Chú giải Kinh Thánh

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, Ps 38:1-5. II. Of his bodily sickness, Ps 38:6-10. III. Of the unkindness of his friends, Ps 38:11. IV. Of the injuries which his enemies did him, pleading his good conduct towards them, yet confessing his sins against God, Ps 38:12-20. Lastly, he concludes the psalm with earnest prayers to God for his gracious presence and help, Ps 38:21,22. 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.

I. "Author of the psalm" - The psalm purports to have been written by David, and there is no reason to doubt that it was composed by him. There is no tradition to the contrary, and there is nothing in the psalm inconsistent with such a supposition.

II. "The title" - The psalm is said in the title to be designed "to bring to remembrance." The same title occurs in Psalm 70:1-5, though there is no resemblance between the two, except that they both have reference to the attempts and purposes of the enemies of David, and to trials in different forms which had come from them. The Latin Vulgate renders this: "A Psalm of David, for remembrance concerning the Sabbath." The Septuagint renders it in the same manner. The Arabic: In which there is a mention of the sabbath." Whence these allusions to the sabbath were derived is unknown, as there is nothing in the Hebrew corresponding with them. The Aramaic Paraphrase has prefixed, "For a good memorial concerning Israel." The Hebrew term used - להזכיר lehazekiyr - means simply "for bringing to remembrance," or for reminding. The meaning is, that it is a record for the purpose of "reminding;" that is, of keeping the "remembrance" of something which had occurred in his own experience, and which might be useful to himself or to others; the record of some valuable lessons which had been learned from what he had experienced in the trials referred to. Compare Genesis 40:14; 1 Kings 17:18; Ezekiel 21:24. Gesenius (Lexicon) renders it, "To bring to remembrance, sc., oneself with God." Grotius says of it, "This psalm is designed to inculcate the perpetual remembrance of David and his sin, and of the pardon that was granted." There can be no doubt that the psalm had this design of making a permanent record of an important event in the life of the author, or of his "experience" in a time of great calamity; but why this title was affixed only to this psalm and to Psalm 70:1-5 is wholly unknown. There are many other psalms to which, it would seem, the title might have been prefixed with equal propriety, as containing important reminiscences of trials, and of religious experience under those trials.

III. "Occasion of the psalm" - The particular time or occasion on which the psalm was composed is unknown. There are no recorded events in the life of David to which this psalm would be "particularly" applicable, though, in a life of trial and suffering such as his was, there can be no doubt that there may have been many such occasions. It is impossible now, however, to fix the exact time or occasion with any degree of accuracy or probability. What is known is, that it was with reference to sickness Psalm 38:3-8, Psalm 38:10-11, and to the neglect which was evinced, and the cruel treatment which he received, in sickness Psalm 38:11-12, Psalm 38:19-20.

IV. The contents of the psalm.

(1) The psalm describes the condition of one who was suffering from "sickness," Psalm 38:2-3, Psalm 38:5,Psalm 38:7-8, Psalm 38:10-11. Some have supposed that this is merely "figurative" language, and that it is designed to represent calamity, trouble, sorrow, heavily pressing upon him as if he were sick; others have supposed that it is intended to refer, not to David, but to the people of Israel as afflicted and persecuted, represented under the image of one suffering from disease; but the most natural and obvious interpretation is to regard it as a literal description of one who was suffering under some form of disease. There were doubtless occasions in the long life of David when this actually occurred; and there are occasions in the lives of the people of God of a similar kind, sufficiently numerous to make it proper that an inspired record of the experience of a good man thus suffering should be preserved, as an example of the proper spirit to be manifested in sickness. What was the "character" or "nature" of that sickness may appear in the examination of the particular expressions in the record.

(2) The condition of the sufferer as aggravated by two things:

(a) By the neglect of his friends - by their turning away from him in his trials, Psalm 38:11;

(b) By the efforts of his enemies - taking advantage of his sickness, and bringing against him accusations which he was not then able to meet, Psalm 38:12.

(3) He himself traces all these trials, arising either from his disease or from the attacks of his enemies, to his own sins, and regards them all as the expression of the divine displeasure against his transgressions, Psalm 38:3-4, Psalm 38:6,Psalm 38:18. The effect of his suffering from sickness was to bring his sins to remembrance - an effect not uncommon, and, under the Providence of God, not undesigned - though he may have erred, as the afflicted often do, in supposing that his sickness was a "specific punishment" for sin, or was intended to correct him for some "particular" transgression.

(4) His own calmness and meekness in respect to the charges which, amid his other trials, his enemies brought against him, Psalm 38:13-14. He says that he was like a deaf man that did not hear, and like a mute man that did not open his mouth. He "seemed" not to hear anything that was said to his disadvantage, and he was as silent as though he had been mute.

(5) His earnest prayer for the interposition of God in these circumstances of sickness and trial, Psalm 38:15-22. He says that his only help is in God, Psalm 38:15; he prays that God will not allow his enemies to triumph over him, Psalm 38:16; he says that he is ready to halt, or that his strength is nearly exhausted, and he fears that his patience will utterly give way, Psalm 38:17; he says that he will confess all his sin, Psalm 38:18; he refers to the fact that his enemies are "lively," and are on the alert for his fall, Psalm 38:19-20; and in view of all this, he earnestly calls on God to save him, Psalm 38:21-22.

There is a striking resemblance between this psalm and Psalm 6:1-10, in the general structure, and in some of the particular expressions. Both appear to have been composed in a time of sickness, though not probably in the same sickness; and both express substantially the same feelings. The forty-first psalm, also, appears to have been composed on a similar occasion. In a revelation adapted to mankind, and designed to be applicable in its instructions and promises to the various conditions in which men are placed on the earth, it was to be presumed that there would be a not unfrequent reference to the sick bed - to the trials on a couch of languishing. And in an inspired book of "devotion," like the Book of Psalms, designed to illustrate the nature of piety in the various and diversified situations of life, the object of a revelation could not be fully accomplished without an illustration of the feelings of piety in the time of sickness, and in the prospect of death - for such scenes must occur in the world, and it is eminently in such scenes that we desire to know what is the proper feeling to be cherished; what true religion is at such a time; what it will do to sustain and comfort the soul.

The Book of Psalms, therefore, would not have been complete without such an illustration of the nature of piety; and hence, it was every way probable that psalms like this would be composed, and every way improbable that no such psalms would be found in a book of inspired devotion. It seems to me, therefore, unnatural, and not demanded by any proper views of interpretation, to regard this psalm, and the other similar psalms, as DeWette, Hengstenberg, Rosenmuller and others do, and as the Aramaic Paraphrase and Jarchi do, as descriptive of "general calamity, Ungluck;" or of calamity coming upon "a people" - rather than a particular affliction in the form of sickness coming upon "an individual." The great value of the book of Psalms consists in the fact that it furnishes illustrations of the nature and power of true religion in all the varied circumstances of the lives of individual friends of God.

David prays God to have mercy upon him, and gives a most affecting account of his miserable state, Psalm 38:1-10; complains of his being forsaken by his friends, and cruelly persecuted by his enemies, Psalm 38:11-16; confesses his sin; and earnestly implores help, Psalm 38:17-22.

The title in the Hebrew states this to be A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. The Chaldee; "A Psalm of David for a good memorial to Israel." The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Aethiopic: "A Psalm of David, for a commemoration concerning the Sabbath." The Arabic: "A Psalm in which mention is made of the Sabbath; besides, it is a thanksgiving and a prophecy." Never was a title more misplaced or less expressive of the contents. There is no mention of the Sabbath in it; there is no thanksgiving in it, for it is deeply penitential; and I do not see that it contains any prophecy. The Syriac: "A psalm of David, when they said to the Philistine king, Achish, This is David, who killed Goliath; we will not have him to go with us against Saul. Besides, it is a form of confession for us." It does not appear that, out of all the titles, we can gather the true intent of the Psalm.

Several conjectures have been made relative to the occasion on which this Psalm was composed; and the most likely is, that it was in reference to some severe affliction which David had after his illicit commerce with Bath-sheba; but of what nature we are left to conjecture from the third, fifth, and seventh verses. Whatever it was, he deeply repents for it, asks pardon, and earnestly entreats support from God.

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.

XXXVIII.

Reading only the first part of this psalm (Psalm 38:1-11), we should positively assign it to some individual sufferer who had learnt the lesson which St. Jerome says is here taught: “if any sickness happens to the body, we are to seek for the medicine of the soul.” But, reading on, we find that the complaint of bodily suffering gives way to a description of active and deadly enemies, who, in the figure so common in the Psalms, beset the pious with snares. It is better, therefore, to think rather of the sufferings of the community of the faithful, who have learnt to attribute their troubles to their own sins, here described, after the manner of the prophets (Isaiah 1:6) but even more forcibly, under the figure of distressing forms of sickness.

Title.—Comp. title Psalms 70. In 1Chronicles 16:4 we read, “And he appointed certain Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel.” In the words thank and praise it is natural to see allusion to the Hodu and Hallelujah psalms, so called because beginning with those words, and as “to record” is in Hebrew the word used in this title and that to Psalms 70, it brings these two psalms also in connection with the Levitical duties. “The memorial” was a regular name for one part of the meat offering, and possibly the title is a direction to use these psalms at the moment it was made. The LXX. and Vulg. add, “about the Sabbath,” which is possibly a mistake for “for the Sabbath.”

Tortured by pain of body and anguish of mind, deserted by his friends, mocked and menaced by his enemies, the Psalmist lays his cause before God. In his sufferings he recognises the merited punishment of his sins: he submits to the insults of his enemies with a meek resignation which is a distinguishing feature of the Psalm. For the most part he simply pleads the extremity of his plight as an argument to move God’s compassion: only at the opening and close does he directly ask for relief (Psalm 38:1; Psalm 38:21-22), and at the beginning of each division (Psalm 38:9; Psalm 38:15), addresses God with words of faith and hope.

The Psalm is closely related to Psalms 6 and Psalms 39. Delitzsch regards Psalms 6, 38, 51, 32, as a chronological series, the occasion of which was David’s adultery with Bathsheba. Others suppose that it was written by Jeremiah, at the time when he was scourged and put in the stocks by Pashhur (Jeremiah 20). Others find in it the utterance, not of an individual, but of the nation. It is suffering Israel which confesses its sin, acknowledges the justice of its punishment, and appeals to the mercy of Jehovah.

The remarks already made on Psalms 6 apply here. The allusions are not sufficiently definite to enable us to refer the Psalm to any particular author or occasion. The application of it, in liturgical use, to the nation, was easy and natural, but there is no hint that the speaker is other than an individual, who relates his own experience. The best illustration of the Psalm is to be found in Job’s description of his sufferings[15], though the Psalmist’s temper of mind differs absolutely from his: and the portraiture of Job, even if ideal, must have been intended to be, in the main, true to life. The striking parallels, and not less striking points of difference, between the Psalm and the portrait of the suffering servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53 should also be studied.

[15] See e.g. Job’s description of his sickness, ch. Job 7:5, Job 9:17; God has attacked him, Job 16:12 ff.; and esp. cp. Job 6:4; Job 7:20; Job 16:12-13, with Psalm 38:2 of the Ps.; he is deserted by friends, Job 16:20, Job 19:13 ff.; insulted and even assaulted by enemies, Job 16:10 f., Job 17:2; Job 17:6, Job 30:9 ff., Job 30:12 ff.; he connects his sufferings with sin, though he knows of no special sin which can account for the severity of the punishment, Job 7:21, Job 10:6; Job 10:14, Job 13:23; Job 13:26, Job 14:16-17.

This is the third of the ‘Penitential Psalms,’ in use on Ash-Wednesday.

The Psalm falls into three divisions, each beginning with an address to God; and the verses are generally arranged in pairs. The use of the divine names should be noted: first Jehovah (Psalm 38:1); then Adonai (Psalm 38:9); then both combined with the addition of my God (Psalm 38:15), and the three repeated (Psalm 38:21-22).

i. The Psalmist’s bodily and mental sufferings described (Psalm 38:1-8).

ii. The desertion of friends, and the threats of enemies (Psalm 38:9-14).

iii. Pleadings for deliverance (Psalm 38:15-22).

The title to bring to remembrance, prefixed also to Psalms 70, has commonly been explained to refer to the contents of the Psalm, as a record of suffering, or as a prayer intended to bring the suppliant to God’s remembrance. But more probably it should be rendered, to make memorial (R.V. marg.), or, for making the memorial, and explained as a note of the liturgical use of the Psalm either in connexion with the offering of incense, or at the offering of the Azkara. Comp. the phrase to make a memorial of incense (Isaiah 66:3, marg.), and for the connexion of prayer and offering of incense see Numbers 16:46 ff.: Luke 1:9-10. The Azkara or Memorial was a technical term in the Levitical ritual (1) for the portion of the’ meal-offering’ mixed with oil and burnt with incense on the altar (Leviticus 2:2); (2) for the incense placed on the shewbread and afterwards burnt (Leviticus 24:7). Though probably the term originally meant only ‘a fragrant offering’ (see Dillmann on Leviticus 2:2) it was interpreted to mean ‘a memorial’ (LXX. μνημόσυνον, Vulg. memoriale) as bringing the offerer to God’s remembrance. There may be an allusion to the use of Psalms in connexion with the Azkara in 1 Chronicles 16:4, where to celebrate (R.V.) is the same word as that used here.

The LXX has “For a memorial for the Sabbath,” an addition which confirms the liturgical explanation. The liturgical use must have arisen in days of national distress and persecution, such as the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Maccabees 1): and implies the application of the Psalm to the nation.

Ps 38:1-22.

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.

1-4. He deprecates deserved punishment, which is described

(Ps 6:1),

under the figure of bodily disease

[Ps 38:3].

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath - See the notes at Psalm 6:1, where the same language occurs, except in the change of a single Hebrew "word," that is, "wrath," though expressing the same idea.

Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure - See the notes at Psalm 6:1. The Hebrew in both is the same, except that in this place the negative particle is omitted, but without affecting the sense. It is not improbable that the one was copied from the other, or that this was composed with the language of the former in the memory. Thus we often use language with which we are familiar, as being well adapted to express our ideas.