My
lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.
Psalm 38:11
Psalm 38 [1.] Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your wrath,
neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.
For your arrows have pierced me,
your hand presses hard on me.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation,
neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head.
As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
My wounds are loathsome and corrupt,
because of my foolishness.
I am pained and bowed down greatly.
I go mourning all day long.
For my waist is filled with burning.
There is no soundness in my flesh.
I am faint and severely bruised.
I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.
Lord, all my desire is before you.
My groaning is not hidden from you.
Psalm 38 [10.] My heart throbs.
My strength fails me.
As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.
My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague.
My kinsmen stand far away.
They also who seek after my life lay snares.
Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things,
and meditate deceits all day long.
But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear.
I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth.
Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear,
in whose mouth are no reproofs.
For in you, Yahweh, do I hope.
You will answer, Lord my God.
For I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me,
or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.”
For I am ready to fall.
My pain is continually before me.
For I will declare my iniquity.
I will be sorry for my sin.
But my enemies are vigorous and many.
Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
Psalm 38 [20.] They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me,
because I follow what is good.
Don’t forsake me, Yahweh.
My God, don’t be far from me.
Hurry to help me,
Lord, my salvation.
Meaning:
Psalm 38 is a psalm of David, a prayer of a man who is suffering in body and soul. He sees his pain as the result of his sin: “For my iniquities have gone over my head” (Psalm 38:4). In verse 11 he describes another kind of pain, the loss of the people who should have stood by him.
- “My lovers and my friends”
These are the people closest to him, those who loved him and shared his life. In times of prosperity they were near. Now, when he needs them most, they keep their distance.
- “stand aloof from my plague”
The word plague suggests a disease that made people afraid to come near. A person with a skin disease in Israel had to live apart: “He shall dwell alone. Outside of the camp shall be his dwelling” (Leviticus 13:46). Whether out of fear, disgust or embarrassment, David’s friends stood back. Suffering often isolates.
- “My kinsmen stand far away”
Even family members kept away. Another psalmist knew the same loneliness: “You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness” (Psalm 88:18). Yet David does not stop praying. A few lines later he says, “For in you, Yahweh, do I hope.”
- Fulfilled at the cross
Luke describes the scene when Jesus died: “All his acquaintances, and the women who followed with him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things” (Luke 23:49). Earlier, in Gethsemane, his disciples “all left him, and fled” (Mark 14:50). The sinless Son of God experienced the abandonment that David suffered, though for others’ sins, not his own.
The Significance of Psalm 38:11
- God stays when others leave
People may fail us, but God has promised, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Because Jesus endured loneliness, he understands those who feel abandoned.
- Being a faithful friend
The verse also challenges us. When friends are sick, grieving or ashamed, love moves closer instead of standing at a distance.
Cross-References:
Luke 23:49: “stood at a distance, watching these things.” Friends at the cross.
Mark 14:50: “They all left him, and fled.” The disciples desert Jesus.
Psalm 88:18: “You have put lover and friend far from me.” The loneliness of suffering.
Hebrews 13:5: “I will in no way leave you.” God’s promise.
Conclusion: In Psalm 38:11 David grieves that friends, loved ones and relatives stand far off from his suffering. Jesus knew the same distance at the cross, and because of him believers have a God who never leaves them.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible