Psalm 38:9-20 shows that David's environment compelled him to groan before God and declare his iniquity and sin. In verse 18 David said, "For I declare my iniquity;/I am anxious because of my sin." This is a good verse, which we all should love. We always have to say, "I declare my iniquity;/I am anxious because of my sin." This thought is altogether in contrast with David's logic in Psalm 37. Psalm 37 says that as long as you are righteous, not wicked, you will be all right. But in Psalm 38 David said that he was suffering, and he declared his iniquity. Psalm 38 is much higher than Psalm 37. It would be good to read Psalm 38 in a prayerful way again and again, even on our knees.
In Psalm 38:21-22 David said, "Do not abandon me, O Jehovah;/O my God, do not be far from me./Hasten to help me,/O Lord, my salvation." In Psalm 37 it seems that David did not need God to come to save him. He thought that he was righteous and that because of this he would be all right. But in Psalm 38 all he could do was cry out due to the groaning of his heart. At the end he cried out for the Lord's help as his salvation. He begged God not to abandon him but to hasten to help and save him.
I would like to ask how God would answer David's cry to help him. When the apostle Paul asked the Lord to remove the thorn from his flesh, the Lord's response was, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Cor. 12:9). The Lord might tell David, "I will not answer your prayer for help in your way. Instead, I will allow you to suffer because the more you suffer, the more you know your sin. The more you are under suffering, the more you will declare your iniquity, not your righteousness as you did in Psalm 37."
Which psalm would you take for your prayer—Psalm 37 or Psalm 38? We all have to learn not to pray in our natural way. David's logic in Psalm 37 is very natural. We should abandon our natural logic. Instead, we must learn to pray in the revelation of God. We must learn to pray when we are under God's dealing, under God's compelling, in a kind of odious situation (Psa. 38:5). Then we will be blessed, and we will become a blessing.