Chasten Thyself

“O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. [There is] no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither [is there any] rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.” (Ps 38:1-4 AV)

The house I grew up in was constantly under renovation.  My father, transformed every room, one by one.  Our walls were the old lathe and plaster type with blown in insulation.  Living in western New York, that meant a hefty heating oil bill.  So, one by one, we would remove the old lathe and plaster, discarding the blown in insulation, and rebuilding it with modern insulation and sheetrock.  One afternoon, when all but myself were down in the dining room eating lunch, I was admiring what would be my bedroom.  Without thinking, I leaned on a piece of sheetrock suspended between two sawhorses.  I heard the crack!  Knowing my father would be angry, I snuck down to the garage, mounted my bicycle, and rode off.  I spent the afternoon running!  Dinner was always at 5:00 sharp!  No excuses.  When 5:00 came, my place was empty.  I was still riding.  6:00 came and I still wasn’t home.  7:00 came and my place was still empty.  Finally, as the sun was beginning to set and I knew I had no other place to go, I returned.  Going up to my father’s study I was resigned to prepare my funeral!  This was not going to be pleasant.  I timidly knocked on his office door.  He told me to come in.  I confessed to cracking the sheetrock.  I asked what my punishment would be.  And what he said next shocked me to the core.  He said, “I think you’ve punished yourself enough.”  And that was that!

David was kicking himself for his sin.  What he was asking for is mercy.  How refreshing!  We need to feel so bad for our sin that punishment is not needed!  David knows what it feels like to be chastened of the LORD.  He describes the anger of the LORD.  He wants to avoid it.  He does so because the burden of his own sin was heavy enough.  This is the heart of the truly repentant!