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Another psalm on prayer...
Psalm 5 was a “tutorial on prayer”.
And now we have another psalm on prayer.
Psalm 6 is, in its own way, a tutorial on prayer.
It’s just a different kind of prayer.
Psalm 6 is one of seven so-called “penitential psalms”—Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143.
“Penitential” means “relating to or expressing penitence or penance”.
And really, that’s all you need to know.
Don’t you hate it when the dictionary uses the word it’s defining in the definition of the word?
It doesn’t really help at all.
“Penitence” is “the action of feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong.”
A more familiar form of this word is “penance”.
In some faith traditions there is required penance for sins committed—voluntary self-inflicted punishment, sometimes it involves confession to a priest, a dozen “Hail Mary’s” or “Our Father’s”, a spiritual slap on the wrist.
Of course, the most familiar word (hopefully!) related to “penitential, penitence, penance” is repentance.
Repentance is something we must be well-acquainted with; it must mark our lives as Christians.
Turning from our sin and turning to Christ—and this is nothing we need a priest or pastor to help us with.
We don’t need to “do penance” to pay for our sins (Jesus has paid the price once and for all).
But we must repent.
We must show remorse and sorrow over our sinfulness, cutting ties with our sin.
We must turn from sin and run to Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer.
Psalm 6 is David expressing penitence; he’s sorry for having done wrong.
He regrets his sin.
He understands his sin.
He mourns his sin.
He looks to the Lord for mercy and healing, for salvation and deliverance.
And he knows that the Lord hears and accepts his prayer.
Let’s look together at David’s psalm of confession, his psalm of penitence, and what it teaches us about ourselves and how we should pray penitentially/repentantly.
>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Psalm 6 (Page 843 in the Red Pew Bible in front of you).
If you are able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word.
May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David’s prayer is meant to teach you to
Understand Your Sin (Psalm 6:1)
The most likely setting of this psalm is that David has sinned and he is sure God is going to punish him—rebuking and disciplining David for his sin.
We don’t know what sin of David’s is in view here, but we know that David (like us) is a sinner.
Poor David had several of his sinful episodes published in God’s Word, preserved for several thousand years for millions of people to read about.
Poor David.
David has sinned, publically and privately; on a large scale (murder, adultery) and in smaller, more “respectable” ways (stealing, lying).
But David has this much right: David understands what sin is.
Notice the words David uses to speak about his sin: rebuke, discipline; anger, wrath.
All of these, each of these, are the wages of sin.
This is what sin deserves—rebuke, discipline, anger, wrath.
David knows that the Lord Yahweh—the covenant God—must, must, must punish sin.
David understands his sin warrants the wrath of God, the anger of God, the rebuke of God, the discipline of God.
You misunderstand your own sin if you say (or think): “Well, I’ve never sinned like David.
I mean, I’m sure God isn’t please with my sin, but He’s not angry with me.
His wrath isn’t directed toward me.
I’m a good guy and gosh darn it, people like me!”
Your sin warrants just exactly what David says: the wrath of God, the anger of God, the rebuke of God, the discipline of God.
What you deserve, what your sin has won for you, is death.
The wages of sin is death.
That’s what you and I deserve.
But the gift of God—for those who believe in and belong to God by faith in Jesus Christ—the gift of God is LIFE, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Understand Your Sin (Psalm 6:1)
May we never underestimate or misunderstand our sin.
My Grandma Lindy had a few little wall hangings in the dining room of her house, little quips and sayings.
One of them said, “Don’t grumble because you don’t have what you want; be thankful you don’t get what you deserve.”
I think it was in her dining room to prevent anyone complaining about the food set before them, but I thought as I got older about the theological truth of that little wall hanging.
“Don’t grumble because you don’t have what you want; be thankful you don’t get what you deserve.”
We should be so, so grateful that we don’t get what our sins deserve—wrath, anger, eternal punishment.
We should be ever thankful that we have a God who sent His Son to spare us His wrath and anger, His rebuke and discipline.
David understands his sin.
Do you understand your sin?
>With a proper understanding of sin, comes a proper response to sin.
David shows us what that response is.
David’s prayer is designed to teach you to:
Mourn Your Sin (Psalm 6:2-3, 5-7)
If you see your sin for what it is—an act of cosmic treason against the Sovereign Creator of all things—you will rightly mourn, you will feel the weight of your sin.
Look with me at verses 2-3 and 5-7.
Listen to what David’s sin is doing to him:
David is faint, his bones are in agony.
His soul is in deep anguish.
He is plum worn out.
He weeps, so much so that his bed is floating; drenched and floating.
His eyes are weak from crying.
David feels the weight of his sinfulness down in the depths of who he is
It’s that kind of mourning and sorrow that you feel in your bones; it keeps you in bed or on the couch for days.
Have you been there?
I’m sure there’s been a time you’ve mourned like that, a time you’ve felt grief, but have you ever mourned your sin like that?
So many people grieve and mourn, not their sin, but the consequences of their sin.
Think about it.
Say you stole a candy bar when you were a kid.
You swipe a Snickers on your way out.
You are quite pleased with yourself.
Free, delicious candy bar; no problem, no consequences.
But then, later in the day, your mom notices the wrapper in the trashcan and asks you where it came from.
You confess and she makes you go back into the store, tell the owner what you did, makes you pay for the candy bar, and then grounds you for a week (and that after a good whippin’).
Which part of that do you likely grieve?
Did you grieve the sin itself—the stealing of the candy bar?
No, that was just fine; yummy even—chocolately, caramely, peanuty, nougaty goodness.
The sinning (stealing) actually went really well for you.
What you grieve is the punishment, the consequences of the stealing, the fact that you got caught and were punished.
Now think about something more serious—a bigger sin than stealing, something in line with David sleeping with Bathsheba or David having Uriah killed.
At the time, sin like that satisfies something inside you—i.e.
lust, the need for affection, hatred, jealousy.
At the time, the sin you commit makes you feel better, it’s a remedy of sorts.
And as long as no one knows about it, it’s fine.
But when the sin is found out, when it’s made public, there’s anger; there are consequences, possibly legal action, or financial restitution.
Then you rue the day you sinned because sin got you into one heck of a mess.
You regret sinning, but not because of the sin itself.
You’re full of regret because of the consequences sin brought upon you.
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