If this psalm was written when David’s great sin first came to light and struck dismay and horror into the hearts of his friends, can we wonder that its tone is so subdued? How great the contrast with Ps 35! What light does the psalm throw on the effect of discovered sin in the life of a believer? Answer: I don’t see this psalm as subdued. I hear David crying out because of his pain. No wait, subdued also means not harsh. Yes, this psalm is not as harsh as the others. David does not ask God to get vengeance on his enemies, rather he briefly mentions them to say that they hate him. I am reminded of the speck verses plank in the eye. Why are you worried about the speck in another man’s eye when there is a plank in your eye? I may be way off base here, but those times that I feel as David does here I realize how much I do (and really shouldn’t) worry about what others have or do. It is those times in life that God puts me in my place. Thankfully not to the degree that David is dealing with here, but my “emotional” pain is the same because I feel that I have failed God.
The three divisions of this psalm are marked by the fact that they all begin with an address to God. Do you discern a progress in faith from one section to the next? Answer: I see an address to God in v1, 9, and 15. I do see a progress of faith and trust in the Lord.
Note:
Verse 5. ‘My wounds’: i.e., my stripes, a poetic description of God’s scourging.
Verse 11. ‘My wounds’: his friends regard him with horror as is he were a leper.
Eric’s notes
Broken down into 5, 4 verse sections with a 2 verse conclusion.
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