When I first read through Psalms 6, I thought the writer was going through a horrible time. Maybe he was still dealing with the lies he complained about in Psalm 5 or maybe David was losing a war with his enemies. The notes in my study Bible say that the writer (probably David) was suffering from a disease, not simply being metaphorical or over-dramatic. He was begging God not to be angry with him, punishing him with this painful disease, but the writer was also completely confident that God would be merciful and take the sickness away when God decided it was time. I can almost see a child in a corner on time out asking his father if his time in the corner was up yet. The child trusts his father that once his time of punishment is over, the father will tell him and the child can go play some more. Of course, while the little boy is sitting in the corner, it seems like the punishment will never end. The child tries to convince his father to reduce the punishment time, but he doesn’t think he will be stuck in the corner forever. Can you imagine the trust an adult would have to have to know that when his Father was done with the punishment, he would be cured of his sickness? Children trust because they don’t realize yet how unfair the world is. I’m an adult who tends to assume the worst of people, I definitely don’t have a child’s confidence that people will help me if I need it.
Yet the writer of this psalm has no doubt that God will save him. He asks God how long he must wait, not if God will help or what the writer can do to make God happy with him again. He simply knows that God will hear him and heal him. Just like that child in the corner, the writer knows that if he waits for punishment to be over, God will heal him and the writer will no longer be an joke to his enemies. What a faith, what a trust in God the writer had. I’ve been told that the Old Testament is used today as an example of how people live with strong faith and what happens when people turn away from God. This psalm definitely shows how strong faith can be. Of course, just like that little boy, this may not be the first time God has punished the writer, so he may be confident because of experience, but he trusts completely in God’s mercy and that is absolutely an example for us to follow.
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