Psalm Saturday: Psalm 6

Psalm 6

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord--how long?

Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?

I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled.
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
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David, as he does in many of his psalms, writes Psalm 6 out of a desperate situation. He is being chased by his enemies, and he feels cut off from God's love and protection--at first.

David wasted no time in speaking his mind to God, and honestly, I think that's what God desires. David was described as a "man after God's own heart," yet time after time, David questions where God is during his time of trouble. There is nothing wrong with being honest with God about our doubts and fears, as long as we don't completely lose hope in him. If you look carefully at what David says, although he questions God at first, he voices his faith in him at the end.

Why? Is David confident because of his righteousness? No. Instead, he is confident in God's righteousness, and more importantly, God's grace. David asks God to save him for the sake of God's steadfast love, not because of what David deserved.

We must bear this in mind. So many times we ask God to help us because we feel like we deserve it. We ask him to deliver us from sickness, debt, and other tribulations because we feel that we are being treated unjustly. We feel that we deserve better. However, we must understand that as sinful humans, we don't deserve God's deliverance. Nevertheless, God gives it to us anyway because of his love.

David's faith becomes especially evident in the last stanza of this Psalm. Before God has removed David from his troubled situation, David has faith that God will put his enemies to shame. He states clearly that the Lord will hear his plea and accept his prayer, not because David deserves it, but because God is full of steadfast love and mercy.

I'm glad God doesn't give us what we deserve, but instead, gives us mercy. His love endures forever.