“For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.”
The psalmist declares 'For I said, "Do not let them rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips."' The request that enemies not be allowed to rejoice over his misfortune suggests that his concern is not merely for himself but for the vindication of God's justice. The mention of foot slipping suggests a moment of stumbling, and the psalmist does not want this to be interpreted as permanent defeat. This verse indicates that the psalmist's concern is the perception of God's righteousness.
Church Fathers on Psalms 38:16
A psalm to David himself, on the remembrance of the Sabbath. 1. What does this recollection of the Sabbath mean? What is this Sabbath? For it is with groaning that he “calls it to recollection.” You have both heard already when the Psalm was read, and you will now hear it when we shall go over it, how great is his groaning, his mourning, his tears, his misery. But happy he who is wretched after this manner! Whence the Lord also in the Gospel Matthew 5:4 called some who mourn…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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