A Reflection on Psalm 6
1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
3 My soul also is struck with terror,
while you, O LORD—how long?
4 Turn, O LORD, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who can give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eyes waste away because of grief;
they grow weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my supplication;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
Too often in our world today, we try to go it alone and are made to think that asking for help is a sign of weakness. With each passing year, layer upon layer of practiced self-sufficiency covers the most basic instinct within us – the unrestrained asking for help. Think about how a baby’s first action is to cry for help. When it is hungry, it cries; without calculating beforehand what others might think. Even as a toddler, when a child is hurt, it runs crying to mom or dad with arms held high, never once thinking how it is perceived by others. Unabashedly asking for help – throwing heads back, sending arms skyward - is our most basic human characteristic.
The apostle Peter gives us an ideal example of this. When Jesus stood on top of the stormy water and invited Peter to walk on the water toward him, Peter momentarily did so (Matthew 14:29-30). But when Peter began to sink, he threw up his arms and cried out “Lord, save me!” Without giving a second thought to what the other disciples might have thought, or how history would perceive him, he unashamedly asked for help. This is the courage expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 6. Brutal honesty brings forth the words, “I am languishing” (v. 2). Not stopping there, they confess how they are shaken to the core, physically and spiritually, by whatever it is that plagues them. Maybe they feel as though they are drowning in a stormy sea of guilt and shame; caught in the undertow of regrets and wished-for do-overs. Whatever it is, things are so bad that they spend every night crying themselves to sleep and can barely see straight due to the grief that engulfs them. Psalm 6 is honest – brutally honest – about the pain we feel in life.
Yet the psalm ends with a declaration of certainty. Just as surely as Jesus’ hand was there to lift Peter up from the drowning waters pulling him down, the psalmist reassures themselves, and us, that the Lord hears our cries for help; our pleas; our prayers. There is no shortage of messaging in the world today encouraging us to believe in the nobility in going it alone. But for those that would be disciples, there is no greater expression of faith than to throw caution to the wind and arms up in surrender. There are no two more powerful words than “help me!” Whatever it is that may cause your body and spirit to be grieved or pained, may you find the liberating power of the words “Help me.” Our loving God, who hears the sound of our weeping and accepts our prayers, stands ready to offer the only help that can truly save us.
God of healing help, thank you for hearing my cries and accepting my prayers. Grant me the courage to confess my need for help. And may I, through the grace of your Holy Spirit, experience the help that only you can provide.