Passage Research
Psalm 38 — Sermon Preparation
A penitential psalm in which David's body aches with festering wounds while friends stand aloof and enemies plot — only God remains his hope. Below is a research summary for Psalm 38, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 23
- verses
- 168 / 120
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 8
- classic sermon excerpts
- 5
- preachers & commentators
Psalm 38 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְתֹם | mᵉthôm | H4974 | 2 | wholesomeness, completely |
| נָחַת | nâchath | H5181 | 2 | sink, descend |
| אֲדֹנָי | ʼĂdônây | H136 | 3 | Lord |
| עָזַב | ʻâzab | H5800 | 2 | loosen, relinquish |
| עָוֺן | ʻâvôn | H5771 | 2 | perversity, evil |
| בָּשָׂר | bâsâr | H1320 | 2 | flesh, freshness |
| חַטָּאָה | chaṭṭâʼâh | H2403 | 2 | offence, penalty |
How preachers through history handled this text
8 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 38, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“Wicked men hate goodness, even when they benefit by it. David, in the complaints he makes of his enemies, seems to refer to Christ. But our enemies do us real mischief only when they drive us from God and our duty. The true believer's trouble will be made useful; he will learn to wait for his God, and will not seek relief from the world or himself. The less we notice the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Psalm 38:12–30 (Public Domain)
Need the complete sermon prep report on this passage?
Greek exegesis, historical background, current scholarship, sermon outlines, illustrations — a complete PDF report on Psalm 38, delivered within 24 hours.