August 3, 2016 (Wednesday)
The background of Psalm 6 is an illness of King David. We don’t know when this happened, but it was when his enemies were pursuing him. Here is an outline of the Psalm:
1. Lord, please don’t be angry with me
(vv 1-3)
2. Lord, please be close to me
(vv 4-7)
3. Lord, please overwhelm my enemies
(vv 8-10)
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, Lord, how long?
4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed
with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
Sometimes, like David, we feel that God has left us. Verse 6 says that David cried every night. Verse 3 tells us David asked, “For how long?” Let us be assured that God will answer us and we will be also able to say, “The LORD heard me!” We will understand that God was with us all the time. We can let our pain and suffering blind us to His presence. God is not angry with us; He loves us. The words of the hymn below offer answers to some of our questions.
—————————————————————————————————————–We’ll Understand It Better By and By
Text: Charles Albert Tindley
Music: Charles Albert Tindley; arr. by F.A. Clark
1. We are tossed and driven
on the restless sea of time;
somber skies and howling tempests
oft succeed a bright sunshine;
in that land of perfect day,
when the mists are rolled away,
we will understand it better by and by.
Refrain:
By and by, when the morning comes,
when the saints of God are gathered home,
we’ll tell the story how we’ve overcome,
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
2. We are often destitute
of the things that life demands,
want of food and want of shelter,
thirsty hills and barren lands;
we are trusting in the Lord,
and according to God’s word,
we will understand it better by and by.
(Refrain)
3. Trials dark on every hand,
and we cannot understand
all the ways of God would lead us
to that blessed promised land;
but he guides us with his eye,
and we’ll follow till we die,
for we’ll understand it better by and by.
(Refrain)
4. Temptations, hidden snares
often take us unawares,
and our hearts are made to bleed
for a thoughtless word or deed;
and we wonder why the test
when we try to do our best,
but we’ll understand it better by and by.
(Refrain)—————————————————————————————————————–
LISTEN