Psalms 6 Study Notes: A Prayer for Mercy in Distress
David pleads with God not to discipline him in anger but to heal and rescue him because of His loving devotion. He describes nights of weeping and grief over his enemies, then suddenly turns in confidence that God has accepted his prayer and his foes will be put to shame.
General
What does David ask of God in 6:1-2?
Answer: To withhold His wrath and heal him in mercy instead
David does not ask to escape God's correction altogether. He pleads that God would not rebuke or discipline him in burning anger (6:1). Instead he asks for mercy and healing, because he is weak and even his bones ache with anguish (6:2). Psalm 38 opens with the same plea (Psalm 38:1), and Jeremiah asks to be corrected with justice rather than in anger (Jeremiah 10:24). For God's children, discipline is fatherly: Hebrews says God's discipline aims at our good and at making us holy, even though it is painful at the time (Hebrews 12:10-11).
- Psalm 6:1-2 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.”David pleads not to be disciplined in God's anger and asks instead for mercy and healing.
- Psalm 38:1 (BSB)“A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.”Psalm 38 opens with the same plea for correction without wrath.
- Jeremiah 10:24 (BSB)“Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.”Jeremiah asks to be corrected with justice rather than in anger.
- Hebrews 12:10-11 (BSB)“Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”Hebrews explains that God's discipline of His children aims at their good and holiness.
Theological
What is the substance of David's petition in 6:1-2?
Answer: To withhold His wrath and heal him in mercy instead
The petition is not for exemption from chastening but for chastening without wrath (6:1). David casts himself on God's grace, asking for mercy and healing on the ground of his frailty, with even his bones in agony (6:2). The identical opening of Psalm 38:1 and Jeremiah's plea for measured correction (Jeremiah 10:24) show the same concern. Hebrews distinguishes God's fatherly discipline of His children, which serves their holiness and yields the fruit of righteousness, from wrath (Hebrews 12:10-11).
- Psalm 6:1-2 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.”David pleads not to be disciplined in God's anger and asks instead for mercy and healing.
- Psalm 38:1 (BSB)“A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.”Psalm 38 opens with the same plea for correction without wrath.
- Jeremiah 10:24 (BSB)“Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.”Jeremiah asks to be corrected with justice rather than in anger.
- Hebrews 12:10-11 (BSB)“Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”Hebrews explains that God's discipline of His children aims at their good and holiness.
General
What reasons does David give in 6:4-5 for God to rescue him?
Answer: God's loving devotion, and that the dead offer Him no praise
David asks God to turn and deliver him, and his first ground is God's loving devotion, His loyal, covenant-keeping love, not David's own merit (6:4). His second reason is that in death no one remembers God, and no one gives Him thanks from Sheol, the Hebrew word for the realm of the dead (6:5). David longs to live so that he can go on praising God among the living. Other psalms make the same plea (Psalm 30:9; Psalm 88:10-11), and so does King Hezekiah in his illness (Isaiah 38:18-19).
- Psalm 6:4-5 (BSB)“Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion. For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?”David asks God to rescue him because of His loving devotion and because the dead do not praise Him.
- Psalm 30:9 (BSB)““What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?”In another psalm David asks what gain there is in his death, since the dust cannot praise God.
- Psalm 88:10-11 (BSB)“Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?”A psalmist in deep distress asks whether God's loving devotion is declared in the grave.
- Isaiah 38:18-19 (BSB)“For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.”Hezekiah makes the same plea: the living, not the dead, give God thanks.
Theological
On what two grounds does David appeal for deliverance in 6:4-5?
Answer: God's loving devotion, and that the dead offer Him no praise
The first ground is God's loving devotion: David asks to be saved because of God's loving devotion, not his own deserving (6:4). The second is doxological: there is no remembrance of God in death, and none gives Him thanks from Sheol (6:5). David's concern is that his life continue as a life of praise. The same argument appears in Psalm 30:9, Psalm 88:10-11, and Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 38:18-19), each speaking in its own terms of the silence of the grave.
- Psalm 6:4-5 (BSB)“Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion. For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?”David asks God to rescue him because of His loving devotion and because the dead do not praise Him.
- Psalm 30:9 (BSB)““What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?”In another psalm David asks what gain there is in his death, since the dust cannot praise God.
- Psalm 88:10-11 (BSB)“Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?”A psalmist in deep distress asks whether God's loving devotion is declared in the grave.
- Isaiah 38:18-19 (BSB)“For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.”Hezekiah makes the same plea: the living, not the dead, give God thanks.
General
What causes the sudden change of tone in 6:8-10?
Answer: David is now certain God has listened to his plea
Without any report of changed circumstances, David suddenly turns on his enemies and tells them to leave, because God has heard his weeping and his plea for mercy and has accepted his prayer (6:8-9). He is so sure of God's answer that he announces that his enemies will be put to shame and dismayed, and will retreat, suddenly disgraced (6:10). God watches over the righteous and listens to their cry (Psalm 34:15), and believers can be confident that God hears requests that agree with His will (1 John 5:14-15). Jesus uses words like David's dismissal of evildoers when He speaks of sending away those He never knew (Matthew 7:23).
- Psalm 6:8-10 (BSB)“Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.”David suddenly dismisses his enemies, certain that the LORD has heard and accepted his prayer.
- Psalm 34:15 (BSB)“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.”God watches over the righteous and listens to their cry.
- 1 John 5:14-15 (BSB)“And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.”John assures believers that God hears requests that agree with His will.
- Matthew 7:23 (BSB)“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”Jesus uses words like David's dismissal of evildoers when He speaks of sending away those He never knew.
Theological
What accounts for the abrupt shift from lament to confidence in 6:8-10?
Answer: David is now certain God has listened to his plea
The turn in 6:8 comes not from changed circumstances but from assurance that God has heard: David's weeping, supplication, and prayer have been received (6:8-9). That certainty lets him dismiss the evildoers and speak of their coming shame as settled (6:10). The confidence rests on God's attentiveness to the righteous (Psalm 34:15) and on the promise that God hears prayer offered in line with His will (1 John 5:14-15). Jesus takes up the same words of dismissal in His warning about the day of judgment, addressed to those He never knew (Matthew 7:23).
- Psalm 6:8-10 (BSB)“Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.”David suddenly dismisses his enemies, certain that the LORD has heard and accepted his prayer.
- Psalm 34:15 (BSB)“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.”God watches over the righteous and listens to their cry.
- 1 John 5:14-15 (BSB)“And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.”John assures believers that God hears requests that agree with His will.
- Matthew 7:23 (BSB)“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”Jesus uses words like David's dismissal of evildoers when He speaks of sending away those He never knew.
General
True or False: In 6:6-7 David says his eyes have grown weak with sorrow because of his foes.
Answer: True
This is true. David is worn out by groaning; he describes soaking his bed and couch with tears through the night (6:6), and his eyes are failing and dim with grief because of all who oppose him (6:7). The psalms give God's people words for honest sorrow. Another psalmist says tears have been his food day and night (Psalm 42:3), David elsewhere describes his eyes wasting away with sorrow (Psalm 31:9-10), and Jesus Himself prayed with tears and crying out during His earthly life (Hebrews 5:7).
- Psalm 6:6-7 (BSB)“I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.”David describes nights of weeping and eyes grown weak with grief because of his foes.
- Psalm 42:3 (BSB)“My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?””Another psalmist says his tears have been his food day and night.
- Psalm 31:9-10 (BSB)“Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well. For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away.”David elsewhere describes eyes and body wasting away from sorrow and grief.
- Hebrews 5:7 (BSB)“During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.”Jesus Himself prayed with loud cries and tears during His earthly life.
Theological
True or False: According to 6:6-7, grief over his adversaries has made David's eyes grow dim.
Answer: True
This is true. The lament reaches its depth in 6:6-7: exhausted with groaning, David floods his bed with tears every night, and his eyes waste away with grief because of all his adversaries. The Psalter validates unguarded lament addressed to God. Parallel expressions appear in Psalm 42:3 and Psalm 31:9-10, and Hebrews records that Christ during His earthly life offered prayers with tears and crying out (Hebrews 5:7).
- Psalm 6:6-7 (BSB)“I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.”David describes nights of weeping and eyes grown weak with grief because of his foes.
- Psalm 42:3 (BSB)“My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?””Another psalmist says his tears have been his food day and night.
- Psalm 31:9-10 (BSB)“Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well. For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away.”David elsewhere describes eyes and body wasting away from sorrow and grief.
- Hebrews 5:7 (BSB)“During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.”Jesus Himself prayed with loud cries and tears during His earthly life.