Psalm 6

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

1 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?

In the previous psalm David prayed for the wrath of God to come on his enemies, but now he asks that the Lord refrain from disciplining him in wrath or rebuking him in anger. David has done something for which he believes he deserves punishment. He asks for grace because he is languishing, deeply sick inside, right down to the bones. But it’s not just physical suffering that he feels, there is also a soul sickness. His soul is greatly troubled as well. He begins to pray, “but you, O LORD - how long?” What sounds like it’s about to be a statement of trust turns into a question. It is a question that we’ve heard in previous psalms -- how many are my foes? how long? This series of petitions comes from a near death experience that has been bought on by David’s own doing. Sickness was thought to be the withdrawal of God’s blessing and punishment for something that you had done. David doesn’t identify the sin, but it must have been grievous. This is the first of seven penitential psalms, prayers of confession and requests for grace. The understanding of the connection between sin and sickness has changed in modern times with greater understanding of how the human body works. Yet it is true that poor physical health is often related to poor spiritual health and lack of self-control. If I suffer from any physical issues it is a result of my own lack of self-control. My physical condition is a reflection of my spiritual condition -- undisciplined and flabby. There are those who are languishing, suffering from physical, social, and mental pain and this prayer is very real to them. David will turn it into confidence, but not before pouring out his soul to God. This in itself is therapeutic (healing). The act of praying may be the first step in healing. 

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?

David asks for the LORD to repent, to turn from his present course of seeming to ignore him, and change to a posture of deliverance. His life is in danger, presumably from this sickness, he declares that if he is dead he won’t be able to give praise to God. Death from our perspective is the end: the end of life, consciousness and of remembering. He also appeals to God’s steadfast love. This may be an implicit appeal to God to protect his reputation. How can he be seen as a God of steadfast love and deliverance when he allows his anointed to die from an illness? This is that aspect of prayer where we make our case before God, giving him reasons to answer our request (as if he doesn’t already know them). Perhaps this process is for our benefit in some way. We assume that God acts the way we would act, that we would be motivated by concern for our reputation, so surely God must be as well. However, God’s motivations are beyond scrutinizing. The things he does and allows to happen do not make sense at times. So he must have a better plan than we do. This is very difficult to accept, particularly when the pain of loss is acute and constant. There are people going through all kinds of trauma, difficulties and loss right now, and there is no answer from heaven to the “why?” question. Why doesn’t God care about his reputation? Why doesn’t he do a miracle to show his steadfast love? We just don’t know. We just have to trust in his wisdom and in his steadfast love without any immediate evidence of it. That’s not a neat and tidy answer, but I think it’s the correct one. 

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.

David describes an intense grief. Nowhere else in the psalms is there this kind of statement about tears (cf. Psalm 42 - my tears have been my food day and night). I imagine this to be the kind of grief where there is no comfort. It is exhausting, it is consistent, it is overwhelming grief -- flooding my bed and drenching my couch with tears. This is the kind of thing I would expect when grieving the loss of a child or a spouse. But perhaps it would also be the pain of betrayal or rejection from one that you love. In the case of illness it could be unremitting pain, physical pain that cannot be soothed by medication. David’s eyes are wasting and growing weak because of his grieving and because of all of his foes. The fact that he has foes suggests that he is not getting any support in his misery. Likely he is experiencing the opposite -- isolation. No one wants to be around someone who’s grieving. We don’t know what to say or do, so it’s just awkward. I’ve yet to experience this kind of grief -- sadness and loss for sure, but not this kind of sustained sorrow. Someday I will and I’ll know exactly what David is speaking of here. It is a universal condition. Jesus himself cried out with loud cries and many tears (Hebrews 5:7). When I’m grieving, it’s good to know that I am not alone. “Jesus wept” -- the shortest verse of the Bible may be the most profound. God chooses to cry with us, and in the end he promises to wipe every tear from our eyes. 

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.

There are three statements regarding David’s enemies and three about the LORD. This suggests the real nature of this lament is not just about an illness (although that was part of it), rather it is the social pain that David is enduring at the hands of his enemies. It’s one thing to be sick and be surrounded by caregivers (parents, friends, spouse), but it’s another to suffer alone. It is the suffering alone that perhaps leads some to choose to end their lives. David has a moment of clarity in his praying where, before he even has an answer, he is confident that he has been heard and his prayers will be answered. He first commands his enemies who have been conspiring against him to depart. By extension, this could refer to the rebuke of his illness, to use modern phrasing. Then he acknowledges that the LORD has heard his weeping, his pleas, and he has accepted David’s prayer. There is no mention of a sign or symbol of this, just that David moves from a position of doubt to a position of faith. On the basis of this he confidently predicts what will happen next. His enemies will be ashamed and greatly troubled. They’ll reverse course and be put to shame in a moment. David sees the reversal of fortune and concludes his prayer with confident hope. What situation would you like to have reversed today? Have you brought it before God or are you tackling it on your own? David seems to be in a place where he can’t do anything on his own. He can’t fix it so he cries out to God. That’s not a place I like to be in, but it’s the kind of place where God gets the most glory. My enemies are not flesh and blood, but they are real and mostly unrecognized as such. Rebuke the enemies that threaten to shame me and call on the LORD to make it happen.