Psalm 6

Introduction.—The first of seven penitential psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143; see p. 624), Ps. 6 is profoundly personal. Maclaren says: “If ever a throb of personal anguish found tears and a voice, it does so in this Psalm.” Luther called it “a penitential prayer for the health of the body and the soul.” In it the psalmist expresses his bodily agony and torment of soul as he is taunted by those who maintain that God has forsaken him. Although he is at the brink of death, he fervently prays for relief and insists that God hears his prayer and redeems him. Like Ps. 3, this psalm exhibits a sudden dramatic change: in vs. 8–10 profound melancholy is turned into exultation. For a description of a similar poignant experience see Ps. 30.

For comment on the superscription see pp. 616, 627, 629.

1. Rebuke me not. Calamity and illness were anciently often considered to be divine punishment for sin. In his anguish the psalmist assumes that God is displeased with him and therefore chastises him. The psalmist pleads that his well-deserved rebuke may be in mercy, not in anger (see Jer. 10:24). As frequently in the OT, the inspired writer characterizes the attitudes and actions of Deity in the language of men (see on Ps. 2:4). In the Hebrew, the last word of v. 1 ends with the long sound ee. This sound predominates throughout the psalm, especially at the close of many of the verses, and constitutes an interesting resemblance of sounds called assonance that imparts a penitential tone to the psalm (see p. 624).

2. I am weak. Literally, “I am withering.” The verb is frequently applied to the withering of plants (Isa. 16:8; Isa. 24:4, 7; Joel 1:12).

Heal me. A direct plea for physical healing, although no specific disease is mentioned. His bones are “vexed.” This statement shows the intense agony of his bodily frame; his whole body is tormented with pain.

3. My soul is also sore vexed. Even greater than bodily pain is agony of mind. The psalmist is unable to clear his mind of the thought that he is suffering God’s displeasure. He breaks forth with the piercing exclamation: “O Lord, how long?” as if, groping to express a glimmer of hope in God’s ability to heal, he suddenly realizes, in his humanity, the hopelessness of his plight and, as it were, cries out instead, “How long will this agony continue until I find relief?” (see Job 7:2–4). It seems to him that God has forsaken him in his illness. The Christian may find comfort in the thought that earthly sufferings are insignificant when compared to the joy of heaven (see Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17, 18).

4. Return, O Lord. The psalmist now pleads for deliverance. “My soul” is idiomatic for the personal pronoun “me.” The appeal is to God’s mercy, as one of the attributes of His character (see Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Ps. 86:15).

5. No remembrance. This verse constitutes evidence against the doctrine of a conscious intermediate state between death and the resurrection (see Ps. 88:10; 146:4; Isa. 38:18).

6. Make I my bed to swim. The psalmist, unable to sleep, weeps “all the night” (or, “every night”) over his sufferings. The poet indulges in the extreme hyperbole of vs. 6, 7 to express the intensity of his anguish. It appears that it must have been, not only physical pain, but deep mental anguish that exhausted him. If the psalm grew out of the trouble existing on account of Absalom’s rebellion, it is easy to understand the anguish of the father bereft of his son, stunned with a realization of his offspring’s base ingratitude (see David’s lament over Absalom, 2 Sam. 18:33; 19:1–4).

Compare with David’s picturesque expression the following one taken from a Ugaritic (see p. 618) religious poem: “He grasped, in the evening, his bed, while he wept and slept in his tears.”

7. All mine enemies. Possibly Absalom and his associates.

8. Depart from me. The transition from trouble to relief is not gradual but immediate. Light breaks suddenly on the darkness as if the sun had burst forth in the blackness of a moonless midnight. Faith triumphs; and by faith, seeing his enemies scattered, the psalmist commands them to leave. This is faith in action. God sometimes answers our prayers before we cease praying (see Isa. 65:24).

The Lord hath heard. God hears the cry of distress, and regards it as the sincere prayer of the soul. Words are not the essential genius of prayer. Tears may express the unutterable anguish of the human soul.

9. The Lord hath heard. How natural it is for the devout soul to add strength to strength by repeating thoughts of assurance and joy. The psalmist emphasizes the joy of v. 8.

Will receive. Since God has heard his prayer, the psalmist rests without fear, knowing that God will hear.

10. Vexed. Heb. bahal, the word translated “vexed” in vs. 2, 3. The psalmist prays that his enemies—the enemies of God—may be confounded in their plans. It is proper to pray that the machinations of evil men may come to nought.

Suddenly. The sooner the plans of evil men are broken, the better. The psalmist prays that his enemies may turn back at the frustration of their hopes.

Ps. 6 should bring special comfort to the one who is afflicted with intense, seemingly incurable, physical or mental distress. “Prayer changes things.”

Ellen G. White comments

5 GC 546

8 4T 514