Psalm 6 Continued…
Read Psalm 6 in entirety:
“O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, 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.”
Something of note with this Davidic Psalm is the tone. David takes a very different tone toward his enemies in this psalm. Other psalms we see him spouting imprecatory utterances (imprecatory means to call down curses). In this psalm David simply dismisses their opposition because God has head his tearful prayer and has acted on his behalf (vss. 8-9).
The apostle Paul speaks a lot about facing opposition and persecution in 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 declaring that God uses all of this for your benefit “so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15). I think it is very easy for us to overlook this important spiritual truth. I believe it was Rick Warren who said, “God never wastes a hurt.” That’s true. And He also never wastes your trials through opposition. Opposition, persecution cause us to grow and ultimately should lead us to giving thanks for the maturation that occurs. And those that witness this will have an occasion to give thanks to God for the strength that only He can provide to endure such things.
This particular psalm has given many people encouragement over the years. This psalm was the first of seven penitential psalms that were included in prayer books used by monks and nuns during their daily worship services. I believe it would do us no disservice to incorporate meditating on this psalm like many before us have done.
PRAY
O Lord, help us to meditate on your words daily. Help us, like David, to have confidence in knowing that you are more than qualified to handle our enemies and the opposition that we face. Let us never become overwhelmed by the situations that we endure. But let us, in your strength, hold fast to your promises.
Pictured is Psalm 6 from a prayer book from the English nuns Of Saint Brigitta Breviary (1490)