Walking With God # 4: When You Have a Heavy Heart, Psalm 6

Intro: Have you ever asked someone how they are doing, and gotten the response- I’m doing great, under the circumstances. Have you ever replied, or heard someone reply- Well, what are you doing under there? It’s a funny little quip, and a quick reminder that the Christian life is a life of victory. It can also be a little insensitive, we never know what someone else is going through.

Take Job for example- he lost his family, his wealth, & his health. Try telling Job get up from there & get on with life. His wife tried- she said to curse God and die. Job 2:10, But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” It’s ok to not be ok. Sometimes our conditions or circumstances will cause us to have a heavy heart. But many of us have been taught to push down our feelings, show no emotion, bottle it all up, & treat expression as something bad. The psalms do not do that.

One of the things I appreciate most about the psalms is that they don’t sugarcoat the hard stuff, they give voice to it. They are honest, sometimes brutally so, but that honesty will help us walk with God, even when we have a heavy heart. We don’t have to get over it, but we do have to get through it. Psalm 6 can help us learn how to get through it.

Psalm 6, To the Chief Musician. With Stringed Instruments. On An Eight-Stringed Harp. A Psalm of David. 1O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. 2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O Lord—how long? 4 Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake! 5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

6I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. 9 The Lordhas heard my supplication; The Lordwill receive my prayer. 10 Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

This psalm has an inscription- to the “chief musician” (choirmaster, music director) with stringed instruments. There were several stringed instruments in the OT- lute, harp, lyre, or zither. This psalm was to be sung or played on an 8-stringed harp.

It is said to be a psalm “of David.” Over 100 of the psalms are attributed to individuals, 73 of them to David. The phrase “of” can mean “to, for, by, or about” so it does not always mean it was written by them.

Psalm 6 is categorized as an individual lament psalm. A lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. That means the psalmist was going through a hard time when he wrote it, he had a heavy heart. The first few verses will help us understand why.

1. The REASONS for a Heavy Heart, 1-3

Psalm 6 is not only an individual lament psalm, it is considered to be the first of 7 penitential psalms (Ps. 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Penitential referring to repentance from sin.

SIN makes our hearts heavy. This reality is reflected in the very first verse. Rebuke- correction. Chasten-instruction, to discipline, punish. David is owning that he sinned in some way, but we don’t know how.

Many believe that he was dealing with the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba.We know that about Psalm 51 because it plainly says so, but it doesn’t say that here. Bathsheba was not the 1st, or only sin of David’s. None of us have ever only sinned once.

David is owning his sin and asking for relief. He doesn’t ask God to not rebuke him, just not in wrath. Anger-nose, face, nostrils; anger that makes you breathe out your nose. He doesn’t ask God to not discipline him, just not in displeasure. Hot Displeasure- heat, rage, fury; a feeling of intense anger. David knows that he deserves correction & instruction, and he feels like God is angry and displeased with him. Have you ever felt that way? Sin will do that to you; it will make your heart feel heavy.

SICKNESS will too. In vs. 2, David asks for mercy & healing. He says he is weak & his bones are troubled. Weak- frail, faint, lacking strength or vigor. Troubled- horrified, terrified, out of one’s senses.

ILL: You remember what it was like to get in trouble at school, or with your mom- you just wait until your father gets home. And you did wait, with bated breath & a sick stomach, b/c you knew what was coming. Sickness will make your heart heavy, egregious sin will make you physically ill- you can’t sleep, you can’t eat, you’re filled with shame & regret, worried that someone will find out, it creates physical distress.

SIN + SICKNESS = SUFFERING. All suffering is the byproduct of sin. Sin brought death & disease into the world. If our bones are troubled by sin, how much more our souls- greatly troubled (same as vs. 2). Greatly- strength, power; carries the idea of muchness, abundance, exceedingly troubled. Every physical ailment we endure can be attributed to sin, & every malady of the soul comes about because of our sin. Sin is the primary reason we have a heavy heart. Now what will we do with it?

2. The RESPONSES of a Heavy Heart, 4-7 requests/reactions

Vss. 4-5 show us the requests of a Heavy Heart: pleading and bargaining. He pleads with God to deliver him from his suffering, to save him for His mercies’ sake. Return- to turn back; the image is that God has turned His face away. In Psalm 51:9, Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. In this psalm, David feels like God has turned away, but He wants Him to turn back to Him. He’s worn out by it.

David pleads with God to return, not on the basis of his feelings, or even because of his desire to be forgiven, but purely on the basis of God’s faithfulness. Mercies- (hesed) loyalty, faithfulness, loyal love, used of God’s love related to His covenant faithfulness. An attribute of God that is totally dependent upon Himself, regardless of us.

Yet David doesn’t feel it, he pushes from pleading to bargaining (5). Have you been there, where your pleading with God becomes bargaining with Him? David feels like he is dying, he might even wish himself to be dead, except if he dies, he knows it will prevent his praise of God. This isn’t an afterlife statement, he’s not talking about heaven or hell, he’s referring to the grave. If he dies, he won’t be alive to give God praise.

Vss. 6-7 show us the reactions of a heavy heart: emotions & feelings. I learned something new this week- though we use the words interchangeably, there is a difference between emotions and feelings. Psychologist Rachel Allyn wrote “Emotions originate as sensations in the body. Feelings are influenced by our emotions but are generated from our mental thoughts.”  David’s emotions are running wild. You’ve heard the idiom- cry me a river, well that’s exactly what David is doing. He has wept so much in the night that his bed is swimming in it, so much in the day, that his couch is drenched with his tears. That’s raw emotion.

His eye wastes away because of his grief (feeling). Waste- to swell up, become dark, & clouded. David’s eyes are swollen from crying, he’s got dark circles around his eyes, bags under his eyes. This is not how we usually picture David-the shepherd boy, God’s chosen king, the giant killer, who valiantly led his people into victory after victory, here reduced to a weeping mess. This is what sin does.

Sin, sickness, & suffering reduces us to a shadow of our former selves. David has sensed a rupture in his relationship with God and is sorry, his raw emotion/bodily reaction is groaning & weeping, he feels grief & weariness. The reaction of so much raw emotion & feeling will wear us out. What are we to do with those feelings & emotions?

3. The RESOLUTION of a Heavy Heart, 8-10

David adds new information at the end of vs. 7 that carries over into vss. 8-10. He is dealing with some enemies/adversaries. He doesn’t say what’s going on, what they are doing to him. They are not the cause of his suffering, but they are aggravating his despair.

I’ll bet you’ve been there. You’ve got something going on in your life- some secret sin, physical illness, there is some kind of suffering, & you have a heavy heart. You’ve been praying, pleading with God, you’ve gone so far as to even bargain with Him. You are literally worn out from the emotional fallout of your spiritual, physical, & mental condition, and then someone says something that sets you off. The last thing we want is to hear from them- get away from me you workers of iniquity.

On what basis can we say that to them? The LORD has heard the voice of my weeping. We tell our enemies- I’m hurt, you’re not helping, but God has heard me. The LORD Hears, the LORD Knows, the LORD Cares:

- God Hears my tears (voice of my weeping). Charles Spurgeon- “Weeping is the eloquence of sorrow.”

- God Knows my pleas. He’s paying attention to my supplication.

- God Cares about my requests. He will accept my prayers.

The psalmist can rebuke His enemies because of His trust in God. He is resolute in his confidence that God will respond. So, he can tell all his enemies to get away, to be ashamed, & be greatly troubled. Because he came to God with his sin, sorrow, situation, everything he felt previously. Hebrews 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

One week ago today, I stepped up to this pulpit with a heavy heart. I was physically tired, my social batteries were totally drained, and I had just begun to process the tragic flooding in central Texas. At that time, we were only 2 days from flash flooding that took the lives of 129 people, many of them kids, & there are still about 170 people missing.

When I first heard about it, it touched me, but it didn’t register with me what it all meant. I’m a slow processor, & it often takes a couple of days for my feelings to catch up with my emotions. When it finally registered with me what had happened, the emotions kicked in, the feelings started up, & I was supposed to stand up & preach.

That was happening to me last Sunday when I stepped up to deliver the welcome, & all I could say is - I’m not okay. I know that feeling resonates with a lot of people- we’re not okay, & it’s OK to not be OK. Tragic suffering is not easy to endure or to get over. You don’t get over it, but you do have to get through it. How do we get through it?

1st, we start by wrestling with the reasons. Understand that sin is the reason for all the suffering in the world. There’s only one answer for sin- Jesus. Repent and believe in Him.

2nd, Respond accordingly. Weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice. Beg, plead, & bargain with God if you must. Make a night out of it if you have to. Psalm 30:5, … Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

3rd, be Resolved that God’s got this- The LORD hears, the LORD knows, the LORD cares. Tell the enemy to back up & shut up. Their shame doesn’t have to stick to you. We can be resolved to walk with God, even when we have a heavy heart.