The Bible

 

Psalms 38

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1 O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.

15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O LORD my God.

16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.

17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.

18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

21 Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.

22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

   

Commentary

 

Exploring the Meaning of Psalms 38

By Julian Duckworth

Psalm 38 is an interesting one, because its overall theme is of feeling chastened by the Lord. To be ‘chastened’ means to be corrected by going through suffering. The speaker does not rail against God at all; he understands the purpose God must have in needing to correct him and bring him to task. He declares his own wrongness and his wretchedness. His trust in the Lord is sure and strong, and we get the sense that he fully understands that all this is the Lord’s way of salvation for him. The opening and closing verses talk about the Lord urgently and with conviction.

Spiritually, this psalm describes our need to understand and accept our frail and broken human nature. By "accepting" I don't mean being satisfied with our spiritual state, or resigned to it. We need even to be practising repentance daily in some way (see The New Jerusalem 163). Repentance involves examining ourselves and seeing our true state and bringing ourselves to the Lord for his aid, protection and illumination. This is an ongoing need. We keep learning to understand more about how the Lord works with us and how we are to manage our spiritual states.

This psalm also describes the Lord’s own deep temptations during his human life. Verses 1 to 10 describe these temptations, such as, “My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness” (verse 5). Verses 11 and 12 speak of even those ‘friends’ and ‘companions’ who love good and truth turning from the Lord, wanting his death. Verses 13 and 14 tell us that the Lord bears all this with patience, and verses 15 to 22 (and also verse 9) are about the Lord’s confidence that the hells will not prevail against him.

The psalm begins with the plea not to be punished by the Lord’s anger or his wrath. During our temptations, this is the appearance, yet it is essential that we appreciate that the Lord never punishes but only seek to save us. The Lord’s ‘anger’ is his resolve to free us from evils; the Lord’s ‘wrath’ is his determination to free us from false beliefs. (Arcana Caelestia 3614)

‘Arrows pierce me deeply’ means the way in which the Lord’s truths penetrate our spirit, speaking to it and challenging it and often bringing us pain. (Arcana Caelestia 2686).

The Lord’s hand ‘presses me down’ stands for the Lord’s opposition to our evils (not to us!) because ‘hands’ represent Divine power. (Heaven and Hell 232).

The speaker uses the various organs in our body to describe our various spiritual ailments: flesh, bones, head, wounds, loins, heart and eyes… quite a comprehensive list. ‘Bones’ stand for the truths which support our spiritual frame; ‘loins’ stand for our spiritual loves but also our passions. Each of these organs is defective in the psalm. (Arcana Caelestia 8364)

Verses 11 and 12 talk about the aloofness of friends and relatives, and the deceit of those who want to destroy. Spiritually, this describes the influences that come into our minds during temptation. The heavenly influence seems far off and unable to help us, the hellish influences seem close and condemning. (Arcana Caelestia 9348)

This is immediately followed by words talking about not hearing and not speaking out. In a general way, spiritually, this stands for us not being swayed by the influences – the “voices” – which come into our thought, whatever kind these may be, because we cannot determine their true quality. In a more specific way, it means the refusal to judge and condemn others for their actions. This would be most true of the Lord. (Apocalypse Explained 409)

Then comes the real reason and purpose for us during every temptation, that we are to put our trust in the Lord who hears and knows everything. Only this can be our full confidence.

The final two verses of the psalm are worded as a prayerful request to not be forsaken and to be helped by the Lord. The meaning is right on the surface here. We need to ask the Lord for help, and we also need to understand that the Lord never forsakes us or is unwilling to help.

The Bible

 

Exodus 15

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1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, "I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

2 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 Yahweh is a man of war. Yahweh is his name.

4 He has cast Pharaoh's chariots and his army into the sea. His chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea.

5 The deeps cover them. They went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, Yahweh, is glorious in power. Your right hand, Yahweh, dashes the enemy in pieces.

7 In the greatness of your excellency, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send forth your wrath. It consumes them as stubble.

8 With the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the spoil. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'

10 You blew with your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand. The earth swallowed them.

13 "You, in your loving kindness, have led the people that you have redeemed. You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation.

14 The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.

16 Terror and dread falls on them. By the greatness of your arm they are as still as a stone-- until your people pass over, Yahweh, until the people pass over who you have purchased.

17 You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the place, Yahweh, which you have made for yourself to dwell in; the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have established.

18 Yahweh shall reign forever and ever."

19 For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea on them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.

20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances.

21 Miriam answered them, "Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."

22 Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

23 When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink from the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore its name was called Marah.

24 The people murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

25 Then he cried to Yahweh. Yahweh showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them;

26 and he said, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am Yahweh who heals you."

27 They came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.