All things bear record · Psalms

Psalms 38

1 witness of Christ here, and 2 further echoes from the reading.

Friends Standing Afar Off

My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. Psalms 38:11

The sufferer's friends keep their distance. At the cross, Jesus' acquaintances also 'stood afar off,' so the verse softly echoes His abandonment. The psalm itself is about the speaker's sin, so this is only an echo.

A readingEchoAn echo of Him
  • alluded to by Luke 23:49 — All his acquaintance 'stood afar off, beholding these things.'

Silent Before Accusers

But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Psalms 38:13–14

The sufferer does not answer his accusers. Isaiah and the Gospels describe Jesus the same way, opening not His mouth before those who condemned Him.

A readingEchoAn echo of Him
  • alluded to by Isaiah 53:7 — 'He opened not his mouth ... as a sheep before her shearers is dumb.'
  • alluded to by Matthew 26:63 — 'But Jesus held his peace.'

Lord My Salvation

Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Psalms 38:21–22

The penitent calls the LORD 'my salvation.' Jehovah is the One who saves from sin, the premortal Jesus Christ.

AttestedJehovah — the LORDA title of Christ

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4)