Psalms Reading – 1.7.2022
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint;
heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, LORD, how long?
4 Turn, LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
The ancient church identified this psalm as one of seven penitential psalms, though it mentions no specific sin. The reason it is classified as such is because David begins by asking for God not to rebuke or discipline him in His anger. He pleads for God’s mercy and healing for his whole body is racked with pain.
This psalm takes us into the depths of David’s soul. We discover the psalms are so beneficial for our own spiritual journey because they speak from the heart of human pain and longing. David is not afraid to admit that he is in deep anguish. He is so distressed that he weeps through the night. He is worn out from crying out to God.
David ends this prayer with confidence that God has heard and accepted his prayer. He knows his enemies will be turned away because of what God will do.
It is important to note that David expresses such faith and confidence before the answer ever comes. He speaks by faith that God will do this. We will see this pattern over and over where the psalmists soulfully weep, cry out, ask, plead, even question God, but then they declare their faith and belief that God will answer their prayer.
Memory Verse:
Psalm 1:1-2, Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
Question(s) to Consider:
Where are you feeling anguish in your soul? How are you expressing it to God? Even in the midst of your pain, will you declare your faith and confidence in God?