PM Worship Service, 21 December 2025 Beloved, there are moments in the Christian life when sin becomes unbearably heavy. The joy of communion with God seems distant, the heart aches with guilt, and the conscience will not be silenced. That is the scene before us in Psalm 38. This is one of the seven penitential psalms — a prayer of a believer who feels the crushing weight of sin and the sting of God’s fatherly discipline. David, the man after God’s own heart, groans under the arrows of divine chastening. His body aches, his spirit trembles, his friends withdraw, and his enemies surround him. Yet, through it all, his eyes remain lifted to the Lord: “Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” (vv. 21–22). This psalm is a gift to us. It teaches us how to pray when guilt pierces the soul, when suffering humbles the heart, and when loneliness deepens our sorrow. It reminds us that though sin wounds deeply, there is mercy, restoration, and hope for those who look to the Lord. And it ultimately points us to Christ, who bore the full weight of our sin, so that in our darkest hour we may still say, “You, O Lord, are my salvation.” As we open this psalm, let us listen carefully — not only to David’s cry, but to the Spirit speaking through him — calling us to honest confession, humble submission, and confident trust in the steadfast love of our God.