◄ Psalm 38:21 ►
Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
Study Bible
Do not forsake me
This phrase is a heartfelt plea from the psalmist, David, expressing a deep sense of vulnerability and dependence on God. The Hebrew root for "forsake" is "עזב" (azab), which conveys the idea of leaving or abandoning. In the historical context of ancient Israel, the presence of God was seen as a source of protection and blessing. David's plea reflects a common theme in the Psalms, where the faithful seek assurance of God's continual presence. This request is not just for physical protection but also for spiritual companionship, emphasizing the covenant relationship between God and His people. In a broader scriptural context, this plea echoes throughout the Bible, reminding believers of God's promise never to leave nor forsake His people (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5).

O LORD
The use of "LORD" in all capital letters signifies the translation of the divine name "YHWH" (Yahweh), the covenant name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). This name is deeply significant, representing God's eternal, self-existent nature and His faithfulness to His promises. By invoking this name, David is appealing to God's character and His covenantal faithfulness. Historically, the name Yahweh was held in great reverence, and its use in prayer and worship was a profound acknowledgment of God's sovereignty and holiness. For believers, calling upon the LORD is an act of trust and submission, recognizing Him as the ultimate authority and source of help.

do not be far from me
This phrase continues the theme of seeking God's presence. The Hebrew word for "far" is "רחק" (rachak), which implies distance or separation. In the ancient Near Eastern context, proximity to a deity was associated with favor and protection. David's request for God not to be distant underscores his awareness of his own limitations and the necessity of divine intervention. Scripturally, the nearness of God is a recurring promise, as seen in passages like Psalm 145:18, which assures that "The LORD is near to all who call on Him." For Christians, this plea resonates with the assurance of God's presence through the Holy Spirit, who dwells within believers, providing comfort and guidance.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 38, David is expressing a deep sense of need for God's presence and help.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal presence and faithfulness.

3. God (Elohim)
A name for God that highlights His power and might, often used in contexts of creation and sovereignty.

4. The Psalmist's Distress
The context of the psalm is one of personal anguish, possibly due to sin or illness, where the psalmist feels abandoned and in desperate need of God's intervention.
Teaching Points
The Reality of Human Frailty
Recognize that even the most faithful believers, like David, experience times of weakness and distress. It's important to acknowledge our need for God's presence and help.

The Importance of God's Presence
Understand that God's presence is a source of comfort and strength. In times of trouble, our first response should be to seek Him earnestly.

God's Faithfulness
Trust in God's promise to never forsake His people. Even when we feel distant from Him, He remains close and attentive to our cries.

Prayer as a Lifeline
Emphasize the importance of prayer in maintaining a close relationship with God. Like David, we should not hesitate to express our deepest fears and needs to Him.

Dependence on God
Cultivate a heart of dependence on God, recognizing that our strength and security come from Him alone.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does David's plea in Psalm 38:21 reflect his understanding of God's character?

2. In what ways can we relate to David's feeling of being forsaken, and how can we find comfort in God's promises?

3. How does the assurance of God's presence in Hebrews 13:5 impact your daily walk with Him?

4. What practical steps can you take to seek God's presence more earnestly in times of distress?

5. How can the themes of Psalm 38:21 encourage you to trust in God's faithfulness during challenging times?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 22:1
This verse echoes the cry of feeling forsaken, similar to David's plea in Psalm 38:21, highlighting a common theme of seeking God's presence in times of distress.

Hebrews 13:5
This New Testament verse reassures believers of God's promise never to leave or forsake them, providing a comforting connection to David's plea.

Isaiah 41:10
This verse offers encouragement and assurance of God's presence and help, aligning with the psalmist's request for God not to be far from him.
Sermons
A Fearful Picture of the Sufferings Which a Great Sin Can CauseC. Short Psalm 38:1-22
Great Personal AfflictionHomilistPsalm 38:1-22
Sin Stinging Like an AdderC. Clemance Psalm 38:1-22
Things to be RememberedPsalm 38:1-22
Thoughts in AfflictionW. Forsyth Psalm 38:1-22
People
David, Jeduthun, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Forsake, O
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 38:21

     5831   depression

Psalm 38:1-22

     5888   inferiority

Psalm 38:21-22

     5770   abandonment

Library
"Come unto Me, all Ye that Labour, and are Wearied," &C.
Matth. xi. 28.--"Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are wearied," &c. It is the great misery of Christians in this life, that they have such poor, narrow, and limited spirits, that are not fit to receive the truth of the gospel in its full comprehension; from whence manifold misapprehensions in judgment, and stumbling in practice proceed. The beauty and life of things consist in their entire union with one another, and in the conjunction of all their parts. Therefore it would not be a fit way …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Question Lxxxii of Devotion
I. Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Meaning of the Term "Devotion" S. Augustine, Confessions, XIII. viii. 2 II. Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion? III. Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Causes of Devotion " " On the Devotion of Women IV. Is Joy an Effect of Devotion? Cardinal Cajetan, On Melancholy S. Augustine, Confessions, II. x. I Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act? It is by our acts that we merit. But …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in even unto my soul: I am come into deep waters; so that the floods run over me.--Ps. lxix. 1, 2. I am brought into so great trouble and misery: that I go mourning all the day long.--Ps. xxxviii. 6. The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: Oh! bring Thou me out of my distress.--Ps. xxv. 17. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping: the Lord will receive my prayer.--Ps. vi. 8. In the multitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Christ's Resurrection Song.
WHEN the blessed Lord appeared in the midst of His disciples and they beheld the risen One in His glorified body of flesh and bones and He ate before them, He told them that all things which were written in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Him, had to be fulfilled (Luke xxiv:44). While on the way to Emmaus He said to the two sorrowing and perplexed disciples "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Acceptable Sacrifice;
OR, THE EXCELLENCY OF A BROKEN HEART: SHOWING THE NATURE, SIGNS, AND PROPER EFFECTS OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT. BEING THE LAST WORKS OF THAT EMINENT PREACHER AND FAITHFUL MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST, MR. JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. WITH A PREFACE PREFIXED THEREUNTO BY AN EMINENT MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN LONDON. London: Sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgates, 1692. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The very excellent preface to this treatise, written by George Cokayn, will inform the reader of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

His Past Work.
His past work was accomplished by Him when he became incarnate. It was finished when He died on Calvary's cross. We have therefore to consider first of all these fundamentals of our faith. I. The Work of the Son of God is foreshadowed and predicted in the Old Testament Scriptures. II. The incarnation of the Son of God. III. His Work on the cross and what has been accomplished by it. I. Through the Old Testament Scriptures, God announced beforehand the work of His Son. This is a great theme and one …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ

What Manner of Man Ought not to Come to Rule.
Wherefore let every one measure himself wisely, lest he venture to assume a place of rule, while in himself vice still reigns unto condemnation; lest one whom his own guilt depraves desire to become an intercessor for the faults of others. For on this account it is said to Moses by the supernal voice, Speak unto Aaron; Whosoever he be of thy seed throughout their generations that hath a blemish, he shall not offer loaves of bread to the Lord his God (Lev. xxi. 17). And it is also immediately subjoined; …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Third Sunday after Trinity Humility, Trust, Watchfulness, Suffering
Text: 1 Peter 5, 5-11. 5 Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; 7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 whom withstand stedfast …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Cæsarius of Arles.
He was born in the district of Chalons-sur-Saone, A. D. 470. He seems to have been early awakened, by a pious education, to vital Christianity. When he was between seven and eight years old, it would often happen that he would give a portion of his clothes to the poor whom he met, and would say, when he came home, that he had been, constrained to do so. When yet a youth, he entered the celebrated convent on the island of Lerins, (Lerina,) in Provence, from which a spirit of deep and practical piety …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

How is Christ, as the Life, to be Applied by a Soul that Misseth God's Favour and Countenance.
The sixth case, that we shall speak a little to, is a deadness, occasioned by the Lord's hiding of himself, who is their life, and "the fountain of life," Ps. xxxvi. 9, and "whose loving-kindness is better than life," Ps. lxiii. 3, and "in whose favour is their life," Ps. xxx. 5. A case, which the frequent complaints of the saints manifest to be rife enough, concerning which we shall, 1. Shew some of the consequences of the Lord's hiding his face, whereby the soul's case will appear. 2. Shew the …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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