Psalm 38:1-8 - The Terrible Consequences of Sin

This morning I am on my way to Dulles Airport to catch our flight to the Holy Land! I prerecorded our chat for today and tomorrow so that I would be able to post them before I leave. Thank you for your prayers as we lead this wonderful group of people on a spiritual journey these next 14 days to get more acquainted with the Lord and His Word! King David is writing Psalm 38 out of an anguished heart that is hurting as he is experiencing the chastening hand of the LORD for his sin. In this chapter we get to see first hand the terrible consequences of our sins up close as David describes his physical condition. James 1:15 informs us that, “When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.” In Galatians 6:7-8 we read, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Sin has its consequences! In this 38th chapter of Psalms, David is admitting that he has sinned that he is dealing with the awful consequences of them in so many different ways, and he is asking God to have mercy on him and help him. Some commentators call these verses “David’s complaint” as he moans and groans in his suffering. Remember David was a man after God’s own heart. He was a righteous and upright man. He was a man of impeccable integrity! But David got a little lazy one day and became careless. Instead of fulfilling his responsibilities as king and leading his army to war he stayed home and was lounging around on his roof when he saw his neighbor’s wife bathing on a roof nearby. He might not have been able to help that first look, but he made the mistake of taking the second and third look, and began to desire and covet something that was not his to have. Someone said, “You might not be able to help that first look, but it is the second look that damns the soul”! Sin always fascinates, but then it assassinates. Sin blinds and then it binds. Sins leads you down a road that you will always wish you had not taken! David thought no one would see, but God was watching! And God exposed his sin for all the world to see and we are reading and hearing about it today, three thousand years later. Now David is writing several Psalms like this one that we can relate to, as we also are so prone to wander away from our love and commitments to the Lord. I trust this chapter will be an encouragement to you as much as it is to me, because we too are often suffering the consequences of our sins and we lose hope of a better tomorrow. We should learn at least two major lessons from this chapter! The first is “DON’T SIN! Stay as far away from it as possible. Scripture tells us “To abstain from the very appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). And secondly, if you have sinned cry out to God for mercy and like Habakkuk pray, “In wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2). In the midst of his suffering David did the best thing possible, he turned to the LORD. The first words of this chapter are: “O LORD….” That should also be the first thing we do if we find ourselves in this painful situation. Our God is merciful and He will forgive and also give us the grace to even deal with the terrible consequences of our sin! God Bless!