Sunday Scripture

 

 It's time for another Sunday Scripture!  Today, after our Christmas study, I'm returning to my ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 6.  It zeroes in on verses 6 and 9, but I chose to SOAP verses 2-4 and 6-9.

S= "Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak, O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
"My soul is also very vexed; but Thou, O LORD, how long?
"Return, O LORD, deliver my soul; oh, save me for Thy mercies' sake ...
"I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
"Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it groweth old because of all mine enemies.
"Depart from me, all  ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
"The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer."  (Psalm 6:2-4, 6-9)

O= The biblical heading for Psalm 6 is "To the chief musician on Neginoth, upon Sheminith, a Psalm of David."  In the NKJV it reads "To the Chief Musician.  With stringed instruments.  On an eight-stringed harp.  A Psalm of David."

C.I. Scofield titles Psalm 6 "A cry for mercy".

Cross-references for "heal me" (v.2) -- "O LORD, my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me."  (Psalm 30:2)

"I said, LORD, be merciful unto me; heal my soul; for I have sinned against Thee."  (Psalm 41:4)

Cross-reference for "my bones are vexed" (v.2) -- "For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed."  (Psalm 31:10)

Cross-reference for "vexed" (v.3) -- "For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth near unto the grave."  (Psalm 88:3)

Cross-reference for "how long?" (v.3) -- "Return, O LORD, how long?  And let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants."  (Psalm 90:13)

Cross-reference for "weary" (v.6) -- "I am weary of my crying.  My throat is dried; mine eyes fail while I wait for my God."  (Psalm 69:3)

There are many cross-references for "eye is consumed" (v.7) but I will share only a couple.

"Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are like a shadow."  (Job 17:7)

"My heart panteth, my strength faileth me; as for the light of mine eyes, it is also gone from me."  (Psalm 38:10)

Cross-reference for "depart from me" (v.8) -- "Depart from me, ye evildoers; for I will keep the commandments of my God."  (Psalm 119:115)

Cross-reference for "workers of iniquity" (v.8) -- "How long shall they utter and speak hard things, and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?" (Psalm 94:4)

Cross-reference for "supplication" (v.9) -- "Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Thyself from my supplication."  (Psalm 55:1)

In these verses we see that David knew he was weak; not only his soul but even his bones were troubled.  He was asking God for mercy and healing.  He seems to be questioning how long God might wait before answering.  

He asks God to deliver and save him for His mercies' sake.  Based on what he knew of God's merciful character, he asked God to act.

David had shed so many tears that his couch was drenched with them.  His eyes were sore and his vision clouded as a result of all the tears that he had shed.

But in verse 8 David's thinking takes a turn.  He tells all the "workers of iniquity" to depart from him.  He has the assurance that God has heard the voice of his weeping.  God will act on his behalf!  He has heard his plea and will answer his prayers.

A= We too can cry out to God for mercy when we are weak.  We can ask Him to bring healing when our souls are troubled and our bodies are weary, when our trials leave us battered and bruised and even unable to sleep.

I think of how David's enemies often mocked him for his trust in God.  His words "depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity" make me think of how we can tell Satan to "take a hike".

David refuted the lies of his enemies with the truth of God's character: 

* The LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
* The LORD hath  heard my supplication. 
* The LORD will receive my prayer.

And we can refute the lies of our enemies in the very same way.

P= "Lord, how I thank and praise You for all that I can learn from this psalm of David!  I am so thankful that we can cry out to You for mercy because we know that You are merciful.   I praise You for how You have heard and answered my heartfelt cries (and even some that I couldn't voice) out of hard places over the years.  You have even given me sleep in those times!  

"I praise You that we can refute the lies of Satan and other enemies with what we know to be true about You and about Your character.  I praise You that You ARE truth!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: David was so discouraged that he could not sleep.  His bed was flooded with tears but he knew that God saw him and heard his prayers.

Have you ever cried out to God feeling like God has abandoned you, only to later realize that He was strengthening you?

My response: I have thankfully never been so discouraged that I could not sleep.  I have been in very hard places in life, but God has always graciously allowed me to sleep.

And I have known the truth that God will not abandon me, but I have been in situations where I felt very alone and vulnerable to attack.  I recall one incident where I felt too numb and bruised to even pray for help, yet God strengthened and upheld me to take a stand against difficult people in a hard situation.

There was even a time (which included the incident alluded to above) in which I felt threatened and so vulnerable even in my own home.  For my quiet time I retreated to a bedroom corner away from windows, where I felt safest.  And God always met me there.

And there is our simple study of Psalm 6.  I hope it was a blessing to someone!