For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Mine iniquities rising over the head like water and pressing as too heavy to carry picture a person immersed and overwhelmed by sin, not merely touched by it. It is a prayer of conviction and confession that gives words for the danger of transgression, warns against it, and points to God as able and willing to save. Recognizing that iniquities overwhelm like a burden too heavy to bear is an awakening from the sleep of self-deception, in which the sinner humbles himself, owns his wrong without excusing it or comparing it with others, and brings his faults to Jesus. The burden is relieved by looking to Jesus in faith, for God's Spirit works through the preaching of truth to bring recognition of sin and turning to the One who takes sin away, and the load falls from the soul when He is found as Saviour and gives peace. Delaying repentance adds to unrepented sins until the growing load overwhelms, while the bitter taste of conviction comes before the joy of pardon, and those who avoid the path of repentance and humility prize keeping their burdens. Those who held it teach that the psalm also reveals Christ's inner experience as He passed through temptation and life-and-death struggles with the enemy.
Imagery and Setting
Iniquities rise over the head like water and press as a load too heavy to carry, leaving a person immersed and overwhelmed by sin rather than merely sprinkled with it. The picture is one of deep distress under sin, humbling oneself and bringing faults to Jesus for relief. The rising flood and the unbearable weight together express how sin towers above the sinner and exceeds what he can bear.
That overwhelming burden supports describing sinners as bound in sin, like prisoners held fast and unable to free themselves. The verse belongs to a prayer of conviction and confession, in which guilt brings deep sorrow and the felt need for deliverance. In that prayer the Psalms give words for human experience, setting forth the danger of sin and warning against transgression while pointing to God as able and willing to save.
Psalm 38 is among the prophetic word-pictures that reveal Christ's inner experience as He passed through temptation and life-and-death struggles with the enemy. The psalm also shows that conscience was active under the Old Testament dispensation.
Conviction, Repentance, Deliverance
Recognizing iniquities as overwhelming like a burden too heavy to bear is awakening from the sleep of self-deception, discovering the error in which one had lived. The verse gives voice to deep distress in which a person recognizes his own iniquities as the cause of his misery, humbling himself and bringing his faults to Jesus. In true contrition the sinner recognizes how deeply sin has become part of himself and feels anguish in turning from it, owning his wrong without excusing it or comparing it with the sins of others. Guilt in this condition weighs the soul down and keeps it from approaching God, while fear of punishment under the law brings terror and distress.
The crushing weight can press so heavily on the soul that a person groans aloud, despairs of life, and believes the Almighty has forsaken him because of his iniquities, as seen in one crushed by the belief that he had killed another and deserved punishment, Dan believing he had killed Nanny. Delaying repentance adds to unrepented sins until the growing load becomes harder to carry and finally overwhelms the sinner, while being burdened by sin and crying out over its bitterness is a sign of coming to Christ.
Feeling that weight can lead a person to seek help, for God's Spirit works through the preaching of truth to bring recognition of sin and turning to the One who takes sin away and gives peace. The burden brings deep misery and is relieved by looking to Jesus in faith, falling from the soul when he is discovered as Saviour. That burdened feeling, with the bitter taste of wormwood and gall under conviction, comes before the joy felt when pardoning blood is applied to the heart, and those who fall into spiritual sleep forget both things, losing memory of the weight of guilt once felt and of the pardon that followed. The burden is the weight of sin left behind at the cross, while those who avoid the path of repentance and humility prize keeping their burdens, including cherished habits.
Mine iniquities rising over the head like water and pressing as too heavy to carry picture a person immersed and overwhelmed by sin, not merely touched by it. It is a prayer of conviction and confession that gives words for the danger of transgression, warns against it, and points to God as able and willing to save. Recognizing that iniquities overwhelm like a burden too heavy to bear is an awakening from the sleep of self-deception, in which the sinner humbles himself, owns his wrong without excusing it or comparing it with others, and brings his faults to Jesus. The burden is relieved by looking to Jesus in faith, for God's Spirit works through the preaching of truth to bring recognition of sin and turning to the One who takes sin away, and the load falls from the soul when He is found as Saviour and gives peace. Delaying repentance adds to unrepented sins until the growing load overwhelms, while the bitter taste of conviction comes before the joy of pardon, and those who avoid the path of repentance and humility prize keeping their burdens. Those who held it teach that the psalm also reveals Christ's inner experience as He passed through temptation and life-and-death struggles with the enemy.
Imagery and Setting
Iniquities rise over the head like water and press as a load too heavy to carry, leaving a person immersed and overwhelmed by sin rather than merely sprinkled with it. The picture is one of deep distress under sin, humbling oneself and bringing faults to Jesus for relief. The rising flood and the unbearable weight together express how sin towers above the sinner and exceeds what he can bear.
That overwhelming burden supports describing sinners as bound in sin, like prisoners held fast and unable to free themselves. The verse belongs to a prayer of conviction and confession, in which guilt brings deep sorrow and the felt need for deliverance. In that prayer the Psalms give words for human experience, setting forth the danger of sin and warning against transgression while pointing to God as able and willing to save.
Psalm 38 is among the prophetic word-pictures that reveal Christ's inner experience as He passed through temptation and life-and-death struggles with the enemy. The psalm also shows that conscience was active under the Old Testament dispensation.
Conviction, Repentance, Deliverance
Recognizing iniquities as overwhelming like a burden too heavy to bear is awakening from the sleep of self-deception, discovering the error in which one had lived. The verse gives voice to deep distress in which a person recognizes his own iniquities as the cause of his misery, humbling himself and bringing his faults to Jesus. In true contrition the sinner recognizes how deeply sin has become part of himself and feels anguish in turning from it, owning his wrong without excusing it or comparing it with the sins of others. Guilt in this condition weighs the soul down and keeps it from approaching God, while fear of punishment under the law brings terror and distress.
The crushing weight can press so heavily on the soul that a person groans aloud, despairs of life, and believes the Almighty has forsaken him because of his iniquities, as seen in one crushed by the belief that he had killed another and deserved punishment, Dan believing he had killed Nanny. Delaying repentance adds to unrepented sins until the growing load becomes harder to carry and finally overwhelms the sinner, while being burdened by sin and crying out over its bitterness is a sign of coming to Christ.
Feeling that weight can lead a person to seek help, for God's Spirit works through the preaching of truth to bring recognition of sin and turning to the One who takes sin away and gives peace. The burden brings deep misery and is relieved by looking to Jesus in faith, falling from the soul when he is discovered as Saviour. That burdened feeling, with the bitter taste of wormwood and gall under conviction, comes before the joy felt when pardoning blood is applied to the heart, and those who fall into spiritual sleep forget both things, losing memory of the weight of guilt once felt and of the pardon that followed. The burden is the weight of sin left behind at the cross, while those who avoid the path of repentance and humility prize keeping their burdens, including cherished habits.