INTRODUCTION
The Christian religion is not stoic; it is covenantal. This means that we do not deny or seek to ignore the real pain and trouble that we face, but we live in the certainty that every atom in the universe obeys its Lord. God has determined to work in this world to restore it, through His covenant Word and covenant Presence. He has determined to act for His people in history, and so one way we trust our Lord is by crying out to Him in our trouble expecting Him to act.
The Text: “To the chief musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure…” (Ps. 6:0-10)
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
This psalm can be broken into three sections: the first section is a desperate cry for mercy (Ps. 6:1-3), the second section is the request for deliverance because of his enemies (Ps. 6:4-7), and the third section is the triumphant turn, defying enemies and resting in God’s answer (Ps. 6:8-10).
David’s initial cry for mercy acknowledges that God disciplines His people, but David prays that the discipline would not be so fierce (Ps. 6:1). He cries out for healing because he has grown weak in his body; even his bones are troubled (Ps. 6:2). But his soul is troubled the most, and so he cries out to the Lord, ‘how long?’ (Ps. 6:3). The word for “troubled” could also be translated “panicked” – this is intense pain and fear.
Then David makes his direct request, asking God to return and deliver his soul; he asks God to save him for the sake of his covenant mercy (Ps. 6:4). David appeals to God’s honor and asks how it is better for him to be in the grave where he cannot give thanks out loud (Ps. 6:5). And he once more tells God what his pain and grief are like: groaning, crying, and wearing thin because of his enemies (Ps. 6:6-7).
Having cast his cares upon God, David faces his enemies and warns them in no uncertain terms to leave him alone because God has heard him (Ps. 6:8). Because God has received his prayer, he sings defiantly that his enemies will be ashamed and panicked and turn away in a moment (Ps. 6:9-10).
CHRISTIAN PEACE & TROUBLE
The Bible does not teach that Christians never feel down or anxious or troubled. Rather, the Bible teaches that Christians know what to do with their trouble. In Philippians 4, it says, rejoice always, maintaining self-control because the Lord is with us, and then it says that this means we ought not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make our requests to God (Phil. 4:4-6). And the promise is that the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). This is the basic biblical outline for dealing with depression, anxiety, and panic: practice rejoicing, remember that God is present, and present your requests to God with thanksgiving.
While Christians are certainly to fight depression and anxiety and panic, they are to fight it by bringing it to God. David is not describing a mere cerebral experience; he is describing an ache in his whole being (Ps. 6:2-3). But he does what the godly always do: he brings it to the One who can handle it all.
GOD’S STEADFAST LOVE
The central request is that God would turn, deliver, and save for the sake of His hesed. The word hesed is the word for God’s covenant mercy or His steadfast loving kindness. God’s hesed is His sworn allegiance to His people in the covenant. This is the center of David’s appeal in the midst of his pain: “I am yours. Save me. Deliver me because You have claimed me and promised to never leave me.”
This is what gives Christians great boldness even in the face of great trouble: sickness, abortion, political corruption, terrorism, sexual debauchery, etc. We do not deserve God’s mercy, but God has freely promised it and therefore He loves to be asked for it. Adam and Eve were promised mercy in the Garden, and Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God’s covenant mercy called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and delivered Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land and established the Kingdom under David. Despite all their sins and failures, God’s covenant is His sure and eternal Word to be the God of His people and to save them and deliver them from their sins, from the grave, and from all our enemies. And on top of all of that steadfast love, God sent His only Son to seal it in His blood for all time.
This is part of David’s appeal regarding the silence of the grave. It is absolutely true that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8), but the silent grave of every saint is still a standing, temporary offense to the Covenant of Grace, awaiting the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the body. The promise is that even the grave must be undone. Death will be swallowed up in victory. The worship of Heaven is currently embodied by the Church on earth, but at the resurrection, the graves will be opened and the worship will thunder.
THE LORD JESUS HEARS
This psalm uses God’s covenant name YHWH eight times: four times in the initial cry for mercy, one time in the request for deliverance, and three more times in the defiant doxology at the end. This is the name that was given to Moses at the burning bush, “I am,” but in the third person, “He is” (Ex. 3:14-15). In Jewish tradition the name was rarely pronounced and the vowels were not printed (YHWH), and the generic word for “lord” (Adonai) was substituted, with the vowels from Adonai sometimes inserted, creating the word “Jehovah,” although most modern scholars think the original vowels would give us something more like “Yahweh.” Our English Bibles designate YHWH as “LORD” in all caps as opposed to “Lord.”
Some have thought it important to return to a regular use of the name “Yahweh,” and while it is perfectly fine to use, the New Testament gives us at least two indications that it isn’t necessary. First, when the New Testament quotes the name, it routinely translates it with the generic Greek word for Lord (“kurios”) (e.g. Mt. 3:3, 22:44). But secondly, and more emphatically, God has given us a new covenant name for Himself: Jesus – which means “savior.” In Romans 10 it says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, and then a couple verses down it quotes from Joel to prove this is true: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13, cf. Joel 2:32). Jesus is Yahweh; Jesus is LORD.
CONCLUSION
Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism famously begins: What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ…
This is our only comfort: that we belong to Him. He has purchased us with His blood. He has claimed us publicly in baptism and set His name upon us. And therefore, He has claimed all that we are: your family, school, business, city, nation. He is Lord. So cry out to Him. Claim His covenant promises. And then defy all your trouble in the name of Jesus.