should possess regarding my sins.
My sin should make me sick (1-3). This is driven by knowing how God feels about my sin. Rebellious, impenitent sin draws God’s anger, wrath, and indignation (1,3). He punishes sin (2). So often, when I sin, I allow (force?) myself to forget how God sees sin. When I see it as He sees it, “there is no health in my bones because of my sin” (3b).
My sin should overwhelm me (4-8). Rather than rationalize, David owns what his sins are doing to him. They cover him (4), weigh him down (4), infect him (5), humble him (6), grieve him (6), hurt him (7), crush him (8), and trouble him (8). If I am so affected by my sins, how can I hang onto them? How often do I nurture, protect, enable, exalt, parade, and gloat over my sin? I read how God portrays such hardhearted, wholehearted participation in sin in passages like Romans 1:18-32 or Ephesians 4:17-19, and it makes me ask if my approach is more like David or like them. A proper confrontation with my sin should make me come undone, repulsed by it!
My sin should make me appreciate its cost (9-14). David sees the damage sin does to relationships, and it makes him abhor it. He certainly sees how it affects his relationship with God (9; Isaiah 59:1-2). He sees how it affects his relationship with himself (10; Psalm 51:1-13). He sees how it affects his relationship with loved ones (11; Romans 14:7). He sees how it affects his relationship with even his enemies (12). He also sees how sin reduces him, making him a shell of himself. He is like a deaf and mute man because of his sin (13-14). More than once, I have seen a person sacrifice every good and wholesome relationship in order to hold onto sin. But when I look at my own life, I need to honestly ask if I am hurting God, myself, and others by my sin.
My sin should drive me back to God (15-22). The longest single section of this psalm is devoted, not to the defeat of sin, but to the deliverer from sin. While some have let sin overwhelm and defeat them, David refused! Dramatically, he shifts his focus from his sin to his Sovereign! He appeals to the Lord (15-16). He acknowledges His power (15). He appreciates his weakness (17). He admits his iniquity (18). He asks for protection from sinners who are hurting him (19-20). He appeals to God for help and salvation (21-22). My greatest battles with sin have come when I have relied on myself to break free. While I have a part to play, how often I struggle because I have ignored the greatest, single weapon in the warfare with wickedness? I have a God who longs to forgive me (1 John 1:9), who will run to me when I come back to Him (Luke 15:20).
I hate that I will fight sin as long as I am in this body, but Psalm 38 is one of the countless resources God has given me to show me how to win. By maintaining a proper view of sin and its costs, I will do what David does. I will not stop until I have done everything in my power and God’s power to overcome it! That’s a healthy attitude toward sin!
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As always, another good one!
Thank you, brother!