The Heavy Burden of Sin: Psalm 38-Supplication through the Scriptures
The Heavy Burden of Sin
Psalm 38
If the mind fails to identify a sin as evil, wicked, vile, and bitter, the affections will not be safe from clinging to it, nor the will from giving consent. This is one side of the castle wall, the first line of defense: to keep in mind that every sin is a forsaking of God (Jeremiah 2:19), to never forget the polluting, corrupting, defiling power of sin-to be shaken to the core by how much God loathes sin.
Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within
The First Catechism defines sin as “any thought, word, or deed that breaks God’s law by omission or commission.” The sins of omission are those things required for us by God that we fail to do. The sins of commission are those things we do that God has forbidden. As believers, followers of Christ, we take seriously our obedience to the Lord. Our obedience does not earn us a right standing, forgiveness, and acceptance with God, but rather, because of our forgiveness and acceptance by God through Christ, we pursue holiness motivated by love and gratefulness.
There are times in our lives, however, when the battle with sin is fierce. And sometimes it feels like our flesh is winning. We want to put sin to death, we want to pursue holiness and righteousness, but we readily identify with Paul when he says, “for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate…For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish” (Romans 7:15,19).
God, in His mercy, disciplines those He loves in order that we may be partakers of His holiness. His discipline in our lives is restorative. He knows that walking in His ways is for our good, and so when sin is having the upper hand in us, He chastens us in order to wean us from the fleshly desires at war within us and help us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
What sin have you been struggling with lately, or perhaps for many years? Let’s pray through Psalm 38, thankful for our Father’s discipline and request His power and compassion to help us put sin to death and cling to Him.
The Discipline of the Lord
38:1-4 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
Let’s pray:
▫️We would not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when we are reproved by Him, because whom He loves He disciplines (Hebrews 12:5-6).
▫️We would learn from His discipline to forsake sin, pursue righteousness and holiness, and though His discipline is painful, we would be trained by it and it would yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness in us (Hebrews 12:11). What sin is weighing heavily on our hearts and minds? Let’s thank God for this chance to confess and repent and do it now.
▫️We would examine and probe our ways and return to the Lord (Lamentations 3:40).
▫️We would know our sin, and when we have confessed, the Lord would make us to hear joy and gladness (Psalm 51:8).
▫️We would lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which has so easily entangled us (Hebrews 12:1).
Groaning
38:5-8 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
Let’s pray:
▫️ We would forsake the foolishness which has caused us sorrow.
▫️We would truly understand the sorrow of our sin and the detriment it is to our souls.
▫️When we feel feeble, crushed, tumult in our hearts, and groaning over our sin and the power it seems to have in our lives, we would look to the cross and remember Christ has died to redeem us from the power and penalty of sin, and one day the presence of sin will be done away with eternally.
▫️That while we feel broken and crushed, we would recognize that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken spirit and a contrite heart, He will not despise (Psalm 51:17).
Our Sighing is Not Hidden
38:9-12 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long.
Let’s pray:
▫️We would humble ourselves before the Lord and He would see our longing and desire to be rid of this sin, and He would incline His ear to our cries and strengthen our hearts (Psalm 10:17).
▫️In our deep sighing and near despair in our fight against sin, we would not lose hope but would be renewed in His forgiveness and mercy and rise again to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against our souls.
▫️We would not be deceived but we would know that sin ruins lives. The truth that lust gives birth to sin, and sin when it is accomplished brings forth death would be at the forefront of our minds (James 1:14).
▫️As we groan in these bodies because of sin, it would increase our longing for eternity in heaven with the Lord, where we will never again struggle against sin.
For You, O Lord, I Wait
38:13-16 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes. But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!”
Let’s pray:
▫️We would continue to fight while we wait for the Lord to bring relief and deliverance.
▫️We would know the promise that no temptation has overtaken us but such as is common to man, and God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but He will provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
▫️We would be looking for the way of escape the Lord provides and we would take it. Are there safeguards we could put in place to help guard ourselves against sin?
Confession
38:17-20 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.
Let’s pray:
▫️When we feel we are going to fall again, we would remember the pain of the sorrow of sin, and we would confess our iniquity.
▫️We would not be discouraged by others in our fight against sin. Others around us would not continue to tempt us, or excuse our sin, or encourage us to participate again in the sin we are trying to forsake. Are there people in our lives we need to limit our contact with so that we are not tempted to sin?
Help Me, Lord!
38:21-22 Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
Let’s pray:
▫️We would rely on the Lord as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
▫️The Lord would be near to us in our distress over sin, ready to forgive, with new mercies every morning, faithfully molding and shaping us into His likeness.
▫️The Lord would make haste to help us in gaining a decisive victory over this sin.
▫️We would rest in His salvation, the finished work of the cross, confident that the debt of our sin has been paid by Christ and we are free in Him.
▫️We would confess our sin because He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
May the Lord do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's radiating majesty kills the rotten marrow of sin and replaces it with humility. A heart humbled by God's terrible majesty can begin its recovery and grow strong. Sin can't thrive in a humble heart.
Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within
Psalm 38 quoted from the ESV.
Photo credit to xijian
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