The last section of this psalm (vv. 16-20), before the final prayer, concerns David's unjust treatment by his enemies, picking up on a theme he introduced earlier in verse 12. In this respect the psalm moves from: 1) his wretched physical condition; to 2) his abandonment by his friends; to 3) his treatment by his enemies. But this is only part of what we find in this last section. Actually, everything found here has been mentioned or suggested earlier and is brought in again, in my judgment, as an argument why God should hear his prayer. In two cases the reasons are actually introduced by the word "for," meaning "for this reason."

Psychiatrists tell us that people do not like to be around those who are suffering because they imagine themselves being in the same condition and do not like to think along those lines. So they stay away. This is probably true and undoubtedly also explains why people make cruel jokes about retarded people, the handicapped and others who have suffered physical misfortunes. But even if people don’t go to that extreme, they usually prefer the company of those who are prospering and having a good time. This is what David experienced. This section of the psalm describes his sense of isolation (vv. 10-14).

One thing immediately strikes us about the opening prayer: it is identical (in the Hebrew, almost identical) to the first verse of Psalm 6, which is the first of the penitential psalms. In fact, the two psalms bear very close resemblances. True, Psalm 6 is shorter, only ten verses as opposed to twenty-two. Psalm 38 describes the illness at greater length as well as elaborating upon the desertion by the psalmist's friends and the scheming of his enemies.

Psalm 38 is listed among the penitential psalms because of its confession of sin in verses 3-5 and 18.¹ David, who is identified as the author in the title, does not actually name his sin in this psalm but rather asks for mercy and help from God because of the terrible sickness, loneliness and isolation he has experienced because of it. He says that God sent the sickness "because of his sinful folly" (v. 5). The psalm is actually a lament, or simply a prayer. Peter C. Craigie says, "Psalm 38 is a prayer... evoked by the experience of sickness and the consequent sense of alienation from both God and fellow human beings."²

So what should we do this Thanksgiving weekend? I suggest that we should follow our Lord's example and thank God in each of these ways I have tried to point out in this study.