“A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” -Psalm 38:title–4
One of the controversies in biblical theology is how to interpret and understand the many references in the Psalms to the “king” or “anointed.” Do the references refer to the living, human king who wrote the Psalm, or do the references in some way point to the Messiah, the Christ, the ideal and ultimate King of Israel.
For example, Psalm 2 clearly references the Messianic King, the Son. And Jesus took this position on Psalm 110:1 when he contended with the Pharisees in Matthew 22:41-45. Paul also seems to be referencing the Psalms when he taught that Jesus is the Son of David but also more than the paternal, human son of David (Roman 1:3-4). But there are other Psalms, like Psalm 51, that are clearly about David, the human king, repenting of his sin in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah.
In the Psalm under consideration, Psalm 38, a thoughtful reader will immediately begin to hear echoes of Jesus’s passion. Though Jesus is not himself a sinner, he certainly carried the burden of and was punished for our sins. Being oppressed and afflicted (Isaiah 53:7), he went silent before the authorities as a lamb before the slaughter (Mark 14:61, John 19:9).
The best way to read the Psalms is to recognize authorial intent as a first line of understanding, that is to interpret it as the human author (David) meant it in its original context. A second line of understanding is also appropriate, however. We should also interpret it as the Psalmist implied (Psalms 2 cf. Hebrews 1:5) and as Jesus and the apostles confirmed (Psalm 110:1 cf. Matt. 22:41–45; Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:41–44), namely that the Psalms are ultimately Messianic, about Christ.
With this new hermeneutic (science of interpretation), perhaps we reread the opening lines of Psalm 38 and ask how it informs our understanding now.