Psalms 38:5

5 My wounds start to stink; they rot because of my foolishness.

Psalms 38:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 38:5

My wounds stink, [and] are corrupt
Meaning his sins, which had wounded him, and for which there is no healing but in a wounded Saviour, and by his stripes we are healed, ( Isaiah 53:5 ) ; where the same word is used as here; Christ's black and blue stripes and wounds, as the word signifies, are the healing of ours, both of sins, and of the effects of them; which, to a sensible sinner, are as nauseous and loathsome as an old wound that is festered and corrupt;

because of my foolishness:
as all sin arises from foolishness, which is bound in the hearts of men, and from whence it arises, ( Mark 7:22 ) ; perhaps the psalmist may have respect to his folly with Bathsheba, which had been the occasion of all the distress that is spoken of both before and afterwards.

Psalms 38:5 In-Context

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation. There is no health in my bones because of my sin.

4 For my iniquities have passed over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds start to stink; they rot because of my foolishness.

6 I am bowed down; I am bent over greatly. All the day I go about mourning.

7 For my loins are full [of] burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.