The Remedy for Sin

“O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!” (Psalm 38:1, ESV).

In Psalm 38, David realized he needed to be rebuked for his sins, but he wrote, “God, please don’t rebuke me in your anger.” 

As parents, disciplining a child in righteousness is an act of love. It means correcting, reproving, and bringing godly order to a young person’s life. Here, David knew he needed God’s righteous rebuke and discipline. 

Friend, are you willing to say, “God, I need your rebuke?” Are you willing to let God access your day, week, month, or this season of your life in how you are living? When David said, “Rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath,” he wasn’t saying, “Don’t discipline me,” but rather, “Don’t discipline me in your anger.” 

The wrath of God is the pouring out of his judgment upon a people. It’s the tearing away of a relationship between him and us because of our sin that grieves him. An unrepented sin that causes us to be brought under God’s vengeful, aggressive, angry wrath. 

David went on to say in Psalm 38:3, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.” David understood that he was not in sound mind, body or emotional well-being because of sin. Like David, our admittance of sin says, “Lord, correct and show me your ways. Show me the areas of my life that cause you grief and restore me.” 

If David, a man after God’s own heart, could look at his sin with a repentant heart, shouldn’t we see the seriousness and grievousness of our sins? God wants to pull out the dark areas of your heart, mind, body, and soul so that you might see a greater light. You have to root out the things that don’t belong before receiving the joy of the things that do belong.

If you lack joy, delight, and spiritual freedom, maybe it’s because you are not asking God to discipline you in his righteousness. Sin grieves God, but its remedy is God’s mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.