Psalm 38:4–10
4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head:
As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and are corrupt
Because of my foolishness.
6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease:
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and sore broken:
I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee;
And my groaning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me:
As for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
A friend of mine got a cut and let it go untreated.
Why?
I suppose we men are sometimes stubborn to the point of stupidity. We have to prove our manliness, we’re tough!
My friend neglected his wounds, allowing them to become seriously infected. They looked awful and even had a nasty smell. I saw it, I smelled it, and I gagged. (Should I confess that in a devotional?)
He eventually went to the hospital, and thankfully after some surgery, shots, and stitches got better. He could undoubtedly repeat the words spoken by David in this Psalm,
Psalm 38:5 “My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.”
David is confessing his sin and asking God for Mercy. He speaks of extreme sickness. Frankly, I do not know if he is literal about his condition or figuratively speaking of his sin.
Indeed, sickness is not always the direct result of God’s punishment of sin, like in Job. Job was sick because of his faithfulness, not some absence of faith. The condition of the blind man in John 9 was not his fault. The disciples assumed that his condition was the result of some sin he had committed or something that his parents had done, but Jesus corrected their false assumption.
John 9:3 “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
On the other hand, sometimes sickness is the result of sin. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:30 about those that had wrongly taken the Lord’s supper, “For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”
Sickness and even death can come to the disobedient child of God because of their unconfessed sin. James taught that sin can bring disease “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5:15)
In our Psalm, we learn that David was sick, sin-sick, or sick because of sin; either way, the results for him were misery.
Sin stinks and only worsens if left untreated by the great Physician. Based upon what I have seen and have smelled, I urge you not to neglect your wounds, especially those of the soul.
Hurry and run to the Redeemer and, like David, confess your sin and let the healing process start.
My 2021 Bible Reading Plan
March 26, 2021