Psalms 40:12(v4)For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs…
Ezra 9:6(v4)and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our…
Matthew 11:28(v4)“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
Job 30:28(vv6, 8)I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
Psalms 32:3(vv5, 8)When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Show all 32 cross-references
Job 3:24(v8)For my sighing comes before I eat. My groanings are poured out like water.
Psalms 35:14(v6)I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
Lamentations 1:14(v4)“The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand. They are knit together. They have come up on my neck. He made my strength fail. The…
Psalms 42:9(v6)I will ask God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
Isaiah 1:5-6(v5)Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot…
1 Peter 2:24(v4)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds.
Leviticus 7:18(v4)If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, and it shall not be credited…
Psalms 31:10(v6)For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity. My bones are wasted away.
Psalms 42:5(v6)Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his…
Psalms 43:2(v6)For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Psalms 69:5(v5)God, you know my foolishness. My sins aren’t hidden from you.
Psalms 145:14(v6)Yahweh upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.
Isaiah 53:11(v4)After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of…
Isaiah 59:11(v8)We all roar like bears and moan bitterly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far off from us.
Jeremiah 8:22(v5)Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
2 Chronicles 21:18-19(v7)After all this Yahweh struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In process of time, at the end of two years, his bowels fell out…
Job 7:5(v7)My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust. My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh.
Psalms 6:6(v6)I am weary with my groaning. Every night I flood my bed. I drench my couch with my tears.
Psalms 22:1-2(v8)My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry in the…
Psalms 38:7(v5)For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.
Psalms 41:8(v7)“An evil disease”, they say, “has afflicted him. Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.”
Psalms 57:6(v6)They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves.
Psalms 88:9(v6)My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Yahweh. I have spread out my hands to you.
Psalms 102:3(v7)For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a torch.
Acts 12:23(v7)Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory. Then he was eaten by worms and died.
Job 30:18(v7)My garment is disfigured by great force. It binds me about as the collar of my tunic.
Isaiah 38:14(v6)I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security.”
32 distinct cross-references across this passage (34 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv4–74. For my iniquities have passed over my head.…
4. For my iniquities have passed over my head. Here he complains that he is overwhelmed by his sins as by a heavy burden, so that he utterly faints under their weight; and yet he again confirms the doctrine which we have already stated, that he deservedly suffered the wrath of God, which had been inflicted on him in a manner so severe and dreadful. The word עון, avon, which we have translated iniquities, no doubt often signifies punishment, but this is only in a secondary and metaphorical sense. I am also willing to admit, that David assigns to the effect what is proper to the cause, when he describes by the appellation iniquities, the punishment which he had procured by his own sin; and yet his object at the same time is plainly and distinctly to confess, that all the afflictions which he suffered were to be imputed to his sins. He quarrels not with God for the extreme severity of his punishment, as Cain did, who said,
“My punishment is greater than I can bear,” (Genesis 4:13.)
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It is true, indeed, that Moses uses the same word עון, avon, in that passage, so that there is some similarity between the language of David and Cain. But David’s meaning is very different. When such temptations as these were insinuating themselves into his mind, Could God afflict thee more severely than he does? certainly, since he is doing nothing to relieve thee, it is a sure sign that he wishes thee destroyed and brought to nought; he not only despises thy sighs and groanings, but the more he seeth thee cast down and forsaken, he pursueth thee the more fiercely and with the greater rigour; — to preclude the entrance of such evil thoughts and surmisings, he defended himself as with a shield by this consideration, that he was afflicted by the just judgment of God. He has here attributed to his own sins as the cause the weight of the wrath of God which he felt; and, as we shall find in the following verse, he again acknowledges, that what he is now suffering was procured by his own foolishness. Although, then, in bewailing his own miseries, he may seem in some measure to quarrel with God, yet he still cherishes the humble conviction, (for God afflicteth not beyond measure,) that there is no rest for him but in imploring the Divine compassion and forgiveness; whereas the ungodly, although convicted by their own consciences of guilt, murmur against God, like the wild beasts, which, in their rage, gnaw the chains with which they are bound.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv4, 5, 6, 8He confesseth his sins, God’s justice, and maketh prayer…
He confesseth his sins, God’s justice, and maketh prayer his refuge.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv4–8Psa 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine…
Psa 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over my head] So that I am even overwhelmed by them, and almost drowned in perdition and destruction. Sicut aquae praevalentes in quibus erat absorptus (Kimchi). The gospel is post naufragium tabula; and assureth us that God hath cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea; and this keepeth the head of a sinking soul above-water.
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As an heavy burden] How light soever sin seemeth in the committing, it will lie full heavy, even as a talent of lead, Zec 5:7, or as a huge mountain, Heb 12:1, when once we come to a sight and sense of it, when God’s wrath and man’s sin shall face one another, as the former verse hath it, according to the original. A facie irae tuae. A facie peccati mei. A facie stultitiae meae. From the face of your wrath, from the face of my sin, from the face of my foolishness.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv4–8Mine iniquities; or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as…
Mine iniquities; or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as this word is frequently used; which best agrees both with the foregoing and following verses, and with the metaphor here used; which in other places of Scripture is generally applied to afflictions, and not to sins.
Gone over my head, like deep waters, wherewith I am overwhelmed and almost drowned, Psa 42:7; 69:2; 124:4,5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv4–8My wounds stink, and are corrupt,.... Meaning his sins,…
My wounds stink, and are corrupt,.... Meaning his sins, which had wounded him, and for which there is no healing but in a wounded Saviour, and by his stripes we are healed, Isa 53:5; where the same word is used as here; Christ's black and blue stripes and wounds, as the word signifies, are the healing of ours, both of sins, and of the effects of them; which, to a sensible sinner, are as nauseous and loathsome as an old wound that is festered and corrupt;
because of my foolishness: as all sin arises from foolishness, which is bound in the hearts of men, and from whence it arises, Mar 7:22; perhaps the psalmist may have respect to his folly with Bathsheba, which had been the occasion of all the distress that is spoken of both before and afterwards.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv4, 5, 7Iniquities - Or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as…
Iniquities - Or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as this word is frequently used. Are gone - Like deep waters wherewith I am overwhelmed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv4–8Verse 4. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head]…
Verse 4. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head] He represents himself as one sinking in deep waters, or as one oppressed by a burden to which his strength was unequal.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv7–8Psa 38:7. With a loathsome disease — Hebrew, נקלה,…
Psa 38:7. With a loathsome disease — Hebrew, נקלה, nikleh, with vileness, or with scorching heat. “The disease,” says Poole, “might be some burning fever, breaking forth outwardly in carbuncles, or biles. It is true, this and the other expressions may be taken figuratively; but we should not forsake the literal sense of the words without necessity.” Others, however, are of opinion, that “these are figurative expressions, signifying the excessive misery and extreme wretchedness of the psalmist’s condition. And it must be acknowledged that we find the same way of speaking, and almost the same words used in Scripture, by the prophets, for the same purpose. Thus the Lord says to Ezekiel, Eze 21:6, Sigh therefore, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes, where the latter clause explains the former. So Isa 21:3, exclaims, upon a like occasion, Therefore are my loins filled with pain, &c.; I was bowed down at the hearing of it. Now no man ever imagined that Ezekiel’s loins were broken, or that Isaiah had a pain in his back like that of a woman in labour: but every one understands these expressions as only denoting the prophet’s great grief and concern. And why should we not conclude that the Prophet David used the like expressions in a like sense; especially as he almost begins this Psalm with bold figurative expressions, and describes his miserable condition by the arrows of God sticking in him, and his hand pressing him sore.” — An anonymous writer quoted by Dodd.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv4–8For mine iniquities are gone over mine head -…
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head - This is merely an enlargement of the idea suggested in the last verse - that his present sickness was to be traced to his sin, and that he was suffering the punishment for sin. The idea is here that his sins were very numerous and very aggravated. They had risen up around him, or had so accumulated that the mass rose, like waves of the sea, above his head. A somewhat similar idea - though the thought there refers rather to the number of sins than the degree of guilt - occurs in Psa 40:12 : “Mine iniquities ... are more than the hairs of my head.”
As an heavy burden ... - That is, they are so heavy that I cannot bear them, and my frame has sunk under them. This might mean either that the sense of sin was so great that he could not bear up under it, but had been crushed by it (compare Psa 32:3-4); or that on account of sin, “as if” it were a heavy weight, he had been crushed by disease. The general idea is, that the real cause of his sickness was the fact that he was a great sinner, and that God was punishing him for it.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv4–5iniquities--afflictions in punishment of sin (Sa2 16:12; Psa 31:10;…
iniquities--afflictions in punishment of sin (Sa2 16:12; Psa 31:10; Psa 40:12).
gone over mine head--as a flood.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv4–84. Iniquities are gone over mine head—The figure is…
4. Iniquities are gone over mine head—The figure is that of sinking into deep waters. The complaint of the second part of this verse is an echo of Gen_4:13. See Ezr_9:6. Whether we take עון(iniquity) in the sense of guiltiness or punishment, it is insupportable, overwhelming.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv4–84. His sins are like a flood which overwhelms…
4. His sins are like a flood which overwhelms (Psa_124:4-5); like a burden which crushes (Gen_4:13; Isa_53:4; Job_7:20).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv4–8(4) Are gone over mine head.—Like waves or a…
(4) Are gone over mine head.—Like waves or a flood. (Comp. Psa_18:15; Psa_69:2; Psa_69:15. Comp.
“A sea of troubles.”—Hamlet, Acts 3, scene 1)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv4–8For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; i.e.…
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; i.e. they overwhelm me like waves of the sea. Together with my bodily pain is mingled mental anguish a sense of regret and remorse on account of my ill-doing, and a conviction that by my sins I have brought upon me my sufferings. As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. They press me down, crush me to the earth, are more than I can bear.
Conviction of sin an element of true Christian life.
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"As a heavy burden." Jonah, when carried down in his living tomb to "the roots of the mountains," with the sea-weeds about his head, was not plunged in a deeper sea of trouble than David in the experience this psalm records. (comp. Psa_32:3-5) He felt that his troubles were the just and wise chastisement of his sins; and they lead him to confession (ver. 18). He humbly bows under God"s hand; but only prays that he may feel that chastisement is not in wrath, but in mercy. (ver. 1; cf. Heb_12:5, etc.) These words supply a starting-point for some remarks on conviction of sin as an element in true Christian life.
I CONVICTION OF SINq.d. sorrowful sense of blameworthiness before God SPRINGS FROM A TRIPLE ROOT:
(1) an awakened and enlightened conscience;
(2) definite memory of particular sins;
(3) clear and affecting views of holiness.
1. The natural effect of persistent sin is to deaden conscience. (Eph_5:19) Conscience may be awake, but completely perverted by ignorance or false belief; e.g. the heathen mother flinging her infant into the Ganges. (Act_26:9) When the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the mind, and applies the truth to the heart, sin is seen and felt to be "exceeding sinful". (Rom_7:7-13) Hence to a tender, rightly informed conscience, things appear sinful in which an ungodly heart discerns no harm.
2. We sin in many other ways than in deliberate acts of conscious transgression. We "leave undone what we ought to do;" fail in intention, in mixed unworthy motives, even when our action is good; selfishness, cowardice, sloth, unfaithfulness; falling (how far!) short of the Divine standard love to God with all the heart, mind, soul, strength, and to our neighbour as ourself. We may know all this, confess it, seek pardon; but it does not oppress and burden conscience like some definite act of sin perhaps long past which stands out with frightful clearness in the memory. (Psa_51:3)
3. The measure of the sinfulness of sin is its opposition to holiness. The Bible standard of holiness is God"s character revealed to us, above all, in Christ. (1Pe_1:15, 1Pe_1:16) Therefore our view of our own sinfulness will depend on our clear and affecting apprehension of God"s holiness. The robe that looks white in dim light will betray all its spots and stains in midday sunshine.
II EXPERIENCE GREATLY VARIES, EVEN IN REAL CHRISTIANS, REGARDING CONVICTION OF SIN. With some, overwhelming; with others, consciously deficient. This may arise from either of the sources spoken of, or a combination tenderness or dulness of conscience, remembrance of particular sins, closeness of converse with God, and deep and lofty views of holiness. Some Christians may be patterns, but none are models, for others.
III DIM, FEEBLE SENSE OF SIN AND OF ITS EVIL SEEMS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CHRISTIANITY OF TO-DAY. There is a great advance in prevailing views and teaching regarding Divine love; but no corresponding advance regarding Divine righteousness and holiness. This tends to enfeeble Christian life and work. Nothing is more dangerous than the use of exaggerated language to express our inner life. Let no Christian for whom they would be exaggerated and unreal adopt the words of the text. But let us seek a quickened conscience, a faithful self-knowledge, above all, nearness to God, that we may see all sin, and our own, in the light both of his holiness and of his love.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv4–8Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine…
Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head. Like waves of the deep sea; like black mire in which a man utterly sinks. Above my hopes, my strength, my life itself, my sin rises in its terror. Unawakened sinners think their sins to be mere shallows, but when conscience is aroused they find out the depth of iniquity. As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. It is well when sin is an intolerable load, and when the remembrance of our sins burdens us beyond endurance. This verse is the genuine cry of one who feels himself undone by his transgressions and as yet sees not the great sacrifice.
Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. David proceeds to a reason why his prayer must be vehement, why these miseries of his are so violent, and why God's anger is permanent, and he finds this all to be, because in his sins, all these venomous qualities, vehemence, violence, and continuance, were complicated, and unwrapped; for he had sinned vehemently, in the rage of lust, and violently, in the effusion of blood, and permanently, in a long and senseless security. They are all contracted in this text into two kinds, which will be our two parts in handling these words: first, the Supergressae super, "Mine iniquities are gone over my head, "there is the multiplicity, the number, the succession, and so the continuation of his sin; and then, the Gravatae super, "My sins are as a heavy burden, too heavy for me, "there is the greatness, the weight, the insupportableness of his sin. St. Augustine calls these two distinctions or considerations of sin, ignorantiam, et difficultatem; first that David was ignorant, that he saw not the tide, as it swelled up upon him, abyssus abyssum, depth called upon depth; and all thy waters, and all thy billows are gone over me (says he in another place); he perceived them not coming till they were over him, he discerned not his particular sins then when he committed them, till they came to the supergressae super, to that height that he was overflowed, surrounded, his iniquities were gone over his head; and in that St. Augustine notes ignorantiam, his inobservance, his inconsiderations of his own case; and then he notes difficultatem, the hardness of recovering, because he that is under water hath no air to see by, no air to hear by, he hath nothing to reach to, he touches not ground, to push him up, he feels no bough to pull him up, and therein that further notes difficultatem, the hardness of recovering. Now Moses expresses these two miseries together, in the destruction of the Egyptians, in his song, after Israel's deliverance, and the Egyptians' submersion, "The depths have covered them" (there is the supergressae super, their iniquities, in that punishment of their iniquities, were gone over their heads), and then they sank into the bottom like a stone (says Moses), there is the gravatae super, they depressed them, suppressed them, oppressed them, they were under them, and there they must lie. The Egyptians had, David had, we have, too many sins to swim above water, and too great sins to get above water again when we are sunk. John Donne.
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Ver. 4. As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. No strength is so great but it may be overburdened; though Samson went light away with the gates of Gaza, yet when a whole house fell upon him it crushed him to death. And such, alas! am I; I have had sin as a burden upon me ever since I was born, but bore it a long time as light as Samson did the gates of Gaza; but now that I have pulled a whole house of sin upon me, how can I choose but be crushed to death with so great a weight? And crushed, O my soul, thou shouldest be indeed, if God for all his anger did not take some pity on thee, and for all his displeasure did not stay his hand from further chastening thee. Sir Richard Baker.
Ver. 4. It is of singular use to us, that the backslidings of the holy men of God are recorded in Holy Writ. Spots appear nowhere more disagreeable than when seen in a most beautiful face, or on the cleanest garment. And it is expedient to have a perfect knowledge of the filthiness of sin. We also learn from them to think humbly of ourselves, to depend on the grace of God, to keep a stricter eye upon ourselves, lest perhaps we fall into the same or more grievous sins. Ga 6:1. Herman Witsius, D.D., 1636-1708.
Ver. 4-5. It is only when we can enter into all that is implied here that we begin to see our exceeding sinfulness. There is a certain feeling of sin which does not interfere with our pride, and self respect. We can have that sort of feeling, and say pretty earnestly, Mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. But it is otherwise with us when we get to know ourselves better, and to feel ourselves loathsome in our wickedness, when our folly and meanness and ingratitude oppress us, and we begin to loathe ourselves, and can enter into verse five. Our wounds, once an object of self pity, and something in which we could claim sympathy and healing from our friends, have become corrupt, because of the meanness and folly we feel to be in us. We hide them now, for if they were seen, would not "lovers and friends stand aloof from our sore"? Then we are silent except to God, "For in thee, O Lord, do I hope; thou wilt hear, O Lord my God, "Ps 38:15. O love of God that turns not away! O blessed Jesus, that turneth not away from the leprous man that fell upon his face and said, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean, but put forth thine hand and touched him, saying, `I will: be thou clean, 'to whom can we go but unto thee!" Mary B. M. Duncan.
Ver. 4. (first clause). Sin in its relations to us. To the eye pleasing. To the heart disappointing. In the bones vexing. Over the head overwhelming.
Ver. 4. The confession of an awakened sinner.
Ver. 4. (last clause). Sin.
1. Heavya burden.
2. Very heavyA heavy burden.
3. Superlatively heavytoo heavy for me.
4. Not immoveable, for though too heavy for me, yet Jesus bore it.
Psalms 38:5*
Ver. 4-5. See Psalms on "Ps 38:4" for further information.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv4–6Mine iniquities are gone over my head.
Psa_38:4
Mine iniquities are gone over my head.
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Sins compared to deepening waters
He compareth his sins to waters which, albeit, at the first entrance they seem so shallow, that scarce they touch our ankles; yet the further we go into them, they prove the deeper, and soon pass from our knees to our shoulders, and over our head, and drown us, except God provide a remedy; as if a plank or board be cast unto one in danger of drowning, whereupon, taking hold, he may easily escape the danger; even so we go from sin to sin, and from less to greater, until that many sins meeting and concurring together overgo us: and we, filling the cup of our iniquity, be poisoned with the dregs thereof. Therefore, let us take heed, and turn back in time, lest going forward, contemning such warnings, we become self-murderers, murderers of our own selves. We have better waters, through which we may go in safety, the waters of Siloah, which run softly, by which we may refresh our own souls; the blessed blood of Jesus Christ; and the waters of Ezekiel (Eze_47:12) which flow in the sanctuary, that we may grow from grace to grace, till we come to glory. (A. Symson.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv5, 7General Information:
General Information:
David continues describing what his guilt and shame does to his body. He uses hyperbole to emphasize the effects of this lesson.
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My wounds are infected and smell
Here "smell" refer to his sores having a bad smell that is associated with rotting flesh. AT: "My wounds are infected and stink as they rot" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
I am stooped over
The pain of the writer's wounds have caused him to be bent over as if he were an old, feeble man. AT: "I am bent over in pain" (See: Metaphor)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4–7 4. For my iniquities have passed over my head.…
4. For my iniquities have passed over my head. Here he complains that he is overwhelmed by his sins as by a heavy burden, so that he utterly faints under their weight; and yet he again confirms the doctrine which we have already stated, that he deservedly suffered the wrath of God, which had been inflicted on him in a manner so severe and dreadful. The word עון, avon, which we have translated iniquities, no doubt often signifies punishment, but this is only in a secondary and metaphorical sense. I am also willing to admit, that David assigns to the effect what is proper to the cause, when he describes by the appellation iniquities, the punishment which he had procured by his own sin; and yet his object at the same time is plainly and distinctly to confess, that all the afflictions which he suffered were to be imputed to his sins. He quarrels not with God for the extreme severity of his punishment, as Cain did, who said,
“My punishment is greater than I can bear,” (Genesis 4:13.)
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It is true, indeed, that Moses uses the same word עון, avon, in that passage, so that there is some similarity between the language of David and Cain. But David’s meaning is very different. When such temptations as these were insinuating themselves into his mind, Could God afflict thee more severely than he does? certainly, since he is doing nothing to relieve thee, it is a sure sign that he wishes thee destroyed and brought to nought; he not only despises thy sighs and groanings, but the more he seeth thee cast down and forsaken, he pursueth thee the more fiercely and with the greater rigour; — to preclude the entrance of such evil thoughts and surmisings, he defended himself as with a shield by this consideration, that he was afflicted by the just judgment of God. He has here attributed to his own sins as the cause the weight of the wrath of God which he felt; and, as we shall find in the following verse, he again acknowledges, that what he is now suffering was procured by his own foolishness. Although, then, in bewailing his own miseries, he may seem in some measure to quarrel with God, yet he still cherishes the humble conviction, (for God afflicteth not beyond measure,) that there is no rest for him but in imploring the Divine compassion and forgiveness; whereas the ungodly, although convicted by their own consciences of guilt, murmur against God, like the wild beasts, which, in their rage, gnaw the chains with which they are bound.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 8 He confesseth his sins, God’s justice, and maketh prayer…
He confesseth his sins, God’s justice, and maketh prayer his refuge.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–8 Psa 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine…
Psa 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over my head] So that I am even overwhelmed by them, and almost drowned in perdition and destruction. Sicut aquae praevalentes in quibus erat absorptus (Kimchi). The gospel is post naufragium tabula; and assureth us that God hath cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea; and this keepeth the head of a sinking soul above-water.
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As an heavy burden] How light soever sin seemeth in the committing, it will lie full heavy, even as a talent of lead, Zec 5:7, or as a huge mountain, Heb 12:1, when once we come to a sight and sense of it, when God’s wrath and man’s sin shall face one another, as the former verse hath it, according to the original. A facie irae tuae. A facie peccati mei. A facie stultitiae meae. From the face of your wrath, from the face of my sin, from the face of my foolishness.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–8 Mine iniquities; or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as…
Mine iniquities; or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as this word is frequently used; which best agrees both with the foregoing and following verses, and with the metaphor here used; which in other places of Scripture is generally applied to afflictions, and not to sins.
Gone over my head, like deep waters, wherewith I am overwhelmed and almost drowned, Psa 42:7; 69:2; 124:4,5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–8 My wounds stink, and are corrupt,.... Meaning his sins,…
My wounds stink, and are corrupt,.... Meaning his sins, which had wounded him, and for which there is no healing but in a wounded Saviour, and by his stripes we are healed, Isa 53:5; where the same word is used as here; Christ's black and blue stripes and wounds, as the word signifies, are the healing of ours, both of sins, and of the effects of them; which, to a sensible sinner, are as nauseous and loathsome as an old wound that is festered and corrupt;
because of my foolishness: as all sin arises from foolishness, which is bound in the hearts of men, and from whence it arises, Mar 7:22; perhaps the psalmist may have respect to his folly with Bathsheba, which had been the occasion of all the distress that is spoken of both before and afterwards.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 7 Iniquities - Or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as…
Iniquities - Or, the punishment of mine iniquities, as this word is frequently used. Are gone - Like deep waters wherewith I am overwhelmed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–8 Verse 4. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head]…
Verse 4. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head] He represents himself as one sinking in deep waters, or as one oppressed by a burden to which his strength was unequal.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7–8 Psa 38:7. With a loathsome disease — Hebrew, נקלה,…
Psa 38:7. With a loathsome disease — Hebrew, נקלה, nikleh, with vileness, or with scorching heat. “The disease,” says Poole, “might be some burning fever, breaking forth outwardly in carbuncles, or biles. It is true, this and the other expressions may be taken figuratively; but we should not forsake the literal sense of the words without necessity.” Others, however, are of opinion, that “these are figurative expressions, signifying the excessive misery and extreme wretchedness of the psalmist’s condition. And it must be acknowledged that we find the same way of speaking, and almost the same words used in Scripture, by the prophets, for the same purpose. Thus the Lord says to Ezekiel, Eze 21:6, Sigh therefore, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes, where the latter clause explains the former. So Isa 21:3, exclaims, upon a like occasion, Therefore are my loins filled with pain, &c.; I was bowed down at the hearing of it. Now no man ever imagined that Ezekiel’s loins were broken, or that Isaiah had a pain in his back like that of a woman in labour: but every one understands these expressions as only denoting the prophet’s great grief and concern. And why should we not conclude that the Prophet David used the like expressions in a like sense; especially as he almost begins this Psalm with bold figurative expressions, and describes his miserable condition by the arrows of God sticking in him, and his hand pressing him sore.” — An anonymous writer quoted by Dodd.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–8 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head -…
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head - This is merely an enlargement of the idea suggested in the last verse - that his present sickness was to be traced to his sin, and that he was suffering the punishment for sin. The idea is here that his sins were very numerous and very aggravated. They had risen up around him, or had so accumulated that the mass rose, like waves of the sea, above his head. A somewhat similar idea - though the thought there refers rather to the number of sins than the degree of guilt - occurs in Psa 40:12 : “Mine iniquities ... are more than the hairs of my head.”
As an heavy burden ... - That is, they are so heavy that I cannot bear them, and my frame has sunk under them. This might mean either that the sense of sin was so great that he could not bear up under it, but had been crushed by it (compare Psa 32:3-4); or that on account of sin, “as if” it were a heavy weight, he had been crushed by disease. The general idea is, that the real cause of his sickness was the fact that he was a great sinner, and that God was punishing him for it.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4–5 iniquities--afflictions in punishment of sin (Sa2 16:12; Psa 31:10;…
iniquities--afflictions in punishment of sin (Sa2 16:12; Psa 31:10; Psa 40:12).
gone over mine head--as a flood.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4–8 4. Iniquities are gone over mine head—The figure is…
4. Iniquities are gone over mine head—The figure is that of sinking into deep waters. The complaint of the second part of this verse is an echo of Gen_4:13. See Ezr_9:6. Whether we take עון(iniquity) in the sense of guiltiness or punishment, it is insupportable, overwhelming.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–8 4. His sins are like a flood which overwhelms…
4. His sins are like a flood which overwhelms (Psa_124:4-5); like a burden which crushes (Gen_4:13; Isa_53:4; Job_7:20).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–8 (4) Are gone over mine head.—Like waves or a…
(4) Are gone over mine head.—Like waves or a flood. (Comp. Psa_18:15; Psa_69:2; Psa_69:15. Comp.
“A sea of troubles.”—Hamlet, Acts 3, scene 1)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4–8 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; i.e.…
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; i.e. they overwhelm me like waves of the sea. Together with my bodily pain is mingled mental anguish a sense of regret and remorse on account of my ill-doing, and a conviction that by my sins I have brought upon me my sufferings. As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. They press me down, crush me to the earth, are more than I can bear.
Conviction of sin an element of true Christian life.
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"As a heavy burden." Jonah, when carried down in his living tomb to "the roots of the mountains," with the sea-weeds about his head, was not plunged in a deeper sea of trouble than David in the experience this psalm records. (comp. Psa_32:3-5) He felt that his troubles were the just and wise chastisement of his sins; and they lead him to confession (ver. 18). He humbly bows under God"s hand; but only prays that he may feel that chastisement is not in wrath, but in mercy. (ver. 1; cf. Heb_12:5, etc.) These words supply a starting-point for some remarks on conviction of sin as an element in true Christian life.
I CONVICTION OF SINq.d. sorrowful sense of blameworthiness before God SPRINGS FROM A TRIPLE ROOT:
(1) an awakened and enlightened conscience;
(2) definite memory of particular sins;
(3) clear and affecting views of holiness.
1. The natural effect of persistent sin is to deaden conscience. (Eph_5:19) Conscience may be awake, but completely perverted by ignorance or false belief; e.g. the heathen mother flinging her infant into the Ganges. (Act_26:9) When the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the mind, and applies the truth to the heart, sin is seen and felt to be "exceeding sinful". (Rom_7:7-13) Hence to a tender, rightly informed conscience, things appear sinful in which an ungodly heart discerns no harm.
2. We sin in many other ways than in deliberate acts of conscious transgression. We "leave undone what we ought to do;" fail in intention, in mixed unworthy motives, even when our action is good; selfishness, cowardice, sloth, unfaithfulness; falling (how far!) short of the Divine standard love to God with all the heart, mind, soul, strength, and to our neighbour as ourself. We may know all this, confess it, seek pardon; but it does not oppress and burden conscience like some definite act of sin perhaps long past which stands out with frightful clearness in the memory. (Psa_51:3)
3. The measure of the sinfulness of sin is its opposition to holiness. The Bible standard of holiness is God"s character revealed to us, above all, in Christ. (1Pe_1:15, 1Pe_1:16) Therefore our view of our own sinfulness will depend on our clear and affecting apprehension of God"s holiness. The robe that looks white in dim light will betray all its spots and stains in midday sunshine.
II EXPERIENCE GREATLY VARIES, EVEN IN REAL CHRISTIANS, REGARDING CONVICTION OF SIN. With some, overwhelming; with others, consciously deficient. This may arise from either of the sources spoken of, or a combination tenderness or dulness of conscience, remembrance of particular sins, closeness of converse with God, and deep and lofty views of holiness. Some Christians may be patterns, but none are models, for others.
III DIM, FEEBLE SENSE OF SIN AND OF ITS EVIL SEEMS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CHRISTIANITY OF TO-DAY. There is a great advance in prevailing views and teaching regarding Divine love; but no corresponding advance regarding Divine righteousness and holiness. This tends to enfeeble Christian life and work. Nothing is more dangerous than the use of exaggerated language to express our inner life. Let no Christian for whom they would be exaggerated and unreal adopt the words of the text. But let us seek a quickened conscience, a faithful self-knowledge, above all, nearness to God, that we may see all sin, and our own, in the light both of his holiness and of his love.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv4–8 Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine…
Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head. Like waves of the deep sea; like black mire in which a man utterly sinks. Above my hopes, my strength, my life itself, my sin rises in its terror. Unawakened sinners think their sins to be mere shallows, but when conscience is aroused they find out the depth of iniquity. As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. It is well when sin is an intolerable load, and when the remembrance of our sins burdens us beyond endurance. This verse is the genuine cry of one who feels himself undone by his transgressions and as yet sees not the great sacrifice.
Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. David proceeds to a reason why his prayer must be vehement, why these miseries of his are so violent, and why God's anger is permanent, and he finds this all to be, because in his sins, all these venomous qualities, vehemence, violence, and continuance, were complicated, and unwrapped; for he had sinned vehemently, in the rage of lust, and violently, in the effusion of blood, and permanently, in a long and senseless security. They are all contracted in this text into two kinds, which will be our two parts in handling these words: first, the Supergressae super, "Mine iniquities are gone over my head, "there is the multiplicity, the number, the succession, and so the continuation of his sin; and then, the Gravatae super, "My sins are as a heavy burden, too heavy for me, "there is the greatness, the weight, the insupportableness of his sin. St. Augustine calls these two distinctions or considerations of sin, ignorantiam, et difficultatem; first that David was ignorant, that he saw not the tide, as it swelled up upon him, abyssus abyssum, depth called upon depth; and all thy waters, and all thy billows are gone over me (says he in another place); he perceived them not coming till they were over him, he discerned not his particular sins then when he committed them, till they came to the supergressae super, to that height that he was overflowed, surrounded, his iniquities were gone over his head; and in that St. Augustine notes ignorantiam, his inobservance, his inconsiderations of his own case; and then he notes difficultatem, the hardness of recovering, because he that is under water hath no air to see by, no air to hear by, he hath nothing to reach to, he touches not ground, to push him up, he feels no bough to pull him up, and therein that further notes difficultatem, the hardness of recovering. Now Moses expresses these two miseries together, in the destruction of the Egyptians, in his song, after Israel's deliverance, and the Egyptians' submersion, "The depths have covered them" (there is the supergressae super, their iniquities, in that punishment of their iniquities, were gone over their heads), and then they sank into the bottom like a stone (says Moses), there is the gravatae super, they depressed them, suppressed them, oppressed them, they were under them, and there they must lie. The Egyptians had, David had, we have, too many sins to swim above water, and too great sins to get above water again when we are sunk. John Donne.
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Ver. 4. As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. No strength is so great but it may be overburdened; though Samson went light away with the gates of Gaza, yet when a whole house fell upon him it crushed him to death. And such, alas! am I; I have had sin as a burden upon me ever since I was born, but bore it a long time as light as Samson did the gates of Gaza; but now that I have pulled a whole house of sin upon me, how can I choose but be crushed to death with so great a weight? And crushed, O my soul, thou shouldest be indeed, if God for all his anger did not take some pity on thee, and for all his displeasure did not stay his hand from further chastening thee. Sir Richard Baker.
Ver. 4. It is of singular use to us, that the backslidings of the holy men of God are recorded in Holy Writ. Spots appear nowhere more disagreeable than when seen in a most beautiful face, or on the cleanest garment. And it is expedient to have a perfect knowledge of the filthiness of sin. We also learn from them to think humbly of ourselves, to depend on the grace of God, to keep a stricter eye upon ourselves, lest perhaps we fall into the same or more grievous sins. Ga 6:1. Herman Witsius, D.D., 1636-1708.
Ver. 4-5. It is only when we can enter into all that is implied here that we begin to see our exceeding sinfulness. There is a certain feeling of sin which does not interfere with our pride, and self respect. We can have that sort of feeling, and say pretty earnestly, Mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. But it is otherwise with us when we get to know ourselves better, and to feel ourselves loathsome in our wickedness, when our folly and meanness and ingratitude oppress us, and we begin to loathe ourselves, and can enter into verse five. Our wounds, once an object of self pity, and something in which we could claim sympathy and healing from our friends, have become corrupt, because of the meanness and folly we feel to be in us. We hide them now, for if they were seen, would not "lovers and friends stand aloof from our sore"? Then we are silent except to God, "For in thee, O Lord, do I hope; thou wilt hear, O Lord my God, "Ps 38:15. O love of God that turns not away! O blessed Jesus, that turneth not away from the leprous man that fell upon his face and said, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean, but put forth thine hand and touched him, saying, `I will: be thou clean, 'to whom can we go but unto thee!" Mary B. M. Duncan.
Ver. 4. (first clause). Sin in its relations to us. To the eye pleasing. To the heart disappointing. In the bones vexing. Over the head overwhelming.
Ver. 4. The confession of an awakened sinner.
Ver. 4. (last clause). Sin.
1. Heavya burden.
2. Very heavyA heavy burden.
3. Superlatively heavytoo heavy for me.
4. Not immoveable, for though too heavy for me, yet Jesus bore it.
Psalms 38:5*
Ver. 4-5. See Psalms on "Ps 38:4" for further information.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Mine iniquities are gone over my head.
Psa_38:4
Mine iniquities are gone over my head.
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Sins compared to deepening waters
He compareth his sins to waters which, albeit, at the first entrance they seem so shallow, that scarce they touch our ankles; yet the further we go into them, they prove the deeper, and soon pass from our knees to our shoulders, and over our head, and drown us, except God provide a remedy; as if a plank or board be cast unto one in danger of drowning, whereupon, taking hold, he may easily escape the danger; even so we go from sin to sin, and from less to greater, until that many sins meeting and concurring together overgo us: and we, filling the cup of our iniquity, be poisoned with the dregs thereof. Therefore, let us take heed, and turn back in time, lest going forward, contemning such warnings, we become self-murderers, murderers of our own selves. We have better waters, through which we may go in safety, the waters of Siloah, which run softly, by which we may refresh our own souls; the blessed blood of Jesus Christ; and the waters of Ezekiel (Eze_47:12) which flow in the sanctuary, that we may grow from grace to grace, till we come to glory. (A. Symson.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 General Information:
General Information:
David continues describing what his guilt and shame does to his body. He uses hyperbole to emphasize the effects of this lesson.
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My wounds are infected and smell
Here "smell" refer to his sores having a bad smell that is associated with rotting flesh. AT: "My wounds are infected and stink as they rot" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
I am stooped over
The pain of the writer's wounds have caused him to be bent over as if he were an old, feeble man. AT: "I am bent over in pain" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
fool
mourn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4–5 38:4 The psalmist’s burden results from sin (see 40:12;…
38:4 The psalmist’s burden results from sin (see 40:12; 41:4; cp. Gen 4:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.