Psalm 5 — 6
voices, or the number of strings of the instrument to be played. You find Sheminith also in the title of Psalm 12 (see 1 Chron. 15:21). Psalm 6 is the first of seven "penitential psalms" in which the writers are being disciplined by God and experiencing suffering. The other psalms are 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143, and all of these psalms are helpful to us when we need to confess our sins and draw closer to the Lord. In this psalm, David records the stages in his difficult experience of moving by faith from trial to triumph.
"the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured" (2 Sam. 18:8). David's prayer was answered: "let them fall by their own counsels" (v. 10). But it was not because they rebelled against David; their great sin was that they had rebelled against God. "The Lord loves righteousness and justice" (Ps. 33:5 niv; and see 36:6; 58:11; 97:2; Isa. 30:18; Luke 18:7–8; Rom. 1:32). Anybody who resents this kind of praying can't honestly pray, "Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9–10). In Romans 3:13, Paul quoted "their throat is an open sepulcher" as part of his proof that the whole world is guilty before God (Rom. 3:19)—and that includes all of us! Instead of being upset over God's treatment of David's enemies, we need to examine our own relationship with the Lord!
The Pain of Discipline (vv. 1–3) Eight times in the psalm David addresses God as "Lord—Jehovah," the covenant name of God, and the address in verse 1 is repeated in 38:1, and see Jeremiah 10:24. When God deals with His children, usually He first rebukes and then chastens, just as parents first warn disobedient children and then discipline them (Heb. 12:5–6; Prov. 3:11–12). According to Hebrews 12:1–13, chastening is not punishment meted out by an irate judge but discipline given by a loving Father to help His children mature (see Rev. 3:19). Sometimes God chastens us in order to deal with our disobedience, but at other times, He chastens us to prepare us for what lies ahead. It's like the training of an athlete for a race. David thought God was angry with him, but that wasn't necessarily true. However, when you consider that he was surrounded by foes (v. 7), evildoers (v. 8), and enemies (10), and that his body was weak and in pain and his soul troubled, you can see why he felt like he had a target on his back.
He prayed for God's blessing (vv. 11–12). David didn't rejoice because some of God's covenant people were evil and were judged by the Lord, but because Israel's God had been glorified and His king vindicated. The future of God's great plan of salvation rested with Israel, and if the Davidic dynasty was destroyed, what about God's gracious messianic covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:8)? The outcome of our fellowship with the Lord should be joy in His character, His promises, and His gracious answers to prayer. Even though some of his own people had turned against him, David prayed that God would bless and protect them! This sounds like our Lord on the cross (Luke 23:34) and Stephen when he was stoned to death (Acts 7:60). Note that verse 11 emphasizes faith and love, and verse 12 gives the assurance of future hope. The shield in verse 12 is the large rectangular shield, like a door, and not the smaller round shield of 3:4.
Three times he used the Hebrew word bahal, which means "faint, weak, troubled, terrified." It is translated "vexed" in the King James Version (vv. 2, 3, 10), but in the seventeenth century, the word vex was much stronger than it is today. The translators of the Greek Old Testament used tarasso, which is the word used in the Greek of John 12:27: "Now is my soul troubled …" (and see Matt. 26:38; Mark 14:34). Knowing that he deserved far more than what he was enduring, David begged for mercy (see 103:13–14) and asked God to send help speedily. The painful question "How long?" is asked at least sixteen times in The Psalms (6:3; 13:1–2; 35:17; 62:3; 74:9–10; 79:5; 80:4; 82:2; 89:46; 90:13; 94:3). The answer to the question is, "I will discipline you until you learn the lesson I want you to learn and are equipped for the work I want you to do." According to Hebrews 12, when God disciplines us, we can despise it, resist it, collapse under it and quit, or accept it and submit. What God is seeking is submission.
David began his devotions seeking help for himself but ended by seeking blessing for all the people, including his enemies. That's the way our devotional times ought to end.