“My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.”
The psalmist describes how his wounds stink and fester because of his foolishness. The visceral language of stinking and festering wounds emphasizes the repulsiveness and corruption that accompanies the consequences of sin. The attribution to foolishness suggests that the psalmist recognizes his transgression as stemming from folly and poor judgment. This verse conveys the psalmist's sense of horror at the state his sin has produced.
Church Fathers on Psalms 38:5
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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