Psalm 6 – The Voice of My Weeping
By Bunni Pounds
*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.
O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long? (verse 1-3)
Psalm 6 is the first real lament of David to the Lord as his heart is consumed with thoughts of his enemies. He is depressed. We can feel the anxiety, fear, and sorrow in his words. Can you imagine how this sounded as he sang out his troubles? I think it might have been hard to hear.
There are some consistent themes that flow out of these specific Psalms of lament from David:
He questions the Lord on his timing. “How long?”
He declares his weariness and his tiredness in prayer. “I am weary with my groanings.” (verse 4)
He constantly brings up the physical reaction in his body the demonstration of what is happening in his soul – his tears. “I drench my couch with my tears.” (verse 6)
For us, these Psalms are some of the most transparent places in the scriptures of our humanity and give us permission - not to wallow in our pain - but to feel our pain. Life is not perfect. It is hard. We go through trials and tribulations and we need to feel those times – not shove those feelings down and not deal with them.
David felt his pain, but he received hope from this one truth – “For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.” (verse 8)
In verse 1, David acknowledges that some of the pain he is experiencing might be coming from the chastening of the Lord. Good fathers discipline their sons, and David was feeling some pain because of that discipline.
The exhortation in Proverbs says to us:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction;
For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12
This was also quoted in the book of Hebrews by the Apostle Paul as he expounded on the love of a Father who doesn’t leave his children undisciplined, but desires to see them come into a life of holiness and fruitfulness.
“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.” Hebrews 12:11-12
In the end, correction produces “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” that is eternal, and it should give us hope.
“Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?
I am weary with my groaning;
All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with my tears.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.” (verses 4-7)
David cries out to God to “save me for Your mercies’ sake.” He is highlighting a character trait of God that he knows well – the mercy of God. If anyone knew the mercy of God – it was David. He was not a perfect man and should have been left on the ash heap of history – BUT GOD…
David is crying out for God to save him for his mercies’ sake. In that statement he is recognizing that his life is only as important as his relationship with God. Without God – David is nothing.
“Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication;
The Lord will receive my prayer.
Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;
Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.” (verses 8-10)
This is what I want to focus on in Psalm 6 – the faith that David demonstrates in the middle of his depression. He knows BY FAITH that the Lord has heard his supplication and received his prayer.
The enemy of our soul wants us to wallow in self-pity, depression, and condemnation over our own sins, but faith says – the Lord hears our prayers. He receives us!
We cannot avoid trials, pains, and even discipline for our own sins and mistakes in this life – but we can run to prayer regularly knowing that God hears us.
We see this faith lived out in the lives of Daniel, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul.
Daniel served for decades in the palace of the king, enduring multiple rulers in a foreign land called Babylon and Persia. It was brutal during many of those seasons. (Remember the lion’s den?)
How did he keep his peace and have wisdom to share with them that kept him in that place of authority?
The answer:
“he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Daniel 6:10b
Jesus, the Son of God, who lived out a life of humility, compassion, powerful teaching, and miracles, found His strength in only one place – the place of prayer. It became so obvious that His strength came from His Father God that His own disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. They didn’t ask for His preaching gift or His healing ministry. They asked for what they knew was the source of His power – His prayer life. (Luke 11:1).
How did Jesus have the strength to deal with the multitudes and the problems that came to Him every day?
The answer:
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” Mark 1:35
The Apostle Paul – the man who passionately revealed Jesus to the early church, planted faith communities in cities amid persecution, and wrote letter after letter of Holy Scripture – he is a Bible hero for most of us.
How did Paul and his company of friends perform miracles, teach with such clarity about Jesus, and endure persecution, lack, and suffering?
The answer:
“Now it happened, as we went to prayer...” Acts 16:16
They built a habit of prayer into their lives. They set times of meeting with God on their calendars. They found their strength from the God who heard their prayers, showered mercy on them, and received their hearts.
In our present age - the seasons of not being honest with God, not taking our burdens to Him, and trying to survive without prayer – must be over. We have a choice to make like David – will we wallow in our depression, anxiety, fears, and troubles on our bed alone or will we take our tears with FAITH to the God who always hears and sees us?
Today, I choose to be like Daniel, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul – and find God in the place of prayer.
It is in that place where I understand this promise “For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.” (verse 8b-9)
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