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.

²Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;

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

³My soul also is greatly troubled;

But You, O Lord—how long?

⁴Return, O Lord, deliver me!

Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!

⁵For 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.

⁷My eye wastes away because of grief;

It grows old because of all my enemies.

⁸Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;

For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;

The Lord will receive my prayer.

¹⁰Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

Commentary

Vs. 1 “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.”

Psalm 6 is a plea and prayer for relief from some chastisement that had shaken David to his core. By the first verse it seems clear David believed his suffering was brought on by some sort of sin or trespass he had committed. Now that is not always the case, as the Book of Job so clearly reveals, for there are many reasons why believers suffer, even suffer unto death, and so to assume such things in all cases is only to commit that grave error that Job’s friends committed in condemning him. Nonetheless believers do sometimes sin, and as a result God does sometimes create or allow suffering, or bring turmoil into our lives, to bring about our confession and repentance, and ultimately our spiritual growth and edification. And so, hear we see that David clearly knew he had done something wrong in the sight of God, and as the nations leader his sin could not go unpunished by God. Knowing that, David in fearing the Lord, now pleads with Him not to rebuke him in His anger, nor chasten him in His hot displeasure. For in having that healthy fear of, and reverence for the Lord, is then the basis for David’s plea for His mercy and relief, which the rest of the psalm contains.

Vs. 2 “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;

O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.”

David’s affliction had already weakened him; indeed, such was its nature that his pain seemed almost intolerable, reaching even to the depths of his bones. Therefore, David desperately pleas to the Lord, for both His mercy and His healing.

Vs. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled;

But You, O Lord—how long?

David was even being troubled to the depths of his soul, and so in pleading with the Lord, he asks Him how long, how long must this continue? Which is a valid question, which we ourselves often ask when faced with our own suffering. Now it must be stated that the Lord’s silence during these difficult times is never His indifference. For even in our darkest times the peaceable fruit of righteousness is often worked in us, and through us (Heb. 12:11; James 3:17-18). And so, though we may also ask these sorts or questions of God, the Scripture never promises us immediate healing or relief from all of our afflictions and plights; sometimes we will have to live with various disabilities and ailments, sometimes we will have to live with difficult circumstances, or in very trying situations, and sometimes this is so, so that God through our weaknesses, (and or inabilities to change our own circumstances), can bring about His Will, for the betterment of all.

Vs. 4-5 “Return, O Lord, deliver me!

Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!

⁵For in death there is no remembrance of You;

In the grave who will give You thanks?”

In midst of his suffering David felt like the Lord had abandoned him, (something not unique to him), and so in his despairing state he pleads with the Lord to return to him. To deliver him from his troubles and save him for His mercy’s sake,

“For in death there is no remembrance of You;

In the grave who will give You thanks?”

Now this too can be our own heartfelt prayer and cry. However, no believer because of the Lord Jesus Christ’s finished work at Calvary, and His Holy Spirit now being given to us who believe in Him, should ever fear the Lord leaving us, for though we maybe severely afflicted in this life, He Promises to never leave us, nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5), for He will always be with us, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). Something which all need to be reassured of in our own plight, just as David did in his.

Vs. 6-7 “I am weary with my groaning;

All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.

⁷My eye wastes away because of grief;

It grows old because of all my enemies.”

David (like Job) deeply despaired of his on-going grief and miseries, some of which were being intentionally forwarded by his own enemies. Nonetheless it always darkest before the light shine, that is God’s light, breaks through the clouds.

Vs. 8-9 “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;

For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;

The Lord will receive my prayer.”

 David then have regained his footing, that is, his understanding of God’s dealings with him, that He has not abandoned him, now boldly says to adversaries,

“Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;

For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;

The Lord will receive my prayer.”

Three things then that David now knew:

First, the Lord had heard his weeping, He had taken notice of his sufferings, (just as He did of ancient Israel’s in Egypt) and so now he knew that the Lord was going to heal and restore him, and deal with those who had, and were afflicting him.

Second, Where David once thought, are any of my prayers and supplications even being heard by God? Now he has a full confidence that they truly are!

Third, and not just heard by God, David now knew that his prayer would be received by God, and thus the Lord Himself was going to act on it, just as He acts on every righteous prayer and supplication made in faith to Him.

 Vs. 10 “Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.”

And so, David now concludes this psalm with triumph, with a declaration that all of his enemies will be ashamed and greatly troubled suddenly, that is without warning or recourse, when the Lord deals with all of them.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.