We saw how Psalm 38 laid out in gruesome detail the slow perishing of the psalmist. All his systems have shut down; there is no fixing him. It is time to close this book, bury this dead, and move on. Yet even though his body has crumbled and his mind is gone, his faith still kicks. His hope yet breathes: “But I wait for you, O Lord. I hope in Yahweh, for surely you can answer me. You will answer me” (v. 15, author’s translation). All good seems eclipsed by the dark cloud of wrath, but the psalmist keeps praying in faith; he will ever hope in his God. So he registers his petitions, and he waits. “Don’t judge me in wrath. Forsake me not, O Yahweh. Be not far off, my God. Hurry to be my deliverance, for you are the God of salvation.”

Every spiritual anchor has been cut off for this faith except one—the very name of Yahweh, David’s God and Savior. And faith clinging to the name of God, even amid the dark vale of death, is enough. We are saved by faith alone. The psalmist has lost everything but his faith waiting on the Lord. Hence, this psalm closes with no answer or deliverance narrated. A line of praise and thanksgiving does not punctuate this poem. Rather, Psalm 38 concludes with a patient faith surrounded by wrath for sin and the strong vibe that it all turned out fine. A faith resting on God for salvation from sin is so definitive, the outcome is certain. To narrate the deliverance seems redundant.

Furthermore, from this sad psalm and assumed rescue, some of the fundamentals of our salvation are demonstrated. To begin with, the psalmist sinned, and so he is terribly sick and dying. His illness was unmistakable evidence of his sin and the Lord’s judgment. But this tight relationship between cause and effect is one that cannot be cut and pasted for us. Under the theocracy and the strict law principle, God revealed that sickness was due to sin. Illness was the punishment of justice.

Even under Moses, this did not cover every little ailment. Most likely, seasonal colds and flus were not tied to sin. Accidental cuts and scrapes were not signs of wrath. Yet major and chronic diseases were, as the psalmist experiences here. Hence, the psalmist could feel his agony, read the law, and rightly conclude that he had sinned and God was punishing him. But what David could do under the law, we cannot. As Jesus told his disciples about some accidental deaths (John 9), it was not because they or their parents sinned, but for the glory of God. Likewise, Job and Ecclesiastes have instructed us that we cannot read the retribution principle backward to interpret all illness as a result of sin. Instead, bodily and mental health belong more to the random events of providence. God has not given us to read behind his providence to uncover all his plans.

But the Lord did link sin-sickness together under the law for a reason. The psalmist’s illness under wrath serves a grand purpose—namely, the retribution under Moses pointed back to the fall. The covenantal curses were bareness, drought, and disease to show how sin warped the world. By the sin of Adam, death entered the world. And the henchmen of death prowl as the pains of injury, disease, and madness. Such bodily and mental disorders may not be for our individual transgressions, but they still mark that our world is bent and racked with death. These illnesses and agonies remind us that we need to be saved from sin and from its effects.

Not all sickness is for personal sins, but because of Adam’s sin, disease runs wild in our world. If illness entered the world through sin, how then is it removed from the world? It is by dealing with sin. So the psalmist here can only find healing by first being forgiven. Atonement must appease wrath so that he can be restored to health.

And we see this very reality in the ministry of Christ. As the angel told Joseph, the One born of Mary will save people from their sins. Or, as Jesus said, the Son of Man came as a ransom for sinners (see Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45). Laying down his life as a sacrifice for sin was the chief and primary mission of Christ. And yet what were the signs of this gospel purpose? Healings! He gave the blind sight, opened deaf ears, cured the lame, stopped blood flows, and even raised the dead. Jesus healed the sick. Sure, this was not his main work, which is evident because he did not heal everyone; he stopped healings later on his ministry, and miraculous healings did not continue after the apostles. Yet the healings Jesus did do were signs that his dealing with sin would ultimately deliver the world from death and disease. The book of Hebrews affirms that he came first to deal with sin, and he is coming again to take care of death.

Additionally, what did Jesus have to do to pay for sin and appease wrath? He had to suffer the full justice for our sin, which includes the agonies of Psalm 38. Jesus had no sin, but he became sin for us. Our sins were put on him, along with all our infirmities. The term for wounds in verse 5 is picked up in Isaiah 53: By his wounds we are healed. First Peter 2:21–24 cites this as fulfilled in Christ for us; by the injuries of Jesus, you are made whole and healthy. Thus, all the bodily and mental agonies painfully listed in this psalm Jesus endured on the cross. Mind shaking, bones burning, constant pain, forsaken by friends—so was the agony of your Savior for you. Jesus suffered the full wrath of God so that you find mercy. Jesus had no sin of his own to confess, but he took your sin in his flesh and confessed it for you.

All the horrors of Psalm 38 were suffered by our Savior. Between the lines of his wretched misery, you read the grace and mercy of your salvation. Dear saint, you deserved the full torment of this psalm for your sin, but Jesus suffered it in your place for your deliverance. This is how much Jesus loves you.

And how do we become beneficiaries of Christ’s healing? Just as David here, by faith alone. By despairing in your sin and resting in Jesus, God’s grace rushes to your help and your everlasting salvation, even to your complete restoration of body and mind. Illness and disorders mark the age of sin, so perfect health reigns in the age to come.

Presently, you have total forgiveness and glorious justification from all your sins in Christ. And in the resurrection, Christ has in store for you a new body, untouched by pain, defect, and death. All of us will still feel the pains of this psalm, body and mind, in this life, yet amid these infirmities, you have the assurance that you are forgiven and adopted. And you possess the sure hope of new creation in Christ. So may we rejoice in what Jesus suffered for us. Let us be quick to confess our sins, assured of the Father’s abundant pardon. And may we magnify our Lord now until we are finally delivered from this body of death in the resurrection and forever more.

Amen.

©Zach Keele. All Rights Reserved.

You can find the whole series here.

RESOURCES

• Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
• Download the HeidelApp on Apple App Store or Google Play
• Browse the Heidelshop!
• The Heidelblog Resource Page
• Heidelmedia Resources
• The Ecumenical Creeds
• The Reformed Confessions
• The Heidelberg Catechism
• The Heidelberg Catechism: A Historical, Theological, & Pastoral Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2025)
• Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
• Why I Am A Christian
• What Must A Christian Believe?
• Heidelblog Contributors
• Saturday Psalm Series
• Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to

Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

Post authored by:

• Zach Keele

  

  Rev. Zachary Keele grew up on a ranch in a small town named Crawford, Colorado. He attended Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and received his Master of Divinity from Westminster Seminary California. He has served as the pastor of Escondido OPC since 2006.

  More by Zach Keele ›