Thoughts On the Psalms: Psalm 6

It's been a hot minute since I visited the Psalms, but other projects have consumed my time and attention, from the three-part study on the clean and unclean laws to my upcoming history and study of feminism and communism. There's only so much time to study and write, so some projects get more attention than others. I'm quite excited about the upcoming post about feminism, and I learned a lot while doing the research for it and writing it, so I think it will at least be thought-provoking and hopefully educational. Stay tuned for that one. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on Psalm 6!

Slash! The blood gushed out of the gaping gash in the neck of the massive bull and gurgled as it splashed sparkling red into the golden bowl. The giant bull's head slumped to the ground and the priest rose to his feet. He turned toward the door of the tent, took a deep breath, and prepared to enter, a thick rope dragging along behind him. 

Atonement for sin used to be quite a complicated and messy process. An actual live animal had to die whenever we sinned, and its blood offered as atonement for us. Today, it's not such a difficult process since Christ offered Himself for our sins once and for all. We tend to take that for granted, and it doesn't sink in just how real it is that blood must be shed for us when we sin. Someone must still pay for every sin we commit or something must die and shed its blood to Atone for our sin. Sin still requires death. 

When we sin and repent, turning to God, the blood of Jesus is applied to us and we are forgiven. Again, this does not strike home for us in the same way that it would if we actually had to bring that innocent animal to die because we could not control ourselves. The knowledge that the Son of God died to take away that sin isn't enough to keep us from doing it again, sadly. Once upon a time, as in the picture above, once a year they would slaughter a bull. Rather, the high priest would slaughter a bull to make Atonement for himself and his household, and then for the only time that year, he would enter the most holy place. 

Psalm 6 has overtones of atonement, forgiveness, and repentance and really conveys a sense of what it means to be without the redemption and protection of God and His forgiveness. David wrote it specially for eight-stringed instruments, and it is a plea for deliverance and to not be forgotten by God. Atonement in the future is a somber day, a day of great war and destruction, but also great joy at the return of our heavenly king. Whatever else it might picture, Atonement absolutely relates to the great and terrible day of the Lord spoken of all throughout scripture, the day He destroys the kingdoms of this Earth. 

David starts out with a plea for God not to punish him in anger, and I think that is something we would all do well to pray. None of us are perfect, and when we sin we are doing things that God hates which naturally makes Him angry. None of us wants God to discipline us in the heat of His anger and fury. The Israelites gave us a lot of examples of what happens when God rebukes in anger and chastens in fury, and it's not pretty. Verse one is synonymous with poetry. 

Psalms 6:1 (AFV) To the Chief Musician, for eight-stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in Your anger, nor chasten me in the heat of Your fury.
Psalms 6:2 (AFV) Be gracious unto me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

In verse two, David reminds God that he is weak and would not stand up to the full weight of God's correction, and then asks for healing in the second part of verse two. When David says his bones are troubled, the word for troubled is H926 bāhal and it means to shake or tremble out of fear. David is saying his bones are shaking, a poetic way of saying that he's pretty scared. When David asks for healing, the word essentially means to make whole, which is what healing is, but in this case, healing would mean strengthening David in the areas where he is weak and trembling. Verses two through three are synthetic poetry as David develops the idea of why God should be gracious to him and make him whole.

Psalms 6:3 (AFV) My soul also is exceedingly troubled; but You, O LORD—how long?

The contrast between bones and soul indicates that whatever David is going through is affecting him both physically and emotionally. David is quite troubled, but the end of the verse is most interesting. What does David mean when he says “how long oh Lord?” I've recently been going through Revelations and there is something in what David says that calls a particular passage of that book to mind. 

Revelation 6:10 (AFV) And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

How long indeed? 

We have all been waiting quite a while for the return of our king, and it will come as the Day of Atonement promises. As in Revelations, David goes on to connect his question with the return of God to this Earth and the destruction of the wicked that follows.

Psalms 6:4 (AFV) Return, O LORD, return; deliver my soul; save me for Your mercy's sake,
Psalms 6:5 (AFV) For in death there is no memory of You; in the grave who shall give You thanks?

David's question could be each of our questions, and as we see in Revelations, it has been the question of the saints of God for as long as humanity has been around. The end of verse three through verse five is synthetic poetry. David is begging for deliverance, and there were many times in his life where if God had not intervened we would have had a much shorter Bible. 

Verse five continues to remind me of that passage in Revelations, but it also tells us something important about death. There is no memory of God or giving thanks to Him once we are dead, so we need to do all that we can while we are still alive. 

Revelation 6:11 (AFV) And white robes were given to each of them; and they were told that they should rest a short time yet, until it be fulfilled that both their fellow servants and their brethren also would be killed, just as they had been.

Whatever is going on at this point in David's life, it's got him pretty upset, as we continue to see in verses six and seven, where David uses a combination of synonymous and synthetic poetry to convey his deep emotions. 

Psalms 6:6 (AFV) I am weary in my groaning; all the night I make my bed to swim; I drench my couch with my tears.
Psalms 6:7 (AFV) My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my enemies.

He is extremely distressed, and apparently quite oppressed by enemies at this point, as we see in the end of verse seven. In verse eight, David tells the workers of iniquity to depart from him because the Lord has heard his weeping and supplications. 

Psalms 6:8 (AFV) Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

David wasn't interested in hanging out with people who were contrary to his God, in fact, those who despised his God he hated. Those who worked abominations against his God, he hated, and we could well take a lesson from that in this age of tolerance. Christianity is expected to be tolerant towards everyone, even those who work abominations, and their every thought and deed is against God. We are expected to be tolerant, but Christianity is not a religion of tolerance, rather, when Christ returns His way will be the only way. Conform or die in a way. Our job here on Earth is not to hang out and surround ourselves with friends who hate God; our job is to show a different way so that they can change their lives and come to the knowledge of the one true God and be saved from death. 

That is ultimately what the Day of Atonement represents, a day when God's system is set up on Earth and a day of wrath and judgment. Not at all a day of tolerance, and making the world our friend will not get us through that day.

Psalms 6:9 (AFV) The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
Psalms 6:10 (AFV) Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly dismayed; let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

God hears us when we pray and He will deliver us from our enemies just as He did David. We can have the same confidence in this that David did when He prayed. His son Solomon said essentially the same thing when he wrote Proverbs chapter six.

Proverbs 6:12 (AFV) A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
Proverbs 6:13 (AFV) Winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, pointing with his fingers;
Proverbs 6:14 (AFV) Perversity is in his heart; he is always planning mischief; he causes discord.
Proverbs 6:15 (AFV) Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; instantly he shall be broken without remedy.

God will deliver us and save us from all our enemies, perhaps not in this lifetime, but when he returns and sets up His kingdom here on Earth, all of our enemies will be destroyed without remedy. We have many things to look forward to when God returns, but one of the main things that will happen on that day is the destruction of Satan's system of rule and the institution of God's system. 

I hope you found these thoughts helpful in reading through Psalm six, and I'll continue going through the Psalms between other projects as I get the chance. If you enjoy reading through the Psalms with me, or if you have additional thoughts, drop me a comment below!