Sin's Miseries and The Way of Escape

Sin’s Miseries and the Way of Escape

By W.H. Wood

O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.  For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.  There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.  For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.  My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.  I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.  For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.  I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.  Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.  My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.  They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.  But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.  Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.  For in thee, O LORD, do I hope : thou wilt hear , O Lord my God.  For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.  For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.  For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.  But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.  Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation. Psalm 38:1-22

This Psalm of “Remembrance” which reminds us of a boiling pot in which there are many unsavory ingredients, is in marked contrast to the preceding Psalm.  We may partly misunderstand David, if we forget that he acted not only as King of Israel, but also as Israel’s national poet.  This is the language of one who remembers the horrors of the pit out of which he has been dug.

The Miseries of Sin:

            Sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death.  See how it operates in the awaken sinner. 

Conviction:   “Thine arrows stick fast in me”.  It is not at the sinner God shoots at so much as at his sins.  His arrows are sharp and pierce to the core of the evil.  The word of God is a discerner of the heart. 

Disorder:   “There is no soundness in my flesh”.  His whole moral nature was discovered to be diseased, and out of order.  This is a most humbling revelation.  The heart has been found out to be a deceitful traitor, and all its actions discovered to be polluting and disorderly.

Unrest:   “Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin”.  The strongest features in his character were shaken and troubled at the thought of sin.  The whole fabric of his moral nature was disturbed.  Real conviction of sin is as an earthquake in the soul – universal disturbance. 

Oppression:  “Mine iniquities are as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me”.  Too heavy for me?  Yes, but not too heavy for Him.  Who bore our sins in His own body on the tree.  What can a man do with a burden that is too heavy for him, and who cannot cast it off?  O wretched man!  Who shall deliver?

Corruption:  “My wounds stink and corrupt because of my foolishness”.  This is no exaggerated figure of speech; it is the sober statement of one who has seen and felt sin in its true character and effects.  There is no balm in Gilead, no physician on earth that can heal those deep-seated festering wounds.

Helpless:  “I am feeble and sore broken.”  His whole nature was completely benumbed and powerless to throw off the foul malady.  “without strength” is the condition of all under the torpid blight of sin. 

Darkness:  “As for the light of mine eyes, it has gone from me”.  All the light of hope he had before has died out.  Darkness covers the face of his deep.   

The Way of Escape:

Confession:  “I will declare my iniquity.”  He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but if we confess our sins.  He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.   

Contrition:  “I am sorry for my sins.”  This is the Godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation.  The confession that does not spring from contrition of heart is mockery.  It is he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin that finds mercy. 

Faith:  “In thee, O Lord do I hope.  Thou wilth hear, O Lord my God.”  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.  Romans 10:9-10