Psalms 38:10

10 My heart throbs violently, my strength leaves me; and the light of my eyes, that also is not with me.

Psalms 38:10 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 38:10

My heart panteth
Or "goes about" F13; runs here and there, and finds no rest; as Aben Ezra interprets the word from the Targum he cites; though the Targum we have renders it, "my heart shakes with fear", or dread, as persons in a fever. Jarchi interprets the word, surrounded with grief; it denotes the panting or palpitation of the heart, through sorrow and dread, and the failing of it, even as at death;

my strength faileth me,
or "forsakes me" F14; bodily strength and spiritual strength; the strength of faith, hope, and confidence;

as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me;
which is often the case of persons under bodily disorders, their eyes grow dim, and sight fails them; and this might be true in a spiritual sense of the psalmist, who had lost sight of God as his covenant God; of his interest in his love, in the blessings of his grace, and in eternal salvation, and was walking in darkness, and saw no light.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 (rxrxo) "circuivit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
F14 (ynbze) "dereliquit me", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Musculus, Cocceius.

Psalms 38:10 In-Context

8 I am faint and crushed greatly; I groan because of the roaring of my heart.
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you, and my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs violently, my strength leaves me; and the light of my eyes, that also is not with me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction, and my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares as well, and those intent on my harm speak threats. They also plot deceit all day.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.