Psalms 38:5

5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.

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 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.

4 My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.

5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.

6 I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.

7 A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.