Tonight's Sermon- Sin is a Heavy Burden

Psalm 38:1-4 Sin is a Heavy Burden

When you sin, do you feel the shame and the guilt that a child of God feels? Does it weigh you down or burden you? Do you continue to live in this sin?


I. Rebuke me not in thy wrath.

A. The Psalmist knew that he had sinned.
B. He understood that God chastens his children.
C. He was pleading that God’s wrath would be removed from the chastening.
D. Translated he is saying, “Correct me not in thy rage.”
E. Just like children today, and when I was a child. We did not mind the punishment so much, but we did not want to hear how upset or disappointed our parents were.
F. He asks again that he not be chastened in God’s hot displeasures.
G. He is saying don’t punish me furiously.
H. The sin he has committed he is afraid will anger God. Are we afraid that we are going to anger God with our sin?
I. God is long suffering and forgiving, but chastening does happen to his children.

II. Arrows of God.

A. These are figurative arrows.
B. These arrows appear to be brought about by the Psalmist being convicted because of his sin.
C. Do we heed to the conviction of the Holy Spirit?
D. Does this conviction affect us at all?
E. We know, as a child of God, when we have sinned. We understand the consequences, so why do we go ahead and sin?
F. Sin nature. The flesh. Letting Satan influence us.
G. We feel these same arrows that David did. We experience the shame and guilt of our sin.
H. He tells God that his hand presses down on him. He is broken because of the conviction he was feeling.
I. We can avoid being broken and pressed down by allowing the spirit to control our lives.

III. We cannot be happy if we are a child of God living in sin.

A. We cannot be complete or have any wholesome in us if we are at odds with God and his word.
B. We have no rest.
C. This word rest is translated as peace.
D. We have no peace or rest when we are living in sin.
E. This sin that the Psalmist mentions is habitual sinfulness.
F. Something that is repeated over and over, or not being able to stop sinning.
G. If we are happy in sin, we need to evaluate our salvation.

IV. Have we sinned so much that sin is becoming our way of life.

A. The Psalmist says that his sin have gone over his head.
B. He has sinned so much that, or his sin was so great, that they were over his head.
C. They were great.
D. Have you ever heard the phrase I have had it up to here.
E. The Psalmist’s sin was so great or so many, that they were up to here.
F. They were over him and weighing him down. They were a burden to carry.
G. Does your sin ever get this way?
H. Are we happy in sin, or are we burdened down, pressed down by it.