Psalm 6

Intro

What hope is there in middle of our deepest trouble?

Where do you look when times are tough, you fear for your life and you can’t sleep?

Psalms - set songs and prayers for God’s people (set prayers are great!)

These are not just ancient poetry, these are Our Songs of Faith. They are divinely inspired worship book for God’s people. They cover the gambit of human experience in worship, from instructing our hearts in the truth, to praising God in joy, to lamenting the woes that bury us in the depths of despair.

We’ve looked at Psalm 1 & 2 so far - and they have set the context for the Psalms. God’s people as individuals are called to walk the path of life pleasing God, and he will watch over them. Also, the nations must submit themselves to God and His messianic King to find refuge from God’s wrath.

As we move into the Psalms proper these two themes will be before us: Individuals seeking God to receive His blessing and nations seeking God to receive his blessing. Sometimes the blessing that they seek is the relief from trials, sometimes it is to know God and dwell with Him, sometimes it is the downfall of enemies.

Yet through all 150 Psalms, we need to read them “Messianically” - it all point to Jesus, and they make sense with Jesus as our worship leader. Some Psalms point particularly to Jesus, etc. But the collection as a whole is all messianic, and you see this in the way that alot of the Psalms are written by King David who was an anointed king who was a foreshadow of Jesus to come.

This is like our Psalm today which is specifically noted as being written by King David. Look...

Psalm 6:title NIV

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.

David was know from his earliest days as a great musician! Before he became king he had a reputation for being both a warrior, a well-spoken man and a great musician! David was employed by King Saul to play soothing music on the lyre.

Over the course of his life he composed a huge number of worshipful songs - he used his gifts to Glorify God with worship and music.

This is one of those songs, composed for stringed instruments, with a specific tune or octave in mind. We’re not sure what “Hindemith” refers to, but it literally means “on the 8th” so it could be a name of a tune or a reference to the octave or even who was supposed to sing it. Of little consequence.

This Psalm is unlike those we have looked at already. It is not teaching wisdom, it is not a spectacular declaration of God’s sovereignty. This is something of a lament. It meets a person in the midst of great trials and difficulty. In this sense it is a Psalm that many of us would identify with as we have endured dark days in our past, or perhaps you are enduring difficulty and despair at this very moment.

This Psalm is roughly broken into two sections - and we will look at each in turn. We will ask the question: What hope is there in middle of our deepest trouble?

The Pleas (v1-7)

Children - You plead for your needs.

When you’re in trouble where do you go? You run to your parents!

If you’re hungry, they feed you.

If you’re sick, they care for you.

If you’re afraid, they protect you.

Your parents have a track record of providing for you! You know that they can help you and you can trust them. Even when you know you don’t deserve it! Perhaps you’ve done the wrong thing and you know that you deserve to be disciplined, but you will always find love and care in your parents.

David, when he wrote this Psalm had a similar perspective, except, his issues were not able to be fixed by any human. David knew he needed to turn to his heavenly Father - the LORD. God always provided for him.

David was in a bad place. He was suffering. He probably deserved it! But even so, he turned to the LORD and pleaded with God to deliver him from the anguish he found himself in. Lets look:

Psalm 6:1–3 NIV

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?

David felt like he was under God’s discipline. He could probably think of reasons why God could be angry with him, yet he does not plead his innocence, rather He cries out to God to see his distress.

He is overcome!

He fears for his life!

He pleads with God not to rebuke or discipline him any further because he is at the end of what he can bear.

He is in agony!

So he pleads to the LORD for mercy! The LORD has every right to test us, and to bring us through trials and suffering, but here the psalmist pleads for an end, on the basis of God’s mercy.

Because he is in anguish. His soul is greatly troubled! Not just “I have a big decision to make”, not just “I’m having a bit of a rough go of it lately” but deeply, greatly troubled. And he wonders, how much longer until the LORD brings me through?

How much longer can this go on?

How Long LORD, how long?

We don’t know the specifics of David’s suffering here, but that is to our benefit. We see here reflected something of our human condition that we can all identify with. That feeling of helplessness in a sea of pain. We cannot see the far shore and the waves of sorrow crash over us continually.

We wearily tread water day after day after day, and we wonder how long will I float upon this sea?

How long until the LORD brings me forth to the shores of bright joy?

Will I ever come there again?

We can take up this plea in the midst of our anguish and cry out to the LORD to have mercy, even if it is a mess of our own making.

Have mercy LORD for I am faint.

David continues His pleas:

Psalm 6:4–5 NIV

Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?

So the psalmist has asked for God to put away His anger and discipline, to have mercy, to heal, and now he appeals to God to deliver on the basis of God’s love.

His Steadfast Love.

His Covenant Love.

His Unfailing Love.

His “hesed” for you Hebrew lovers.

This is the central reason that the sufferer can expect God to act, because of His Love. Turn, Deliver and Save, why? Because of your covenant Love.

Next he appeals to the honor and glory of God’s name. No-one can honor God in the grave (Sheol)! The obvious inference being that David is about to die, and he’ll be in the ground soon if God does not deliver him!

Sheol is described as the realm of the dead - a dry and barren place. There is no life in the grave. There is no worship either apparently! Ours is the God of the Living, and so David pushes the point that he must remain umong the living in order to Proclaim God’s name and praise Him!

If ever we are unwilling to praise the LORD or to to proclaim the name of the LORD then we ought to be cast into the grave. It is better that we should leave the earth than to continue to live heaping up condemnation on our own heads. The purpose of our lives is to bring Glory to God - all that we are designed to be as humans pushes toward that goal, and death interrupts that goal! The dead cannot praise God.

So David hopes that God would keep him among the Living so that he may continue to proclaim God’s name.

God has a great love for His people. He will deliver them! He will turn and deliver and save. He will save from Sheol. He brings life, and life eternal.

Although David didn’t know the fullness of what he looked for in hope, the LORD would turn, deliver, save and have mercy through Jesus Christ. The descendant of David who would take up David’s mantle.

But David knows nothing of that joy in this moment.

But he feels so near the grave. He is full of sorrow. He has cried his eyes out:

Psalm 6:6–7 NIV

I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

Great sorrow and sadness. Weeping and crying all night long. His bed is sopping wet with tears.

Driven to this by his enemies. It seemed that this may just be a physical affliction (like a disease), but here it is made clear that one element causing the sorrow are bad guys. Enemies. Foes.

What hope is there in middle of our deepest trouble?

The Resolution (v8-10)

Children - You can’t speak away your problems. If you were in trouble and you just spoke, it would not make all the difficult things go away. And when those troubles are too big, you need an outside help to escape. Like falling into a big hole, you need someone to come and rescue you.

David needed God’s rescue - and it looks like God gave it to Him. He knew his own need for God, and God provided.

Here is the “turn” in the Psalm. Before are all the pleas and sorrow, but here there is a change. No more cries for mercy.

Now there is confidence!

Now there is deliverance!

But where does this confidence come from? What has caused this change? It is that the LORD has heard him! Let’s look:

Psalm 6:8–10 NIV

Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

David Commands the enemies away! All on the basis of God hearing him. It’s as if he was on his knees imploring the LORD with tears, and now, having been heard by God, he stands up, lifts His head, and demands God’s enemies back with confidence of God’s protection.

The Lord heard the cry for mercy, and gives it. He accepted the pleas for mercy by giving deliverance.

Now, Anguish taken from David and given to the enemies! They will be overwhelmed!

This ends the Psalm on a triumphant note. A great change from the sorrowful and forlorn start. This is the power of knowing God has heard and comes to deliver.

Like Jesus in the Garden before his crucifixion - he poured out His grief and anguish to the LORD, and he was comforted. He went to the cross having been heard by the Father and put the enemies of God to open shame!

Colossians 2:15 ESV

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Satan, Death, & Sin.

Rulers and authorities - Human and Spiritual.

The LORD heard Jesus prayer, and drove away the enemies.

The LORD hears our prayer in Jesus Christ and he will deal with our enemies. (not just people we don’t like, but the enemies of the Messianic King. Sometimes they will be specific people.)

God in this age is driving back his enemies with the Gospel - the proclamation of God’s deliverance though Jesus Christ exposing the enemies of God, putting them to shame, and calling for their surrender.

Praying This Psalm