Dwell in the Word: Psalm 6

Consider these questions as you dwell in Psalm 6 today:

1. How does the Psalmist describe his desperate state in the beginning of the passage, and what specific requests does he make to God?

2. What does the Psalmist express about the depth of his grief and the impact it has on him physically and emotionally? How does he view God's role in this situation?

3. How does the Psalmist's confidence in God's steadfast love and faithfulness shape his attitude towards his enemies and his outlook on prayer? How does the speaker connect this confidence to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ?

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Transcript:

We see once again that the Psalmist is in a very desperate state of affairs. We see, as verse 1 comes about, that he is begging God, Rebuke me not in your anger nor discipline me in your wrath. He is asking for mercy. In fact, in verse 2, we see that he's asked God to be gracious to him because he is languishing. He's in a desperate state of affairs to the point that his bones are troubled. In fact, verse three, My soul is greatly troubled, but you, O Lord, how long... In other words, he is wondering how long is God going to allow this to happen? How long is this state of affairs going to be the way that His life is because this is getting deep down into Him? Notice, My bones are troubled. Now, I don't know if you've ever had something go wrong where you were grieving or you felt it down within your bones physically, but we know what this phrase means, and there are ways in which we grieve and things that we feel that affect parts of us that have nothing to do with what we've experienced, right? We can feel it deep down in our bones.

 There is pain within us as we experience these situations. And so while the Psalmist is asking, O Lord, how long? He is giving us this idea that God has turned away from him. And so we have in verse 4, turn, O Lord, this idea of God turning back towards Him to deliver His life. And why does He ask God to do that? For the sake of your steadfast love. You have made a promise to your people, O Lord. You have shown us your kindness. You are a steadfast God. So deliver us, deliver our lives. And notice how deep this is felt by the Psalmist as we look at verse 5, For in death there is no remembrance of you. In Sheol, who will give you praise. In other words, if I die, if I go down to the place of death, which is what shiol is, how can I praise you? How can I bring honor to you? That is a good question, but it shows us also how deeply the Psalmist is affected by this. He believes he is on the verge of death. And so, what does the Psalmist say next? I'm weary with my moaning.

 Every night, I flood my bed with tears. We have seen this idea in the Psalms in other places with what we saw this past Sunday, this idea of having tears be our food. There is so much grief here, and the poetic language is profound. My eye wastes away because of grief. This is how the Psalmist feels. This is all-consuming. It is overcoming Him. And so what does the Psalmist say? Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. He is confident that God has not only heard Him, but he believes that God is going to answer because he says, The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. And the enemies who have caused this to happen to the Solstice, he is confident that they will be ashamed, they will be troubled, they will turn back because God is going to turn back to the Salmest, and he is going to show his favor to him. The Psalmist is confident in the steadfast love of God, that God is faithful to his people. And so as we think about this passage for us, we remember that Christ unlocks the Psalms for us.

 We know that the Lord hears our pleas. We know that the Lord accepts our prayers because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. When we pray, we know that God hears because Christ is interceding for us at the right-hand of the Father in that very moment. Now, that doesn't mean that the answer is going to be exactly what we want. God is not a vending machine for our desires and our pleas, but we know that He hears them, and we know that He works all things together for good for those who love Him. And so, may we be confident in our prayers, knowing that God will hear our pleas, He will answer them, He will accept our prayers. And either we can have peace that God is going to answer those prayers and deliver us, or He is going to change our hearts. He will change our minds that we will desire what His will is for us in that situation. And so may we do that each and every day, praying deeply to God, as the Psalmist does, knowing that our prayers are heard because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for us.