Psalm 38: Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior

Psalm 38
Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior

2. Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.

3. Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

10. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.

11. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.

21. Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God.

22. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.

Psalm 38 is a prayer of repentance from someone suffering from severe illness, seeking God's help.

The patient is in extreme pain, with God's arrows piercing deeply, leaving no health in their body and no soundness in their bones. Their wounds are festering and foul-smelling. Their strength is gone, the light has left their eyes, and their loved ones, friends, and relatives have distanced themselves.

Unlike Job, the psalmist confesses that all this is due to their own sin. They repent and pray for grace. Not all suffering and hardship are due to our sins, nor is all prosperity and success due to God's grace.

However, when we face suffering and hardship, we should examine our lives. We should check if we have disobeyed God's commands or gone against his will. If so, it is right to repent. And if we experience prosperity and success, we should certainly thank God.

We do these things because we serve God as our master. God is the one who governs the world. Repentance and gratitude are our confessions to God. We confess that God, as the ruler of the world, both punishes sin and bestows grace.

The patient's final words are a prayer to God. Even when loved ones, friends, and relatives have distanced themselves, it is a fervent prayer for God to come quickly and help.

Our ultimate hope should be in God's grace, God's companionship, and God's help.

Prayer: God, please visit and help all those who have no health in their body, no soundness in their bones, whose strength is failing, and whose eyes are losing light! Grant them peace and hope! Lord, only you, the ruler of the world, can do this. Holy Spirit, guide us in truth! Amen.