Bird's-eye view
This section of Psalm 38 is the pivot point of the prayer. David, afflicted by God's arrows and suffering under the weight of his own sin, now turns his attention from his internal misery to his external reality. He is on the brink of collapse, not just from his guilt, but from the relentless pressure of his enemies. The passage masterfully connects the psalmist's personal repentance with the hostility of the ungodly world. David's confession of iniquity is not made in a vacuum; it is made in a world where his adversaries are strong, vigorous, and multiply because of his pursuit of righteousness. This is a profound pastoral lesson: true repentance often makes you a bigger target for the world, not a smaller one. The world hates a man who is right with God. David's sorrow is therefore twofold: a godly sorrow over his sin and a righteous sorrow over the injustice of his enemies who repay his good with evil.
The structure is a chiasm of sorts. David is falling (v. 17), so he confesses (v. 18). His enemies, in contrast, are vigorous and strong (v. 19), and they accuse him precisely because he is pursuing what is good (v. 20). The central issue is the clash of two kingdoms. The kingdom of God is entered through confession and weakness, while the kingdom of this world is characterized by strength, vigor, and a hatred for the good. David's experience is a type of Christ's, who was hated without a cause and whose pursuit of ultimate good led to His crucifixion by vigorous enemies.
Outline
- 1. The Agony of the Penitent (Ps 38:17-20)
- a. The Precarious State of the Sinner (Ps 38:17)
- b. The Necessary Confession of Sin (Ps 38:18)
- c. The Paradoxical Strength of the Enemy (Ps 38:19)
- d. The Unjust Accusation for Doing Good (Ps 38:20)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 38 is one of the seven traditional penitential psalms, a psalm of lament where the primary cause of suffering is the psalmist's own sin. It is subtitled "A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering," linking it to the temple worship and the act of bringing one's sin before God. The psalm begins with a desperate plea for God to relent from His angry discipline (vv. 1-2). David describes his condition in harrowing terms: physical illness, emotional anguish, and social abandonment (vv. 3-12). His suffering is a direct result of God's hand being heavy upon him because of his sin. Our passage (vv. 17-20) comes after he has described his complete isolation, where even his friends and kinsmen stand aloof. It is in this state of utter helplessness that he turns to full-throated confession, which in turn sharpens the contrast between his own brokenness and the vibrant strength of those who hate him.
Key Issues
- The Relationship Between Sin and Suffering
- The Nature of Godly Sorrow
- The Centrality of Confession
- The World's Hostility to Righteousness
- Repentance as a Catalyst for Persecution
- The Believer's Response to Unjust Accusation
The Collision of Two Worlds
When a man gets right with God, he should not expect to get right with the world. In fact, he should expect the opposite. This is the hard lesson embedded in these verses. We live in a fallen cosmos, a world that is set up in opposition to its Maker. As long as a Christian is compromising, as long as he is sinning and keeping quiet about it, the world can often tolerate him. He is no real threat. But the moment he comes clean, the moment he confesses his iniquity and sets his face to pursue what is good, he crosses a line. He has switched sides in a cosmic war. David is feeling the full force of this collision. His internal world is being set right through confession, and as a direct result, his external world erupts in hostility. The vigor of his enemies is directly proportional to the sincerity of his repentance. This is because the world system is energized by the evil one, and nothing provokes the devil like the sight of a sinner coming home to God.
Verse by Verse Commentary
17 For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.
David begins with an admission of extreme vulnerability. The phrase "ready to fall" can also be rendered "ready to halt" or "ready to stumble." He is at the end of his rope. His strength is gone, his footing is unsure. This is the necessary precondition for true repentance. A man will not turn to God until he has exhausted all confidence in himself. Pride keeps us upright in our own estimation, but the discipline of God brings us to the point of collapse. And notice the companion to this weakness: "my sorrow is continually before me." This is not a fleeting emotion. It is a constant, settled reality. This is the godly sorrow that leads to repentance (2 Cor 7:10). It is a grief that is not just about the consequences of sin, but about the sin itself. David's sin is an ugly picture that he cannot get out of his head. It is always there, right in front of his eyes. This is a grace.
18 For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin.
Because he is about to fall, and because his sorrow is ever before him, the logical and righteous response is confession. "For I confess" is the language of a formal declaration. The word confess means to agree with. David is done making excuses, he is finished with rationalizations. He is now agreeing with God about the nature of his transgression. He calls it what God calls it: iniquity. But this confession is not a cold, detached legal maneuver to get God off his back. It is accompanied by deep internal turmoil: "I am full of anxiety because of my sin." This is the proper kind of anxiety. We are often anxious about what others will do to us, but David is anxious about what he has done before God. This is the holy terror of a man who understands he has offended a holy God. It is the opposite of the cavalier attitude our modern world takes toward sin. This anxiety is the painful lancing of a wound that is necessary for healing to begin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous and strong, And those who wrongfully hate me abound.
Here is the sharp contrast. While David is weak, falling, and consumed with sorrow, his enemies are the very picture of health and vitality. They are "vigorous," literally "living" or "lively." They are strong. They are not wrestling with their conscience. They are not losing sleep over their sin. They are getting on with the business of being powerful and successful in the world. And their numbers are growing: "they abound." This is a crucial point. The world's hatred for the righteous is not a fringe opinion; it is the mainstream position. And their hatred is wrongful. It is a hatred "without cause," as other psalms put it. They do not hate David because he is a genuinely terrible person; as the next verse shows, they hate him for his righteousness.
20 And those who repay evil for good, They accuse me, for I pursue what is good.
This verse reveals the satanic logic of the world. Not only do they hate him without cause, they actively repay his good with evil. This is the principle of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel because Abel's deeds were righteous and his own were evil (1 John 3:12). David's pursuit of good is not a mitigating factor in their eyes; it is the very reason for their opposition. They are his "adversaries" or "accusers" (satan is the Hebrew word here) precisely because he is chasing after that which is good. The good is a rebuke to their evil, a bright light that exposes their deeds. And so they must extinguish the light. They must accuse the man who is striving for righteousness. This is a profound encouragement for the believer who finds that his efforts to live a godly life only seem to generate more conflict. It is a sign that you are on the right track. The dogs only bark when you are getting close to the house.
Application
There are several direct lines of application we must draw from this text. First, we must learn how to repent like David. True repentance involves seeing our own weakness and being willing to fall before God. It means allowing ourselves to feel the weight and sorrow of our sin, not just shrugging it off. And it requires honest, straightforward confession where we agree with God's verdict on our actions. We must call sin, sin. We do not call adultery an "affair" or theft "misappropriation." We use the Bible's words because that is what it means to agree with God.
Second, we must recalibrate our expectations for the Christian life. We have been sold a bill of goods that says if we are good, people will like us. This passage teaches the exact opposite. The pursuit of goodness in a fallen world is a declaration of war. When you decide to honor your marriage vows, you will be an affront to a culture that celebrates promiscuity. When you decide to conduct your business with integrity, you will be an adversary to those who cut corners. When you pursue what is good, you will be accused. We should not be surprised when this happens; we should be surprised when it doesn't.
Finally, we must see the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the only one who pursued what is good perfectly. And as a result, He was repaid with the ultimate evil. His enemies were vigorous and strong, and they hated Him wrongfully. He was accused precisely because His goodness exposed their sin. When we suffer in this way, we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Our experience is a small echo of His. And just as David's confession led him not to ultimate destruction but to ultimate deliverance, so our confession, united to Christ's righteousness, leads us out of the pit and into the spacious place of forgiveness and grace.