My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
The painful sore leaves the sufferer isolated, with lovers and friends standing aloof and kinsmen remaining afar off while he endures affliction. Psalm 38 is a song of David that gives instruction and comfort by teaching trust and confidence in God. The psalm shows that conscience was active under the Old Testament dispensation. As a whole it also reflects something of Christ's experience, prophetically picturing his inner experience during his life-and-death struggles with the enemy.
In that reading it reveals how deeply Christ suffered and why he is able to help those who are tempted. Verse 11 was fulfilled when Jesus' friends stood at a distance from him in his suffering at the crucifixion. The same abandonment applies to the loneliness and opposition experienced by those who follow what is good. It stands as a reason to endure and to continue forward.
The painful sore leaves the sufferer isolated, with lovers and friends standing aloof and kinsmen remaining afar off while he endures affliction. Psalm 38 is a song of David that gives instruction and comfort by teaching trust and confidence in God. The psalm shows that conscience was active under the Old Testament dispensation. As a whole it also reflects something of Christ's experience, prophetically picturing his inner experience during his life-and-death struggles with the enemy.
In that reading it reveals how deeply Christ suffered and why he is able to help those who are tempted. Verse 11 was fulfilled when Jesus' friends stood at a distance from him in his suffering at the crucifixion. The same abandonment applies to the loneliness and opposition experienced by those who follow what is good. It stands as a reason to endure and to continue forward.