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Be Gracious To Me

Psalm 6 (pg. 255)

-NIVAC: Student keeping a prayer journal reading through these Psalms: “What is it with these psalmists anyway? They’re such a bunch of whiners!”

-Could you imagine singing these songs day in and day out? Definitely in the minor key!

-Another theme popping up in these Psalms, while we begin in sorrow/mourning, we don’t stay there long when we look up to God

-As we’ll see through this Psalm, there may be extended seasons of mourning, one’s entire life may be marked by mourning, but we can know and trust that God is still working

-2 notes for us today as we work our way through this Psalm:

-Window – look at it, or look through it? The Bible serves as a window, gives a framework for viewing all of life. Not bad to look at the window AT TIMES 

-A couple BAD examples: counting up the number of verse to figure out when Jesus will return. Magic 8 ball pick and choose random verses.

-A couple good examples: soaking, marinating, meditating on the Bible both big and small sections at a time. Using the Bible as a template for prayers.

-Seasons of life – your life will have seasons of wobble. Need to know which season you’re in and be strategic about what you’re devoting yourself too. What do you do when nothing seems to work?

-Dark night of the soul – nothing wrong with emotions, but being completely dependent on emotions is a problem. Many church services today tend to be centered on an emotional experience. Even seen some people have weekly “how was your worship EXPERIENCE this week?” Need an anchor for our soul (Heb. 6:14), that will keep us planted, focused, in place in the midst of life’s trials/difficulties 

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PRAY

1. My Mourning (1-7)

-Vs. 0 – choirmaster, played with string instruments, Sheminith (lit. “the 8^th) leading to people thinking it should be song an octave lower, or a different tuning of the instrument, sung in the minor key.

1. Greatly Troubled (1-3)

-As we read, you can see this is another moment of desperation for David

-Almost as if David lived by the mantra: life’s hard, and then you die

-But life doesn’t have to be ONLY hard, there can be lasting joy in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in

-Many scholars think this situation is referring directly to some sin David was caught in (if so, similar to Psalm 51 where David’s murder and adultery come to light) leading to a sickness 

-Based on the use of “rebuke me not” and “discipline” not a stretch to believe it’s in response to David’s sin

-“Heal me” in vs. 2 would point to sickness, in ANE sin and sickness were connected

-These 2 words have some interesting connotations:

-Rebuke – referring to legal argumentation, therefore tied closely to the concept of righteousness, or being in right standing. David is asking God to allow him to remain in right relationship and standing with God and others

-Discipline – refers to education and training. If you’ve got a dog you discipline them to get them potty trained, or if you’ve had kids you know you need to teach and train/discipline them to get them to figure out what’s wrong. Now there’s times/moments where you probably get angry with the lack of obedience/response – that’s the situation David is in now. He’s begging God to not respond to Him in anger or wrath

-We need to have a good understanding of God’s discipline in our lives. It is educational/equipping for a life of holiness. It seems that there’s a tendency to view God as wrathful/vengeful. Some have even accused God of being an egotistical maniac. God’s overarching desire is for everyone to be in right relationship with Him and others, and He will discipline to draw people to Himself. It’s not out of spite, it’s out of love. This is where we need to remember God is a good, kind, loving, caring Father, I’m guessing everyone here who had a dad (anyone not have one) was disciplined in some capacity.

-After dealing with the justice & righteousness of God, David shifts to other attributes of God: his gracious and healing nature.

-Be gracious – means “show favor” Despite being sick and caught in sin, David has the fortitude to STILL ask for God’s favor. Do you? The reality is: even when we’re sick, even when we’re in sin, God’s favor is still showered upon those of us who are in Christ. 

-David needs this favor because he is week, feeble, languishing on his own, desperate for some breakthrough

-Then he asks for his real need: healing.

-He says he needs healing for his bones are in trouble, he is too weak. Other places in the OT this phrase is translated “terrified out of one’s senses.”

-These bones are referring to the innermost physical self, but things could get even worse.

-His soul also is greatly troubled. NIV – “my soul is in deep anguish.”

-David’s entire world feels like it’s falling apart, but instead of running away from God, it’s spurring him to run TOWARD God

-Remember: read all these Psalms as a window through which we view the world around us, so when we feel desperate, like our world is utterly falling apart, we can still boldly come before God.

-Last thing we see in this section is a final cry of anguish: HOW LONG?

-Begins addressing God again, but can’t contain his exasperation 

-One thing we’ve seen throughout these Psalms is that God invites us to beg Him, plead with Him, repeat the same requests to Him, and while that’s true, I don’t think the same is true of us! It seems that many of us get tired of continually asking God for help, pleading and begging the same things over and over and over until the only prayer we have left is: how long?

-Part of the reason God allows times like this is to strip away our self-reliant tendencies. 

-When things are going well in our lives, we have a tendency to not give a second thought to God. We know God created us, saved us, but that was in the past, it’s up to me to get through today.

-Cannot fully appreciate/comprehend normal life until going through difficulty. One of the most striking examples of this in my lifetime was the difference between September 10 & 11 of 2001. From “normal” to “where was God?”

-Last thing from this section is from James Montgomery Boice:

-“Have you noticed how often in this psalm, even in the midst of his great anguish, David calls upon God? Five times in the first four verses. That is, once or more than once in each verse! And the name he uses for God is Jehovah, which characterizes God particularly as our Redeemer or Deliverer.”

-Movie Silence

• Deliver Me (4-5)

-David shifts in this section to bartering with God (not the best idea, but when you’re desperate I supposed anything will do!)

-Longing for deliverance, for salvation. From desperation He realizes the only way He can be saved is through the grace of God

-And that remains true today as well! Even though we have a better understanding of germ theory, medicines, the way the body works, it is no less miraculous when God allows our bodies to be healed than it was 3,000 years ago.

-Notice how David approaches this plea: 

-Asking for deliverance because of the character of God: his steadfast love. That theme KEEPS popping up in the verses! Hebrew word chesed (חֶסֶד): covenant, lasting loving faithfulness that God extends to His people

-Then David gets to his bartering in vs. 5

-Once someone dies, David reminds God that they can no longer praise Him. And it’s true! Those who didn’t praise/worship God on this side of eternity will also not be praising God on that side of eternity. Brothers and sisters, what we’re doing right here and right now is meant to be a dress rehearsal for the final play: living in the new heavens and the new earth in perfect relationship with God and each other. But if there’s no one left on earth to praise Him, how will anyone else see or be made aware of these greater spiritual realities? 

-This is pointing us to the fact that God always has and always will have his chosen people who are specifically sent to represent Him to the rest of the world. I don’t know if David thought of this passage, but it reminded me of Moses’ encounter with God where the 10 commandments were delivered (The 1^st time)

-Moses pleading with God in Ex. 32:7-14.

-Make a great nation out of you: don’t you think that would sound tempting? 

-Just as David does in this Psalm, Moses barters with God by pleading with Him regarding his character. Asks God what the world would think if Israel was spared from Egypt just to be destroyed in the desert.

-Same argument David is making here – appeals to God’s ultimate glory. If everyone is dead, no one will be left to praise Him. 

-Isn’t done because God is egotistical, isn’t done for spite, it’s done because God alone is worthy of our praise, He alone is the one to whom we should be orienting our entire lives towards, He alone is the one who can ultimately heal us. (soli deo gloria)

-The last section here David brings the focus back on himself because he is exhausted.

• Exhaustion (6-7)

-This feeling is far beyond what a simple nap would cover. The Hebrew expression is David is swimming in his tears in his bed. His tears have cried tears, and those tears have their own set of tears. The guy is crying 24/7: where he sits during the day is drenched in tears, and where his bed has become a pool.

-I think at times we tend to treat these Psalms like the melancholy, depressed friend no one ever invites over. David is the Eeyore of his friend group here! And because these Psalms don’t hide behind facades, or safe language, we can at times wrestle with reading them. 

-Feel like you should tell him to “Man up! Dudes don’t cry!” But David doesn’t care, he’s letting it all out here!

-This is a good description of the “dark night of the soul.” The point at which you need to look back and remember how God has provided in the past because sometimes your history is all you’ve got. 

-Luther: “pray and let God worry” easier said than done!

-Another theme we’ve seen throughout these Psalms is that we need to be completely transparent before God. We can’t hide from Him, we can’t trick Him, so just let it all out!

-In vs. 7 David uses a weird (to us) phrase: singular: my eye wastes away.

-Way of referring to his physical health. Someone’s eyesight is still strong, they’re still full of life. As someone’s eyes for bad their health will go with it.

-Don’t know who his foes are, could just be from his physical sickness.

-The last thing to note about David’s exhaustion is that it demonstrates David’s trust in God:

-Luther: “no one who has not been profoundly terrified and forsaken and prays profoundly.”

-To say it another way, it takes trail and tribulation to learn to pray profound prayers, and we know this is true, because of the last characteristic about God:

• The Lord Hears (8-10)

-Feels like David is bipolar, stark contrast between vs. 7-8.

-Whatever affliction David is walking through, in spite of swimming in his own tears, he knows God has heard and will respond.

-Still has the courage to demand anyone who does evil to leave him alone

-The reason David has this courage is rooted in God’s nature. Remember what David reminded himself of back in vs. 4: God’s steadfast love. His loving kindness extended to us! 

-Because of that loving kindness, God will answer & hear our plea, God will accept our prayers, because of the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit made possible by the atoning work of the Son to the glory of the Father.

-Remember, we saw last week that the Spirit will intercede for us even when we don’t have the words to say.

-Finally, we see that while David was initially ashamed and greatly trouble, his enemies will ultimately be the ones afflicted. 

-Since David is on God’s side, his enemies are God’s enemies, so lasting justice for all of them is what David’s asking for.

-Another way of saying this is: David is pleading for shalom, for true and lasting justice and peace.

-The “hello” of the Jewish people (even today) is the Hebrew word “shalom” which means everything is in its’ proper place and order. Just that first part is enough to want me to wish for it: everything is in its’ proper place. Anyone else ever lose their keys? 

-The difficult part is that won’t actually happen until Jesus returns, so until that day there will be times, seasons where we’re swimming in our own tears. So what do we do until Jesus comes back?

-We remember the man of sorrows who was languishing, the man whose bones and soul was greatly troubled. Who asked the Lord to deliver his life and was told no. Who sweat drops of blood when He looked at the suffering He was going to be experiencing. This Psalm is a description of what Jesus experienced in our place. We can take comfort in the fact that Jesus weeps with us. We can view our suffering and struggles through the window of Jesus, who uses our suffering to refine us and make us more like Him, for His own glory. That’s where we can have hope that Jesus hasn’t given up on us yet, and here’s the best part: He never will! Church, make sure you’re looking at your suffering through the right window!