Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 38
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 38
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 38
"O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." — Psalms 38:1 (ASV)
O Lord, rebuke. —See Note, Psalms 6:1, of which verse this is almost a repetition.
"For thine arrows stick fast in me, And thy hand presseth me sore." — Psalms 38:2 (ASV)
For your arrows ... — The same figure is used for the disease from which Job suffered (elephantiasis? Job 6:4); for famine (Ezekiel 5:16); and generally for divine judgments (Deuteronomy 32:23). By itself, it therefore decides nothing about the particular cause of the Psalmist’s grief.
Stick fast. — It is better understood as have sunk into, from a root meaning to descend. The word Presseth, in the next clause of the Psalm, is from the same verb. Translate, therefore, as follows:
For your arrows have fallen deep into me,
And fallen upon me has your hand.
"There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation; Neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin." — Psalms 38:3 (ASV)
Rest ... —Better, health. The Hebrew is from a root meaning to be whole. Peace (see margin), the reading of the Septuagint and Vulgate, is a derived meaning.
"For mine iniquities are gone over my head: As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me." — Psalms 38:4 (ASV)
Are gone over mine head. —Like waves or a flood. (Psalms 69:2; Psalms 69:15). Compare.
“A sea of troubles.”— Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1.
"My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, Because of my foolishness." — Psalms 38:5 (ASV)
Wounds. —Better, stripes, as in the Septuagint.
Stink and are corrupt. —Both words denote suppuration: the first refers to the offensive smell, and the second to the discharge of matter. The whole passage recalls Isaiah 1:6 and following.
Foolishness. —People are generally even more reluctant to confess their folly than their sins.
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