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PSALM 38 - Arrows of God 9 Dec 2019

A not too serious response to psalm 38. For many years I struggled with the expression "your arrows have pierced me" in psalm 38, I always had negative thoughts. Today a somewhat more positive interpretation. God brings needs on my path and I have choice whether to respond to the need or not. I easily harden my heart. At the end of this year an invitation to contribute to the needs of God's kingdom.

A positive word on deafness

I am single sided deaf. And it is often hard. In verse 13-14 David turns deaf to the bad voices in his mind. He ignores them. And the advantage is that he does not need to make a sharp or bitter answer!

Frequently with seduction, it is very helpful to make our ears "deaf".

Psalm 38

1 [Psalm Of David In commemoration]
Yahweh, do not correct me in anger,
do not discipline me in wrath.
2 For your arrows have pierced deep into me,
your hand has pressed down upon me.
3 Your indignation has left no part of me unscathed,
my sin has left no health in my bones.
4 My sins stand higher than my head,
they weigh on me as an unbearable weight.
5 I have stinking, festering wounds,
thanks to my folly.
6 I am twisted and bent double,
I spend my days in gloom.
7 My loins burn with fever,
no part of me is unscathed.
8 Numbed and utterly crushed
I groan in distress of heart.
9 Lord, all my longing is known to you,
my sighing no secret from you,
10 my heart is throbbing,
my strength has failed,
the light has gone out of my eyes.
11 Friends and companions shun my disease,
even the dearest of them keep their distance.
12 Those with designs on my life lay snares,
those who wish me ill speak of violence
and hatch treachery all day long.
13 But I hear nothing, as though I were deaf,
as though dumb, saying not a word.
14 I am like the one who,
hearing nothing,
has no sharp answer to make.
15 For in you, Yahweh, I put my hope,
you, Lord my God, will give answer.
16 I said,
'Never let them gloat over me,
do not let them take advantage of me if my foot slips.'
17 There is no escape for me from falling,
no relief from my misery.
18 But I make no secret of my guilt,
I am anxious at the thought of my sin.
19 There is no numbering those who oppose me without cause,
no counting those who hate me unprovoked,
20 repaying me evil for good,
slandering me for trying to do them good.
21 Yahweh, do not desert me,
my God, do not stand aloof from me.
22 Come quickly to my help,
Lord, my Saviour!

Excerpt from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1985 by
Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division
of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

The arrows of God may look familiar