Chapter Thirty-Seven

“In remembrance of the Sabbath” is understood either as an indication of the time of liturgical performance of the psalm—on the Sabbath—or in a figurative sense corresponding to the literal meaning of the word (Sabbath = rest) and the content of the psalm—“in remembrance of rest,” that is, this psalm is a supplicatory prayer to God for the granting of rest, which points to the grievous condition that David was experiencing at that time. Some, proceeding from the position that the Sabbath was established after the completion of the days of creation, interpret this inscription literally, that is, that the psalm was written by David in remembrance of the completion of creation. But the latter understanding cannot be accepted: the completion of creation, when all appeared “very good” (Gen 1:31), was a solemn and magnificent act, with which the sad and supplicatory content of the psalm is not in harmony.

The entire content of the psalm is distinguished by a penitential character: in it David vividly depicts the picture of his sufferings, both physical (from illness) and moral, from his awareness of his transgression before God. This transgression of David, as is known, was his sin with Uriah and Bathsheba. In this same psalm David depicts himself as lonely, and his former friends begin to withdraw from him. Both of these features give grounds to suppose that the psalm was written at the beginning of Absalom’s uprising (to the connection of his transgression with his son’s uprising, as we have already mentioned, David himself pointed), which explains the perfidy of the king’s friends.

Lord! Condescend to my sufferings and the illness of body and soul (2-5). I am covered with wounds and have grown weak (6-11). Friends have abandoned me, and my enemies have grown strong (13-15). I rely only on You. The awareness of my sin weighs on me and enemies multiply. Do not abandon me, Lord, and hasten Your help (16-23).

Psalm 37:2. Lord! Do not reprove me in Your fury, and do not chasten me in Your anger, Psalm 37:3. For Your arrows have pierced me, and Your hand presses down upon me. Psalm 37:4. There is no whole place in my flesh from Your anger; there is no peace in my bones because of my sins, Psalm 37:5. For my iniquities have gone over my head, like a heavy burden they weigh heavily upon me, David prays to God that He would not punish him with the full force of His righteous anger, although he considers it deserved. David’s sufferings are great: into him “have pierced... arrows,” that is, the sufferings that he is now experiencing and which he describes in great detail below; from the pain he is experiencing he compares his sufferings to the pain of arrows in war. “Hand... presses down,” that is, the hand of anger, or—the Lord punishes severely. This punishment was some kind of illness that struck David and, by his figurative expression, caused not only his body and muscles to suffer but also his bones, that is, it penetrated very deeply. The force of his physical sufferings fully corresponds to David’s consciousness of the depth of his fall and the gravity of the transgression he had committed, which in his sorrowful and penitential mood he depicts figuratively as having swallowed him whole and pressing down like a heavy burden.

Psalm 37:6. My wounds stink and fester from my folly. Psalm 37:7. I am bowed and utterly brought low; all the day I go about mourning, Psalm 37:8. For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no whole place in my flesh. Representation of the illness. “From my folly,” because of my sin, my body has been covered with wounds that emit a foul smell; my sufferings are grievous and I am utterly brought low, I go about all day and “mourn,” languish, condemn myself. My loins are full of inflammation and there is no healthy place in my body. What kind of illness this was, according to the signs indicated here, is difficult to determine. According to the Hebrew text, many commentators (for example, Jerome, and among more recent ones—Cramer, Ewald) and rabbis considered this illness “a kind of leprosy.” But such a determination cannot be made from the signs indicated in the Bible. If David’s bones were already affected, then with such a development of the illness he could not walk, to which, according to the given psalm, this illness, however, did not prevent. Moreover, if it were leprosy, then it is hardly likely that it, as an important phenomenon, would be passed over in silence in the historical books, since in the view of that time this illness as a sign of rejection by God, it is hardly likely that it would pass for the king without a trace and would not cause political disturbances among the people. This illness, as is evident from the psalm, provoked mockery at David for his infirmity of loins. The latter were recognized as bearers of productive force, the source of offspring, in which they saw a sign of divine favor; therefore they thought that the loss of this force and consequently the ability to procreate was a sign of rejection by God and provoked reproach. The Russian text thus gives a general indication that David’s illness affected his entire organism and was so exhausting that it completely drained his strength, but does not make it possible to determine its kind precisely.

Psalm 37:9. I am exhausted and utterly broken; I cry out from the anguish of my heart. “I cry out from the anguish of my heart”—from internal, spiritual torments, I “cry out,” I let out a cry.

Psalm 37:11. My heart trembles; my strength has abandoned me, and the light of my eyes—I no longer have it. With the loss of courage (“my heart trembles”) and strength the “light” has also gone out for David’s eyes. This expression, understood literally, points to the development of illness which also affected his vision: or, if under light is understood figuratively as happiness, well-being in general, then it means—I have been deprived of all blessings and there are none with me—neither health nor strength nor respect from people nor even friends. It can also be understood in the sense that “light” means God, who formerly poured out His mercies upon David and shone for him in his life, but now has ceased. All these interpretations can be accepted without violating the meaning of the expression, the context of the speech and the entire content of the psalm.

Psalm 37:12. My friends and my sincere ones have withdrawn from my wound, and my relatives stand afar off. Psalm 37:13. Those seeking my soul set snares, and those desiring evil for me speak of my ruin and scheme mischief all the day; My illness has separated my friends from me, and my enemies have grown bolder. My sincere ones became against me in a certain distance, like simple observers, but they did not approach me. This was done by the very people closest to me, and ordinary friends—so they stood afar. But David’s enemies did not sleep. His sufferings prompted them, who desired his ruin and evil for him, to spread false reports about him and to scheme against him.

Psalm 37:14. But I, as a deaf person, do not hear, and as a mute who does not open his mouth; Psalm 37:15. And I became as a man who does not hear and who has no reply in his mouth, David saw what was happening around him, but took no measures to put an end to the schemes and false words, both because his illness seemed to confirm the truth of what his enemies said, and because he did not consider himself justified in coming forward as an avenger and defender of truth when his continuing illness, in his opinion, served as a sign that he was not yet forgiven by God.

Psalm 37:16. For in You, Lord, I hope; You will hear, Lord, my God. Psalm 37:17. And I said: Let my enemies not triumph over me; when my foot falters, they exult over me. Psalm 37:18. I am near to falling, and my sorrow is always before me. Psalm 37:19. I acknowledge my iniquity, and I am sorrowful about my sin. Psalm 37:20. But my enemies are alive and grow strong, and those who hate me without cause are multiplied; Psalm 37:21. And those who repay me evil for good are opposed to me because I follow what is good. Psalm 37:22. Do not abandon me, Lord, my God! Do not withdraw from me; Psalm 37:23. Hasten to help me, Lord, my Savior! Therefore David first of all appeals to God for forgiveness of his sin as a great mercy and a pledge of His help. I trust in You, Lord: do not allow them (my enemies) to triumph over me. My weakness, my misfortunes are a source of malicious joy for them (17). But I am now in such a helpless and defenseless position that I am “near to falling,” ready to perish, I cannot resist the attacks upon me and sin weighs me down. David repents before God of his sin and promises public repentance for it (which he fulfilled by writing this and the Lth Psalm, dedicated to his penitential mood). In this psalm he says: “I acknowledge my iniquity, and I am sorrowful about my sin.” So far as David is full of consciousness of his sinfulness and humility, just so, conversely, his enemies are strong, who hate him without cause (“without cause”); they repay him evil for the good he, David, has done, they slander, they are opposed to him for his fidelity to the good, the true in his prior life. By the good that David did, is understood both his humane, just treatment toward each of his subjects, and all his reforms in the internal and state life, which established order and restrained the arbitrariness and self-will that reigned before him. The degree of David’s sufferings, his consciousness of sin and repentance for it, the injustice of persecutions from his enemies, all this arouses in him a fervent prayer to God: “Do not abandon me, Lord, my God! Hearken to my help!” The thirty-seventh psalm occupies the second place in the Hexapsalm. With the words of this psalm each believer brings repentance before God for his sinfulness with a confession of complete submission and devotion to His will (16 verse). A person here expresses the desire in the coming day to atone for the evil deeds he did before (19 verse).