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Passage Research

Psalm 38 — Sermon Preparation

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.

Matthew Henry 3 Spurgeon 2 Gregory the Great 1 Alexander MacLaren 1 John Wesley 1

“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)

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Greek exegesis, historical background, current scholarship, sermon outlines, illustrations — a complete PDF report on Psalm 38, delivered in 45 minutes.