About this song
About this song
This song belongs to the Psalms collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.
- Collection
- Psalms
Lord, do not take me to task while You are angry;
Do not correct me while the heat is still on You.
Your arrows have gone into me and stayed there,
And Your hand is pressing down hard.
There is nothing sound left in my body;
There is no rest anywhere in my bones.
What I have done wrong has gone over my head
Like a load that is heavier than I can carry.
My wounds have turned bad
Because of my own foolishness.
I am bent right down.
I go about grieving all day.
I am worn out and badly broken;
I have been groaning from the noise inside me.
Lord, everything I want is already in front of You,
And the sound I make is not hidden from You.
My heart is racing. My strength is gone.
Even the light in my eyes has left me.
The people who loved me stand back from my sore;
My own family keeps its distance.
The ones after my life set traps,
And the ones who want me hurt talk all day about how.
But I was like a deaf man who could not hear it,
Like a man with no voice who does not open his mouth.
I was like someone with no answer in him at all,
Because it is You I am hoping in, Lord.
You will answer, Lord my God.
I will say out loud what I have done;
I am sorry for it.
Do not walk away from me, Lord.
My God, do not be far from me.
Come quickly and help me,
Lord, the one who saves me.
About the passage
Psalms 38: The body that cannot carry the burden
Psalm 38 carries more weight than the speaker's body can hold. The Book of Psalms joins acknowledged sin, divine displeasure, physical suffering, social distance, and hostile plotting without pretending they are all the same problem. Arrows stick, a hand presses, wounds trouble, strength fails, and iniquity rises like a burden above the head. Friends and relatives stand far off while enemies use the exposure to lay snares and speak deceit. The speaker becomes like a deaf and speechless man before them, but he never becomes speechless before God. That difference matters. He can confess his sin without agreeing that his enemies are therefore right to hate or exploit him. The ending leaves the imbalance visible: hostile people are lively and strong while he is weak. No recovery scene follows. The psalm closes with proximity and speed as the need, "be not far from me" and "make haste to help me."
Study Psalms 38 in depth →
