Psalm 6
Let’s start with the end…David is again the author of the sixth psalm, and he proclaims, “The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.” (verse 9) This verse reminds me of Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The two reasons we can come boldly to the throne is because, one, Jesus paid the price for our sin, and two, God hears our prayers. You might remember last time, I mentioned that God hears all prayers, in all circumstances, from every single one of us. That confidence was alive and well in David, who in this moment is finding himself humbled before God in confession.
Alright, let’s make our way back to the start of the chapter. We see David pleading with God to not rebuke him in anger or punish him in His displeasure. Instead, he asks God to have mercy on him. David is in crisis…a crossroads in his relationship. It is here that David needs to remember, and what we too need to remember, that God is a merciful and patient Father. Like David, we sin and then instantly think that God is writing on a scorecard every time we fall to our own desires. We couldn’t be further from the truth. The blood of Jesus covers all our sin. Romans 5:9 says, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved from the wrath of God.” And Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” We don’t need to be hoping for a bottom of the ninth saving walk-off home run to ensure our life in heaven. We need to have the penitent heart of David in pouring out our prayers of forgiveness.
There is a perfect picture in this psalm of a man who is truly sorrowful. Verse 6…“I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with tears.” Some believe that this psalm is a response to David’s infidelity with Bathsheba. I don’t know if that is true, but what a compelling narrative it makes. The location of his sin is also the location where he returns for repentance. In 2 Samuel 11, the bed marks a pivotal moment when David’s life begins to spiral out of control. And here in Psalm 6, the bed marks a pivotal moment when David, troubled by his actions, returns to fall on God’s mercies.
Unlike David, we don’t need to wait until our life is a complete mess to come to God with our groanings…in our tear-drenched beds. I bet David would want us to know that. And in that moment when we are ready to admit our sin, David would also want us to know that God is listening…”The Lord has heard my supplication.”
