There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin.
David composed this psalm as a memorial, knowing how quickly God's chastisements slip from our minds even though they ought to instruct us all our lives. The title points to his purpose: to keep the lessons of affliction alive in himself and in others.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 38:1-22
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger. Mental depression tells upon the bodily frame; it is enough to create and foster every disease, and is in itself the most painful of all diseases. Soul sickness tells upon the entire frame; it weakens the body, and then bodily weakness reacts upon the mind. One drop of divine anger sets the whole of our blood boiling with misery.
When afflicted, we must call our sins to mind and set them in order before God for humiliation. This psalm teaches the sick what to think and say in their distress, but above all: pray that God's rebuke may not come in wrath, for that makes the affliction wormwood and gall.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 38:1-11