Psalm - 6

Psalm - 6

Introduction

Psalm 6:1-10 - To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath.

2  Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;

heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

3  My soul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O LORD—how long?

4  Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5  For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

6  I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7  My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

8  Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

9  The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer.

10  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

This psalm is the first of seven “penitential” psalms. Ones in which the Psalmist will lay himself before the Lord and ask for mercy. The others are Psalm 32,38,51,102,130,143. Some scholars add Psalm 25,69, and 86 to the list. All but two have David listed as the author. This one, in particular, is unique among the list. It lacks an explicit acknowledgement of sin and a clear cry for forgiveness. Though, as we will see, they are certainly implied.

As we walk through this, I want us to keep in mind who is writing these words. This is not some weak failure at life. This is not some pagan who does not know God. This is King David! His entire life he knew virtually nothing but victory. He is close to God (Man after God’s own heart). He is successful. He is wealthy. He gets anything he wants. And yet he suffers, at least at this point, from what many could call a total meltdown.

Tonight we need to view this psalm through the lens of what is known as spiritual depression. Not to be confused with actual depression that can have truly medical causes such as hormonal imbalances or chemical disparities in the brain. This is a form of depression that is brought on by spiritual reasons, by God himself. Many have called this the ‘Dark night of the soul.’ In fact, in the early Church, Psalm 6 was used during Lent, the season of church life that prepared for Easter with repentance and confession. It acknowledges that something is up, something feels off in the soul and I need to bring it before God.

One of two things is happening here that is causing David’s depression. First, all this could be happening to David because God is disciplining him for some sin. Since there isn’t a description in the subscript regarding what is happening in the background, it is impossible to know the specifics. But we will see the clear language that points to, at least David thinking, that God is disciplining him for some sin. Or, the other possibility, is that there is not some specific sin God chastises him for, but brings about discipline for the purpose of preparing David for something coming in the future.

Both of these possibilities line up with God’s purposes in suffering. Sometimes God brings difficulties into our lives to get our attention so that we might repent of sin before him. Read through the OT and you will see this absolutely everywhere. As Israel is constantly wavering in their faithfulness to the Lord, God continually warns them, for centuries, of possible invasion by foreign armies. They don’t repent of their sin and God crushes them by means of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Or God could be disciplining (training) them for something that is coming down the line for them in the future. God sometimes brings challenges in the name of setting us up for success later in some larger issue we may face.

Either God is judging him for some sin or the circumstances are being used to sharpen and prepare. Either way, point is that he feels overwhelmed by the circumstances the Lord has caused/allowed.

God is doing one of those two things here with David. All we know is that God has at least sent, for whatever purpose, some enemies into David’s life, as evidenced by his addressing of them in v. 8-10. Could be for chastisement or for discipline. Regardless, they are there and they are causing trouble. Some have added that David could be suffering from an illness here (v. 2-7), thus the psalm is regularly used to pray for the sick. There is some language that can lead that way, but I do not think it is enough to warrant that conclusion. Other point to some sin that is causing the problem (v. 1). Again, regardless of why he is so upset, and regardless of what God is doing with it, he is overwhelmed and crying out to God for help.

Regardless of the purposes of God in this time of suffering, no matter the cause, they look and feel the same, so we can address them the same. Let’s walk through this psalm together and we will see two truths of how God works during such seasons of life.

THE SORROWFUL CONDITION (V. 1-7)

In this sorrowful condition, we can break down what David is wrestling with into three categories, each represented by a stanza of the psalm:

THE PAIN OF DISCIPLINE (V. 1-3)

v. 1 - O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath.

David will cry out to God by name, Yahweh, 8x in this psalm. Five of them are in the first four verses. Here he begins with a cry to God. Yahweh is the first word of the psalm in the Hebrew. There is not some articulate opening to address God. No lofty words in an effort to puff God up to get him to listen. Just “Yahweh!” When you have a relationship with God, this is the confidence we get and the access we get from him. No polite knocking on the door. No buttering up before going in for the ‘ask.’ Just raw, unfiltered ‘God.’

He uses two words here that are a clear indication that David has sinned…or at least he feels that what God is doing in his life is because of his sin. Rebuke and discipline. Both words are used in the OT to refer to corrective actions in relationships, such as the training of a son by a father. David apparently believes God’s rebuke and discipline are justified. He doesn’t plea innocence. He simply asks God that the rebuke not come from anger and the discipline not come from wrath.

Discipline from God is tough to endure. Now, we have to draw a distinction between punishment and discipline. They are different things. God does not punish us for our sins. That is what occurred at the cross of Jesus Christ. So in terms of retribution, there is no need for God to treat us like that. His wrath has been appeased. That is what it means that Jesus is our propitiation. He satisfied God’s wrath for sin. As we’ve talked about before, this is why God didn’t kill you today. That’s what you deserve, but that isn’t what you got.

Discipline is different. It is training. A correcting. Disciple and discipline are the same root word. And God promises to discipline…as a father to a son/daughter.

Hebrews 12:3-11 - 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

When challenges come into your life, it is right and good to view them as discipline from God. Are they discipline for your sin specifically? That is between you and God. Or is God preparing you for something yet to come?

Jeremiah 10:23-24 - 23  I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24  Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;

not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

v. 2 - 2  Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;

heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

Here is where people think that David may be suffering from some illness. He cries out for grace, which is critically important, as we will see soon. But he also asks for healing. He is ‘languishing.’ The word means a withered or weakened condition. Physically, he is in a bad place. His ‘bones’ are troubled. Bones here represents his entire physical structure. His body is wasting away. It is a way to refer to the ‘whole’ person. The bones are the seat of physical strength, the systems that holds up the body.

A key word here is ‘troubled.’ It means ‘faint or weak.’ He uses it in v. 2, v. 3, and again in v. 10. In the LXX, it is the Greek word tarasso. Same word Jesus uses in Matthew 26:38 in the Garden of Gethsemane that his soul is very ‘sorrowful.’

Again, people see this language and think he has a possible illness…one commentator even said God gave him leprosy. Absolutely no evidence of that in the text, nor within David’s life. It could be possible that he is ill, but I think it more likely that his spiritual depression has gone on for so long that it is causing physical symptoms. Depression does that. Your spiritual life, your emotional life, can dramatically affect your physical life, and vice versa.

And David adds in v. 3 - my soul is great troubled. So it isn’t just a physical symptom…it’s spiritual. Soul - innermost being, inner man, who I am. Soul literally translates as ‘I myself…’ because it is the core of a person. And that translation makes the next sentence make a bit more sense…But you, O Lord…

How long? That’s a great question. One that is asked 16x in the psalms (6:3; 13:1-2; 35:17; 62:3; 74:9-10; 79:5; 80:4; 82:2; 89:46; 90:13; 94:3). It always expresses a weary soul in need of comfort. When something challenging comes into life, this is the question we ask. How long? When will this let up? Especially when you endure a season of spiritual depression…it is awful. God, please take this away.

But we have to acknowledge that all God’s dealings with us are maturing of us. How long will this last? God’s answer is clear: until you learn the needed lesson; until you are prepared for what’s coming.

Psalm 37:1-7, 10-11, 20, 34

THE FUTILITY OF DEATH (V. 4-5)

v. 4 - 4  Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

Turn to me…meaning that David believed God had turned away from him. In fact, the word can translate as ‘return.’ So not only is there physical and emotional distress…he feels like God has abandoned him. This is the worst part of spiritual depression. It feels like God is punishing you. It feels like God has turned away. He seems distant. Like your prayers can’t get past the ceiling. Read the Bible, but it is because you should, not because you want to. It is drudgery.

We understand this reality, don’t we? A spouse leaves, you lose your job, parent dies, you get really sick…it feels like God is angry, like he is distant. He isn’t, but it feels that way. This is why we preach the Gospel to ourselves. We remind ourselves of what is true. This is why attending corporate worship and studies like this are so important. They encourage. They remind us of truth. They speak foundational things to our emotional rollercoaster.

Deliver my life - meaning he believes his life is truly in danger. Either from outright attack from his enemies, or from this sense of depression that feels like it is going to kill him. This is why he cries out ‘save me.’

For the sake of your steadfast love - again, David does not appeal to his innocence, his own righteousness. He appeals to God’s love. He has already cried out for grace in verse 2, now for God to act based on his love. It is only God’s love that can conquer the separation that exists between us and God. Love is hesed that we’ve already looked at before. God’s loyal, covenant love. The love and action he promised to provide for his people. By appealing to God’s love here David is claiming God’s promises as his own. You said you would care for us. You said you would protect me.

v. 5 - 5  For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

Remembrance is a parallel work with ‘praise.’ It is used to refer to a recalling of God’s deeds as worship (Ps. 71:15; Is. 63:7). So this isn’t just a mental recollection that God is real, but an offering of worship. This is a logical prayer, especially considering the lack of knowledge about eternal life in the OT. God, I can’t praise you from the grave. I won’t be able to tell people of your wondrous rescue if you don’t in fact rescue me.

This is a common way of people addressing God. Moses intervened with Israel in the desert when God wanted to destroy them all. Moses appealed to God’s reputation. What will Egypt think? What will the surrounding nations think? Now David does the same. God, you gain nothing by my death. The promises of God would fall into disrepute if David dies. King Hezekiah did the same thing in Isaiah 38:18-19.

Psalm 30:8-10 - 8  To you, O LORD, I cry,

and to the Lord I plead for mercy:

9  “What profit is there in my death,

if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

10  Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!

O LORD, be my helper!”

Sheol is the place of the dead, the grave. Sheol is referred to as:

vast cavern of death - Ezekiel 32:18-32

stronghold - Ps. 9:13; 107:18; Mt. 16:18

dark wasteland - Job 10:22

beast of prey - Is. 5:14; Jonah 2:2; Hab. 2:5

This highlights the tragedy of death. Death:

silences worship - Ps. 30:9; 88:1-; 115:17; Is. 38:18

shatters plans - Ps. 146:4

cuts off from God and man - Ps. 88:5; Ecc. 2:16

makes an end of man - Ps. 39:13

This is not a denial of God’s sovereignty over death and the grave, as if God cannot do anything there. Proverbs 15:11 says that Sheol lies open before him. Psalm 139:8 says that God is already there.

Psalm 88:1-12 - O LORD, God of my salvation,

I cry out day and night before you.

2  Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry!

3  For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

4  I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am a man who has no strength,

5  like one set loose among the dead,

like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom you remember no more,

for they are cut off from your hand.

6  You have put me in the depths of the pit,

in the regions dark and deep.

7  Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

8  You have caused my companions to shun me;

you have made me a horror to them.

I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

9  my eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call upon you, O LORD;

I spread out my hands to you.

10  Do you work wonders for the dead?

Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah

11  Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,

or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12  Are your wonders known in the darkness,

or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

It isn’t that God forgets the dead, but meaning that he ends his saving intervention for them. There is a separation caused by death. Now remember, OT knowledge of the afterlife was sparse. Only a few hints at it and at resurrection (Ps. 16:10; 17:15; 49:15; 73:24).

2 Timothy 1:8-10 - 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Thankfully now we have the hope of eternity with the Lord and death is not to be feared. Because of Jesus we now know that praise of God does not end with death…it only begins!

THE STRAIN OF DESPAIR (V. 6-7)

v. 6-7 - 6  I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7  My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

Psalm 3 was a morning psalm, Psalm 4 was an evening psalm. Psalm 5 was another morning psalm, and now Psalm 6 is another evening psalm. Except there is a major different in this one. In Psalm 4 he lay down and slept because the Lord sustained him. Now he is sleepless.

Flood bed with tears - lit. Make my bed to swim.

Drench my couch - lit. Dissolve my couch

Here is where some scholars make a connection to David’s sin with Bathsheba as the reason God is disciplining him. Here, on the same bed where he committed the sin, he is now hounded by God to repent of that very sin. Again, no evidence that is the context of the psalm, but interesting to think about.

William Plumer - Mercies obtained by weeping and prayer are well suited to give courage. They are like armor won in battle and hung up as trophies to show what can be done.

This is what God does during times of emotional distress. We obtain new mercies otherwise unobtained. Lessons learned in sorrow are some of the most powerful ones. Especially if this is all caused by God due to some sin in life. God can absolutely hound someone when there is unrepentant sin in their life. In fact, at times I pray for this very thing during pastoral counseling. God make them miserable until they repent.

Spurgeon - Ah, when the soul has a sense of sin, it is enough to make the bones shake; it is enough to make a man’s hair stand up on end to see the flames of hell beneath him, an angry God above him, and danger and doubt surrounding him…The coming of Christ into the soul in his priestly robes of grace is the grand hope of the penitent soul.

TS - you can clearly see David’s distress here. Whatever it is that is going on, and whatever God’s purposes in it, are overwhelming to him. So what does he do? He cries out to God. God is his only hope. He appeals to the heart of God…and no other appeal is needed.

THE SUDDEN CONFIDENCE (V. 8-10)

v. 8-10 - 8  Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

9  The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer.

10  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Depart from me…this is no weak hope that they will be gone. This is a king issuing orders. There is a sense of command and finality to these words. Jesus used this same phrase in Matthew 7:23.

We don’t know who these enemies are, but it would seem they have been sent by God and they are the agents of God’s discipline. He calls them foes in v. 7, workers of evil in v. 8 and enemies in v. 10. They aren’t friends. As king, God could use enemies as discipline upon him and on the nation.

2 Samuel 24:10-14 - 10 But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

God uses national enemies for discipline, and then punishes them for their desire to destroy. This is the message of Habakkuk.

This is a sudden and surprising change from David’s attitude and state of mind up until now. What changed? There is no record of the circumstances changing at all. God has heard his prayer and has turned his face back to him. The circumstances didn’t change, David did.

3x he declares that Yahweh has heard him and has answered. And now that God is involved, the enemies better watch out. v. 10 they shall turn back. Just as David felt God had turned away, now that he has turned toward him, the enemies now turn away. Just as David has been ‘troubled’ now his enemies shall be troubled. They are the ones who will now feel the weight of God’s discipline.

What happened? David has spent enough time in God’s presence that his soul is now encouraged. He has gone from hopeless to hopeful. Only time in God’s presence can do that. And it may not happen right away…by all accounts, it was some significant time that passed for David. So we wait for God to move.

Application

Sensitivity to Holy Spirit in confessing sin (keep short accounts) - 1 John 1:9Sin does not break relationship with God, but fellowshipConfidence of being welcomed, heard, forgiven - Hebrews 4Not a sign of weakness - David, Luther, SpurgeonBenefits of suffering - Romans 5:3-4; James 1:3-5Accept or reject God’s disciplineSovereign God sees fit to send suffering - melt and lose heart or harden heartMany souls saved as body wasted awayILL - addict who asks God to take away the desireAppeal to God’s mercy, grace, and love…cry out to Yahweh - eternity, infinity, immutability, self-existence. Yahweh/Jehovah/AdonaiGod’s love is the only thing that can bring the separation - Gospel