Commentary - Psalm 38:21-22

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 38 is one of the great penitential psalms, a raw and honest cry from a man crushed by the weight of his own sin and its devastating consequences. David is not just feeling a little down; he is physically ill, socially isolated, and spiritually tormented. He knows precisely why the arrows of the Almighty are stuck in him (v. 2) and why there is no soundness in his flesh (v. 3). It is because of his sin, his folly (vv. 3, 5). The entire psalm is a complaint laid before God, but it is a complaint bracketed and held together by prayer. Our text, the final two verses, is the capstone of this desperate appeal. Having laid out the full scope of his misery, the physical sickness, the abandonment of his friends, and the plotting of his enemies, David turns with final, urgent entreaties to the only one who can help. He doesn't clean himself up first. He doesn't wait until he feels better. In the depths of his foulness, he cries out for God not to leave him, to draw near, and to act swiftly. It is a model for every believer who finds himself in a tight spot of his own making.

These closing verses are a staccato burst of petitions. Do not forsake me. Do not be far. Make haste. Three urgent pleas, culminating in a declaration of faith: "O Lord, my salvation!" This is where all true repentance ends up. It begins with an honest assessment of our sin and misery, but it must conclude by clinging to God as our only hope of deliverance. David knows that salvation is not something he can achieve, but someone he must cry out to. The Lord Himself is his salvation.

Outline

Context In Psalms

This psalm, titled "A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance," is a deep dive into the anguish of a soul under divine chastisement. It follows the pattern of other laments where the psalmist is afflicted both by God's hand and by the treachery of men. What makes this psalm particularly striking is the direct link David makes between his suffering and his sin (vv. 3-5, 18). He is not a victim of random misfortune; he is reaping what he has sown.

The final verses (21-22) serve as the climax of the prayer that structures the whole psalm. After detailing his physical ailments (vv. 2-8), the desertion of his friends (v. 11), and the snares of his enemies (v. 12), he throws himself entirely upon God. This desperate conclusion echoes other psalms where David is in deep trouble. For example, in Psalm 22, he cries, "But you, O Yahweh, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!" (Ps 22:19). And in Psalm 40, "Be pleased, O Yahweh, to deliver me! O Yahweh, make haste to help me!" (Ps 40:13). The cry for God not to be "far" is a common refrain for the man of God who understands that nearness to God is life, and distance is death.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

Verse 21: Do not forsake me, O Yahweh; O my God, do not be far from me!

Do not forsake me, O Yahweh. This is the cry of a man who knows what he deserves. He has just confessed his iniquity and is troubled by his sin (v. 18). He knows that the logical, just consequence of his sin is to be forsaken by a holy God. And so he pleads against what he deserves, appealing not to his own merit, but to the covenant name of God, Yahweh. This is not the generic cry to a distant deity; it is the plea of a covenant child to his covenant Father. He is essentially saying, "You are the God who has promised never to leave or forsake your people. Be that God for me now." He knows that if God leaves him, all is lost. His enemies will triumph, his disease will consume him, and his guilt will swallow him whole. This is the foundational terror behind the cry of our Lord on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Christ endured the ultimate forsaking that we deserved, so that when we cry this prayer, we can do so with the assurance that He will never, ever leave us.

O my God, do not be far from me! This is the same plea, but intensified and made personal. It moves from the covenant name "Yahweh" to the intimate "my God." David is clinging to his relationship with God, even as he feels the crushing weight of his sin. The fear is not just that God will be absent, but that He will be distant, aloof, standing far off while trouble is near (Ps 22:11). In the ancient world, a patron or king who was "far off" was one who was inaccessible and would not render aid. David's suffering makes him feel that God is a million miles away. His prayer is for the felt presence of God, for the nearness that brings comfort and aid. He is asking God to close the distance that sin has created. For the Christian, we know that God has closed this distance definitively in the incarnation. In Jesus Christ, God is not far off; He is Immanuel, God with us.

Verse 22: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

Make haste to help me. The urgency is palpable. This is not a polite request for assistance at God's earliest convenience. This is a 911 call. "Hurry up!" David is at the end of his rope. His strength is gone, his friends have fled, and his enemies are closing in. Delay means disaster. This is the prayer of a man who knows he cannot hold on for much longer. He needs help, and he needs it now. This teaches us that it is no failure of faith to ask God to hurry. God is not offended by our sense of urgency when we are in desperate straits. He invites us to come to Him with our pressing needs, to bang on the door, as it were. The Lord loves cliffhangers, but He also loves to hear His children cry out for a swift deliverance.

O Lord, my salvation! And here is the anchor in this sea of desperation. The psalm ends not with a question, but with a confession. David's final word is a declaration of who God is for him. He is Adonai, the Lord, the sovereign master. And He is "my salvation." Notice, he does not say, "O Lord, give me salvation." He says God Himself is his salvation. This is a profound theological statement. Salvation is not an abstract concept or a commodity that God dispenses. Salvation is a person. For David, it was Yahweh. For us, it is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no salvation without a Savior. David, under the weight of his sin and sickness, looks away from his circumstances, away from his own failings, and fixes his gaze on God alone as the source, substance, and sum of his deliverance. This is the essence of faith. In the darkest moment, when all human help has failed, faith confesses that God is enough. He is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

Application

The end of this psalm is a master class in how to pray when you have made a complete mess of things. First, we must be honest about our sin, as David was throughout this psalm. We cannot come to God asking for help while pretending we are innocent bystanders in our own calamities. We must own our folly.

Second, we must cry out with urgency and importunity. Don't be timid. When you are in trouble, pray like you are in trouble. Plead with God not to forsake you. Ask Him to draw near. Beg Him to make haste. Your relationship with Him is not a formal court proceeding; it is the cry of a child to a Father.

Most importantly, we must ground our pleas in the character of God, not in our own worthiness. David appeals to "Yahweh," "my God," and "Lord." And he concludes by confessing that God Himself is his salvation. This is where our confidence must lie. Our hope is not that we can fix our mess, but that we have a Savior who has already dealt with the ultimate consequence of our sin on the cross. Because Christ was forsaken, we never will be. Because He is our salvation, we can cry out with confidence, even from the depths, knowing that He will hear and He will act.