O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! (Psalm 38:1)
As David begins this psalm, it should be noted that it was written as a remembrance, which in Hebrew thinking is to say, it was more than just something to recall to mind. Yes, we are to consider it in our mind, but once remembered, the reader is to take the appropriate action. It is believed that these words were composed as David suffered from the aftermath of his sin with Bathsheba, and so, he reminds us all that the Lord’s rebuke should not be regarded as an entirely negative experience — there is good to come from it. If we learn from it, we act upon it in the correct manner. That being said, he also asked that the Lord would not rebuke him when He was enraged.
It is one thing to discipline someone when it is warranted and when the one who administers the discipline is in control of their emotions. On the other hand, to act in a disciplinary manner when emotions are running high opens the door to the possibility that one might overreact — in other words, the punishment might not fit the crime. No one is suggesting that God overreacts, in fact, He cannot because He is forever just. At the same time, no one wants God to chasten us when He is enraged and greatly agitated. That seems to be David’s prayer; he wasn’t looking to escape chastening altogether but was asking the Lord to administer discipline as a father would to a son, not as God might rebuke those who are His enemies.
Paul said that, as His people, we are not “appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Yet, the writer of Hebrews (who many believe is Paul) said that all of us are subject to the chastening of the Lord — if we are to be considered as His sons and daughters:
“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons” (Hebrews 12:7-8).
None of us wish to be considered as illegitimate and, therefore, we must be willing to receive His correction even though, at times, it may seem harsh. David understood the necessity of chastening as well as the pain it inflicted upon the one being chastened. Nevertheless, he understood — as we should also — that if one can remember the sting that goes with correction, one might be provoked to overcome the deficiency that created the problem in the first place. As Solomon said, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:11-12).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments