¹O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your wrath. ²Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. ³And my soul is greatly dismayed; but You, O Lord—how long?

This psalm is a heart-wrenching view into the suffering David experienced. He feels like God is rebuking and chastening him, like he is under the Lord’s judgment. He desperately needs healing and speaks as though his bones have emotion and are dismayed. His soul (referring to his deepest self) is flooded with dismay. He is weary and cries from being emotionally overwhelmed in his bed nonstop (vs. 6). Have you ever felt that way?

This suffering servant of the Lord instinctively calls out to God for grace; he knows the Lord does not act out of obligation to anyone but Himself. He alone holds Himself accountable for fulfilling what He has promised. That is why, like David, we need to know God and His promises when we approach Him with our needs.

We must be careful that we don’t use what we know of God’s promises and character in attempt to twist His arm to answer us. Such efforts at manipulating will not work with Him, for He does not owe us anything. But David knows the Lord is a covenant-keeping God, for that is what His name means, Lord (Yahweh). When He doesn’t answer according to what we think His character and promises should mandate Him to do, then it is we who are missing the mark. We are not judges whose job it is to make sure the Lord lives up to character and word!

But David knows his God, so he does not demand or bargain; no, he pleads for grace, and on that basis, he asks for healing and reprieve. His emotional plight does not come from disappointment in His creator and Lord, but at the overwhelming oppression of his predicament. The circumstance that is causing his suffering is entirely beyond his control.

In verse 5, some might think David is bargaining with or trying to manipulate God, when he says, “For there is no mention of You in death; in Sheol who will give You thanks?” (Ps 6:5). In other word, if he is not rescued and ends up dying, then God would be deprived of David’s thanksgiving (Sheol was the name of the Hebrew concept of the afterlife). But that does not reflect what we know of David. Elsewhere he wrote, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there” (Ps. 139:7–8). It is better to understand this to mean that if David were to die, he would no longer be able do what is central to his life and what gives him great joy: living a thankful life. He is not bargaining with God; he is pouring out his soul to the one he loves and longs for.

So David, who lives a life of thankfulness, intimately knows God: He can be righteously angry; He is gracious; He acts in lovingkindness (meaning His love is based on His covenant with Israel); He is a healer and a rescuer. As a result, David is confident God hears not just his words but the deep groanings of his heart. We are reminded of what the apostle Paul wrote:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Rom. 8:26)

God will settle the score with David’s “enemies”—there is not to be any worry there, and he has to remind himself of that truth. Again, we see this in when Paul quotes Deut. 32:25:

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Rom. 12:19)

David’s example is valid for us today. When we find ourselves in emotional turmoil over our unrelenting circumstances, we can do two things: 1) We can lay everything out before the Lord, including our emotions and feelings. We can cry out to Him about our deepest struggles and pain, our disappointments, fears, and insecurities. And 2) we can and must rest in Him, His character and promises, and in faith trust Him to be our defender, rescuer, and healer. He will, in His time, rebuke Satan and his demons, along with all our earthly oppressors, accusers, opposers, and abusers. Along with David, we can pray confidently …

Father in heaven, I believe what David wrote, “The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed; they shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed” (Ps. 6:9-10).