Psalm 38Prayer of a Suffering Sinner

1. Lord, do not punish me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

2. For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has pressed down on me.

3. There is no soundness in my body
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.

4. For my iniquities have flooded over my head;
they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.

5. My wounds are foul and festering
because of my foolishness.

6. I am bent over and brought very low;
all day long I go around in mourning.

7. For my insides are full of burning pain,
and there is no soundness in my body.

8. I am faint and severely crushed;
I groan because of the anguish of my heart.

9. Lord, my every desire is in front of you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.

10. My heart races, my strength leaves me,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.

11. My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,
and my relatives stand at a distance.

12. Those who intend to kill me set traps,
and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;
they plot treachery all day long.

13. I am like a deaf person; I do not hear.

I am like a speechless person
who does not open his mouth.

14. I am like a man who does not hear
and has no arguments in his mouth.

15. For I put my hope in you, Lord;
you will answer me, my Lord, my God.

16. For I said, "Don't let them rejoice over me--
those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble."

17. For I am about to fall,
and my pain is constantly with me.

18. So I confess my iniquity;
I am anxious because of my sin.

19. But my enemies are vigorous and powerful;
many hate me for no reason.

20. Those who repay evil for good
attack me for pursuing good.

21. Lord, do not abandon me;
my God, do not be far from me.

22. Hurry to help me,
my Lord, my salvation.




