Reflections on Psalm 6

Text of 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? 
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? 
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. 
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. 

"The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it."

- G.K. Chesterton

Introductions

This Psalm addresses the troublesome situation Christians face throughout the ages: What do we do when it appears that God's enemies are gaining victory and blessing while God's people languish? How ought a Christian to pray when a severe illness strikes his family? How do we turn to God when the laws of the land become increasingly pagan, tyrannical, or insane? What do we say when the enemies of God prosper in the land while we struggle to make ends meet? David provides us with a faithful and lucid answer.

The context of these early Psalms is Absalom's wicked attempts to dethrone his father, David. David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah murdered. His house is thrust into turmoil and division. Absalom has forced David to flee Jerusalem. As David prays throughout Psalms 3-6, he builds his prayers on the fixed promises and arguments of Psalms 1-2. He refuses to despair by failing to trust the promises of God, nor does he presume upon God's will, taking matters into his own hands. David turns to God, recounting the loving-kindness of God and asking God to act. He finally speaks with a deep assurance that God will defeat his enemies and redeem David's life.

What to See:

David opens by pleading with God not to be angry with him and not to discipline him in his wrath. The language is identical to the language used in Psalm 2 to describe how God treats his enemies. David is living in the position of the pagan nations in Psalm 2 - he describes his circumstances in terms aligned with God's words. This isn't some romantic pietism that somehow believes that suffering is somehow the blessing of God. He names it for what God's word says that it is: he is on the run, his life is in danger, and this is what God promises will happen to his enemies.

He asks God for grace and restoration in verse 2 before asking God, "How Long?" This question is a pained question that still believes in the promises of God. He is asking how long God's enemies appear to triumph. How long must David suffer these conditions and the apparent reversal of God's righteousness? At the heart of this question is the sure hope that the answer is "not forever." When a child repeatedly asks on a road trip - "How much longer?" there is, built into this question, the confident hope that, eventually, we will arrive at our destination. Finally, there will be Grandma and Grandpa. We're done with the car seat (for now). David's question reveals his remaining confidence in the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God.

David, knowing that his enemies will not praise and remember the kindnesses of God, argues for his vindication because this is precisely what he will do when God rescues him from his enemies. This is a recurring theme in the Psalms - "Save me, that my lips might praise you." In David's prayer of repentance after being confronted about his sin with Bathsheba and her husband, he asks for cleansing and forgiveness and then promises: "Open my lips, and my mouth will praise you." "Uphold me with a willing Spirit, then I will teach transgressors your ways." He asks for deliverance because he will praise God and teach God's ways.

The Psalm ends with a confident hope: He sends evildoers away. He declares that his enemies will be ashamed once God acts on David's behalf. He is convinced that God has not only heard his prayers but will work in response to those prayers by reversing the situation that David finds himself in. His enemies will be thwarted and ashamed, and David will be restored. These confident declarations also serve as a warning (like Psalm 2) to God's enemies. God will keep his promises. God will hear the prayers of his people and answer them. He loves to bring victory when it appears all is lost.

Living and Singing Psalm 6

God never tires of telling the same sort of story over and over and over again. It is the story of death and resurrection; as Herbert Schlossberg says in his fantastic book *Idols for Destruction*, "The Bible can be interpreted as a string of God's triumphs disguised as disasters." It is one thing to see this as a literary technique as we examine the Scriptures; it is something entirely different to live through that narrative. We live in a culture plunging dangerously into nihilism and paganism. We live in a city desperate to lead the way. The murder of children is defended through all nine months of pregnancy. Denver has been named the city of Lust by Forbes magazine. Meanwhile, our magistrates act in such a way as to make the cost of living untenable. People move here to play for a decade or so, and increasingly, those who want to build lives, families, careers, and businesses move away to more affordable and hospitable places. A Christian might have cause for despair, even surrounded by some of the most beautiful ground on earth. But such hopelessness would be biblically illiterate. God loves these stories. He's given us countless examples in the Scriptures of precisely this sort of thing. He has shouted at us in as clear a language as possible: "Just wait to see what I pull off."

So, how ought a Christian to pray and live in circumstances like ours? How ought a Christian to pray and act when it seems like his marriage has fallen off a cliff or his children are lost? Pray like David. The pain is real. Set it before the Lord. The immediacy of the crisis is real. Set it before the Lord. And then, against all odds, with great confidence in the faithfulness of God, the steadfast love of God, and the goodness of God, call God's enemies to account. By faith in everything God has said, obey the Lord, rebuke and warn, and confidently sing with David, "The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled. They shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment."