The Penitential Psalms (3)

PSALM 38

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger,

nor chasten me in thy wrath!

For thy arrows have sunk into me,

and thy hand has come down on me.

There is no soundness in my flesh

because of thy indignation;

there is no health in my bones

because of my sin.

For my iniquities have gone over my head;

they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

My wounds grow foul and fester

because of my foolishness,

I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

all the day I go about mourning.

For my loins are filled with burning,

and there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am utterly spent and crushed;

I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

Lord, all my longing is known to thee,

my sighing is not hidden from thee.

My heart throbs, my strength fails me;

and the light of my eyes -- it also has gone from me.

My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,

and my kinsmen stand afar off.

Those who seek my life lay their snares,

those who seek my hurt speak of ruin,

and meditate treachery all the day long.

But I am like a deaf man, I do not hear,

like a dumb man who does not open his mouth.

Yea, I am like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

But for thee, O Lord, do I wait;

it is thou, O Lord my God, who wilt answer.

For I pray, "Only let them not rejoice over me,

who boast against me when my foot slips!"

For I am ready to fall,

and my pain is ever with me.

I confess my iniquity,

I am sorry for my sin.

Those who are my foes without cause are mighty,

and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

Those who render me evil for good

are my adversaries because I follow after good.

Do not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, be not far from me!

Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation! Glory...

the graphic: David praying a page from the psalms