13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
Psalm 38:13–14
Last time we left David he was alone. Friends and family were aloof and his enemies were circling and attacking. Illness and sin disrupt our relationships with others and this adds to our affliction. The verses we are examining tell of the cumulative effect of David’s suffering. Is David referring to his illness, his sin or the effect of his social and spiritual isolation? Commentators generally focus on the effect of the enemy attack. I believe David’s Self-Description is more nuanced and reflects all aspects of his circumstances. In these rich verses are lessons regarding how the Godly respond to suffering as demonstrated by how our Lord, Jesus’ comported himself during his trial and execution.
We can examine this passage from the physical, spiritual, social and political perspectives:
The Physical Illness
As a physician I initially read these verses as being a manifestation of David’s illness rather than a response to persecution. We all know that severe illness can affect the senses and render us very weak. The sick person often does not hear, understand and respond as they would when healthy. They may hear part of what they are told or misunderstand the content. Questions may not be asked by them and they may claim to understand when in fact they did not. It is important for family and/or a close friend to be with them and for the doctor to revisit the substance of the communication over and again.
The faculties of hearing and speech are the focus of these parallel verses. Hearing is the subject of the first lines of each verse whereas speech is the subject of the second. In verse 10 we saw that David’s heart was throbbing, his strength was failing and the life in his eyes was dimming. As we lay dying, hearing is the last sense lost. Patients who survive severe illness can attest that hearing was preserved when circulation, muscles and vision fail. We are cautioned as healthcare workers to be careful of our speech around a patient who seems otherwise unresponsive. Therefore, these verses depict a more severe state of ill health as loss of hearing precedes death.
Often, people who are very ill cannot speak coherently. It may be because the mouth is parched, the muscles and breath are weak or the mind is impaired or confused. David opens his mouth and nothing comes out. The Lion of Judah can no longer roar, the King cannot give a command. David cannot communicate with others. Being like a deaf mute he is completely alone. This is a state of utter weakness and vulnerability. He is locked within himself unable to place upon his lips the prayer that is in his mind. He cannot hear others, but God can hear him because God knows our thoughts. His cries cannot be heard by others but God surely hears them.
The Spiritual illness
The Hebrew word used in the two verses are different yet they are translated into the same English word: “hear.” The Hebrew word in verse 13 is אֶשְׁמָ֑ע ( ̀ĕs̆-mă‘ʹ) and in verse 14 is שֹׁמֵ֑עַ (s̆ō-mē). They both come from the same Semitic root שׁמע (Shema). Perhaps the most famous usage in Scripture comes from Deuteronomy 6:4 (repeated by Jesus in Mark 12:29) “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” It is referred to as the “Shema” and is recited by observant Jews upon rising and going to sleep. It posted on the doorways of the homes in a mezuza and are bound upon the forehead (as “frontlets” between the eyes) and upon their hand in tefillin.
This one word is critical in our relationship to God. The root encompasses not only the physical sense of hearing but also the faculty of understanding and obedience. When you read “Hear, O Israel” or any command to “Hear” in Scripture it is generally better understood as “hear and obey.” In general, when שׁמע appears without a preposition, physical hearing is meant. The second line in a parallel Hebrew poetic construction serves to amplify and expand the meaning of the first line. Perhaps David’s loss of his sense of hearing in verse 13 is expanded in verse 14 into spiritual deafness. David is not only unable to hear but to properly respond.
As an illustration, the Hebrew word in verse 14 (שֹׁמֵ֑עַ; s̆ō-mē) is translated with the English word “obey” in Deuteronomy 21:18.
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst,” (Dt 21:18–21).
Not hearing and obeying one’s parents (rebellion) is serious enough to deserve the death penalty. This infraction was a microcosm of the rebellion of the child, Israel. The people were commanded to hear and obey but rebelled instead. With this background we can begin to understand the spiritual depth of David being like a deaf man. David has sinned and therefore rebelled against God. He failed to שֹׁמֵ֑עַ his Lord. Is now David too far gone to hear and obey God? Is he to be reprobated in a state of sin and rebellion, cast off forever?
The sinner cannot hear, understand or obey God’s voice. They are deaf and lack understanding. Their hearts are corrupt and desire is for sin and not what is good. Until God regenerates the heart we are dead, like the dry bones in Ezekiel. Only God can make us alive. As one Hebrew scholar puts it:
“Hearing is critical for the interaction between God and human beings; the medium through which God makes his will known among his people (in commandments or mediated by the prophets) is the audible word. Interruption of this communication has consequences: Israel’s refusal to hear served as grounds for the punishment of the exile. Conversely, Dt. 4:28 and Ps. 115:4–7 heap scorn on a god who cannot hear human beings. To exaggerate the point: one who cannot hear does not exist; one who can no longer hear, no longer communicate, is doomed.”[1]
The second set of parallel verses concerning speech complete the message. David cannot use his voice because of weakness. Therefore, as a King he cannot give commands nor rebuke those who are in the wrong. As a man of God he cannot witness to sinners by pointing out and rebuking their sins. He is a sinner under the hand of God. In all appearances David is the one being rebuked! Sin destroys our witness unless we receive God’s forgiveness and are restored. Then, and only then, may we call upon other sinners and tell of God’s amazing grace.
What use is David to God now? He is as good as dead. He can bring nothing and offer nothing. Yet David is displaying great faith. As Calvin points out David waits silently before the Lord. In this David is demonstrating his own patience and confidence that YHWH will forgive and vindicate him. Few of us can do this. Like all things, the capacity to suffer in such a way is a gift just like our faith is a gift.
The Social Isolation
We have seen how David was socially isolated as friends and family held aloof. David’s “deafness” and being “mute” create a vicious cycle of further isolation. As David becomes weaker he cannot fully engage with the few visitors he may have. Words may not impress him and his needs are not articulated. Being removed from society also isolates David from the information one gets through normal social intercourse. In short David is “out of touch.”
People who are ill, shut in and alone withdraw. They become depressed, do not take good care of themselves and even develop cognitive decline due to lack of stimulation. They are unable to come to God’s house and worship with the church family, hear the word of God, partake of the Lord’s Supper and pray with others. Simple human company, kind words, a warm touch and an attentive ear are a balm to the shut in. This is why the ministry of home visitation is so important. Sharing God’s word, praying and fellowship need not be confined to the church building. We must minister to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our brethren.
The Political Oppression
Most commentators interpret these verses in relationship to verse 11. Calvin views David’s condition here as the consequence of his enemies piling on accusations and attacks, generally falsehoods. David is guilty of sin but men are not gracious like God. Evildoers are not content with justice but want revenge and destruction. Under the weight of it all David is simply crushed and chooses to shut them out and not rebuke them. John Calvin writes:
“It is indeed certain, that if David had obtained a hearing, he would have been ready to defend his own innocence; but perceiving that it availed him nothing, nay, that he was shut out and debarred from all defense of his cause, he humbly submitted, waiting patiently for the heavenly Judge. He therefore says that he held his peace, as if he had already been convicted and struck dumb.”[2]
Allen Ross notes the contrast between David’s silence and the “busy tongues” of his accusers.[3] David cannot look to men for deliverance. He looks only to the Lord for vindication.
Our Lord’s Silence in Suffering
In this way David is like our Lord, Jesus, during his trial and crucifixion. As Charles Spurgeon put it:
“David was eminently typical of our Lord Jesus, whose marvelous silence before Pilate was far more eloquent than words. To abstain from self-defense is often most difficult, and frequently most wise.”[4]
David’s experience and response points to Jesus. Isaiah, much later, prophesies:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
Isaiah 53:7
When we read about the lives of the martyrs we often see amazing strength and peace during their suffering. This is not something one can drum up from within, from our own strength. It is a gift of grace and like all God’s gifts it is freely bestowed upon whom he chooses. For when any Christian is under trial, oppression, or affliction so is our Lord. When Saul was on the road to Damascus, Jesus said that he was persecuting not only the Church but the Lord himself. Jesus told the disciples “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20). Know that he is with you in your suffering.
We are to be imitators of Jesus in our affliction. We are not to seek out suffering but understand that suffering is part of our calling as Christ’s people. We are in union with Christ. As such we share in his suffering and in his vindication, we share in his death and in his resurrection. Believers can not only have peace during affliction but even rejoice. It is through affliction we are made meet for heaven, refined in the furnace as pure gold. As Paul wrote:
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Ro 5:3–5).
Application
It may seem as if we are getting two pictures of David in affliction. Earlier, he was roaring and moaning and not he is patient and quiet. So which is the Godly way? It would be wrong to chastise a suffering brother or sister for articulating their pain even in repeated moans and groans. Such suffering is not a sign that a Christian has been abandoned but that he or she is loved by God. Being refined in fire, undergoing divine “surgery” (or whatever analogy you like) is not painless. It hurts. It is part of our sanctification as we walk with the Lord. He takes away many things our flesh desires because he knows that are bad for us.
In the furnace of refinement David has learned suffering, patience and to trust God. Saintly silence during suffering and tragedy is not stoicism but the meeting of faith and grace. The pain is real, and so is our Lord’s presence. We receive this gift by remaining in the Word, in prayer, and in communion with our Lord. We cease looking inward and sideways and fix our eyes upon Christ and heaven.
Therefore, the Godly way is growing in Christ and moving through lament to patience and hope.
Our most gracious Father. You hear
our cries and know our suffering. Give
us the strength to endure, the patience to rest in your grace, and a heart to
receive your love. Though it is just for
a season, it seems to us a long time. Grant
us the privilege and ability to serve you, especially in our affliction, that
in all we say and do we glorify you and be thy instruments of bringing your Gospel
to others that they may be saved and comforted.
[1] U. Rüterswörden, “שָׁמַע,” ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, trans. David E. Green, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006), 258.
[2] Calvin, John. Commentary on the Psalms. Ps. 38.
[3] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 1, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 832.
[4] C. H. Spurgeon, Psalms, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 156.
Biblical Perspective 