{"id":5951,"date":"2010-04-14T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2010\/04\/our-common-prayerbook-psalm-6.html"},"modified":"2010-04-14T12:00:17","modified_gmt":"2010-04-14T12:00:17","slug":"our-common-prayerbook-psalm-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/04\/our-common-prayerbook-psalm-6.html","title":{"rendered":"Our Common Prayerbook: Psalm 6"},"content":{"rendered":"
David, or the psalmist if it is not David, complains about his enemies often and pleads with God to do justice and shame them. But Psalm 6 (after the jump you can find the whole psalm) opens up with the humility necessary to be the sort of person who can pray for justice against enemies. Perhaps this psalm belongs with Ps 38 because the psalmist has something to confess. Nothing indicates that, though the tone of v. 1 could lead to that. Notice how David begins: he begins asking God not to judge him but to be gracious and heal him and rescue him. Then he turns to his reasons.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n

6:1<\/span> Lord<\/span>, do not rebuke me in your anger!<\/p>\n

Do not discipline me in your raging fury!<\/p>\n

6:2<\/span> Have mercy on me, Lord<\/span>, for I am frail!<\/p>\n

Heal me, Lord<\/span>, for my bones are shaking!<\/p>\n

6:3<\/span> I am absolutely terrified,<\/p>\n

and you, Lord<\/span> – how long will this continue?<\/p>\n

6:4<\/span> Relent, Lord<\/span>, rescue me!<\/p>\n

Deliver me because of your faithfulness!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

Fear is a common emotion and a common human condition; out of such fear — “frail” and “shaking” and “terrified” and wondering “how long will this continue?” Some are afraid for health reasons; some are afraid because of economic woes; some are afraid because others are out to get them. In that situation, David enters into the presence of God and asks for grace. The extremities of the psalmist’s condition is clear: how long will this last? implies he can take it no longer. When you can take it no longer, here is a prayer to pray.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
And he asks for rescue and deliverance — not because he deserves it or because he has so many dreams or because he would hate his enemies to sit on his throne. No, he pleads his case because he believes YHWH is faithful to his covenant with Israel and to the cause of truth and justice.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Our guide in the Psalms is John Goldingay (Psalms, Vol. 1: Psalms 1-41<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em>). <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith<\/i> style; a psalm of David.<\/p>\n

6:1<\/span> Lord<\/span>, do not rebuke me in your anger!<\/p>\n

Do not discipline me in your raging fury!<\/p>\n

6:2<\/span> Have mercy on me, Lord<\/span>, for I am frail!<\/p>\n

Heal me, Lord<\/span>, for my bones are shaking!<\/p>\n

6:3<\/span> I am absolutely terrified,<\/p>\n

and you, Lord<\/span> – how long will this continue?<\/p>\n

6:4<\/span> Relent, Lord<\/span>, rescue me!<\/p>\n

Deliver me because of your faithfulness!<\/p>\n

6:5<\/span> For no one remembers you in the realm of death,<\/p>\n

In Sheol who gives you thanks?<\/p>\n

6:6<\/span> I am exhausted as I groan;<\/p>\n

all night long I drench my bed in tears;<\/p>\n

my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.<\/p>\n

6:7<\/span> My eyes grow dim from suffering;<\/p>\n

they grow weak because of all my enemies.<\/p>\n

6:8<\/span> Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly,<\/p>\n

for the Lord<\/span> has heard the sound of my weeping!<\/p>\n

6:9<\/span> The Lord<\/span> has heard my appeal for mercy;<\/p>\n

the Lord<\/span> has accepted my prayer.<\/p>\n

6:10<\/span> May all my enemies be humiliated and absolutely terrified!<\/p>\n

May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David, or the psalmist if it is not David, complains about his enemies often and pleads with God to do justice and shame them. But Psalm 6 (after the jump you can find the whole psalm) opens up with the humility necessary to be the sort of person who can pray for justice against enemies.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Common Prayerbook: Psalm 6 - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/04\/our-common-prayerbook-psalm-6.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Common Prayerbook: Psalm 6 - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David, or the psalmist if it is not David, complains about his enemies often and pleads with God to do justice and shame them. But Psalm 6 (after the jump you can find the whole psalm) opens up with the humility necessary to be the sort of person who can pray for justice against enemies.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/04\/our-common-prayerbook-psalm-6.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-14T12:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=jescre-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0801027039\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Our Common Prayerbook: Psalm 6 - Jesus Creed","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/04\/our-common-prayerbook-psalm-6.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Our Common Prayerbook: Psalm 6 - Jesus Creed","og_description":"David, or the psalmist if it is not David, complains about his enemies often and pleads with God to do justice and shame them. 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