Psalm 6:6
I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
I am weary
The Hebrew word for "weary" is "יָגַע" (yaga), which conveys a deep sense of exhaustion and fatigue. This weariness is not merely physical but also emotional and spiritual, reflecting the psalmist's profound distress. In the context of the psalm, this weariness is a result of prolonged suffering and anguish, a common theme in the lament psalms where the psalmist cries out to God for relief and deliverance.

with my groaning
The term "groaning" comes from the Hebrew "אָנַח" (anach), which signifies a deep, guttural expression of pain or sorrow. This groaning is a vocalization of the psalmist's inner turmoil and serves as a form of prayer, a raw and honest communication with God. It highlights the psalmist's vulnerability and dependence on God for comfort and intervention.

every night
The phrase "every night" emphasizes the constancy and relentlessness of the psalmist's suffering. Nighttime, often associated with rest and peace, becomes a period of intensified sorrow for the psalmist. This continual distress underscores the depth of the psalmist's affliction and the urgency of his plea for God's mercy.

I flood my bed with weeping
The imagery of flooding the bed with tears is vivid and powerful, illustrating the psalmist's overwhelming grief. The Hebrew word "שָׂחָה" (sachah) for "flood" suggests an inundation, as if the tears are a torrent that cannot be contained. This metaphor conveys the psalmist's sense of being overwhelmed by his emotions and the intensity of his lament.

and drench my couch with tears
Similar to the previous phrase, "drench" (from the Hebrew "מָסַךְ" masak) implies saturation, indicating that the psalmist's tears are so abundant that they soak his resting place. The "couch" or "bed" is a place of supposed comfort and rest, yet it becomes a witness to the psalmist's sorrow. This repetition of imagery reinforces the depth of his despair and the sincerity of his appeal to God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of this Psalm, David is expressing deep personal anguish and seeking God's mercy.

2. God
The ultimate recipient of David's lament, God is portrayed as the one who can provide relief and answer prayers.

3. Bed/Couch
Symbolic of a place of rest that has become a place of sorrow and tears for David.
Teaching Points
The Reality of Suffering
Suffering is a part of the human experience, even for those who are faithful to God. David's lament shows that it is normal to feel overwhelmed at times.

The Power of Lament
Lamenting is a biblical way to process grief and sorrow. It is an honest expression of our emotions before God, who is big enough to handle our deepest pains.

God's Presence in Our Pain
Even in the midst of tears and groaning, God is present. We can trust that He hears us and is compassionate towards our suffering.

Hope in God's Deliverance
While the Psalm expresses deep sorrow, it also implies a hope for deliverance. Our faith assures us that God will ultimately bring relief and restoration.

Encouragement to Seek God
In times of distress, we are encouraged to turn to God in prayer, just as David did, trusting in His mercy and grace.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does David's expression of weariness and sorrow in Psalm 6:6 resonate with your own experiences of distress?

2. In what ways can lamenting be a healthy spiritual practice for dealing with personal grief or sorrow?

3. How does the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 provide comfort and hope in the context of Psalm 6:6?

4. Reflect on a time when you felt overwhelmed by emotions. How did turning to God in prayer impact your situation?

5. How can you support someone in your life who is experiencing a season of weeping and groaning, based on the insights from this Psalm?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 42:3
This verse also speaks of tears being a constant companion, highlighting a similar theme of deep emotional distress.

Lamentations 3:48-49
Jeremiah's lament over Jerusalem echoes the continuous weeping and sorrow found in Psalm 6:6.

Matthew 11:28
Jesus invites those who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest, offering a New Testament connection to the relief sought in Psalm 6.
A Cry to God, and its ResponseW. Forsyth Psalm 6:1-10
A Revengeful God the Creation of a Guilty ConscienceHomilistPsalm 6:1-10
A Song of SorrowA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 6:1-10
Angerless Reproof Often Quite EffectiveLife of Bishop John Selwyn.Psalm 6:1-10
Angry Chastening DeprecatedSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:1-10
Deliverance from Sore TroubleC. Short Psalm 6:1-10
God's Anger Against SinA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
God's Anger TerriblePsalm 6:1-10
Great Afflictions, Greater ConsolationW. Forsyth Psalm 6:1-10
Night and Morning in the SoulW. Forsyth Psalm 6:1-10
Rebuke Combined with AngerSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:1-10
Rebuke NeededSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:1-10
The Anger of God as Pure as His MercyA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
The Cry of the PenitentWilliam Nicholson, D. D.Psalm 6:1-10
The Difference Between a Cross and a CurseA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
The Moan of a Saint, and the Mercy of His GodC. Clemance Psalm 6:1-10
The Penitent SuppliantJohn Donne.Psalm 6:1-10
The Prayer of the a Afflicted SoulA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
David's SorrowJ. Moorhouse, M. A.Psalm 6:6-7
Mourning for SinA. Symson, B. D.Psalm 6:6-7
Repentance in Time Will be Remembered When Repentance is ImpossibleSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:6-7
The Penitent's SorrowG. Innes.Psalm 6:6-7
The Righteous Man's Assault by His EnemiesA. Symson, B. D.Psalm 6:6-7
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Bed, Couch, Dissolve, Drench, Drops, Flood, Flowing, Groaning, Meditate, Melt, Moaning, Sighing, Sorrow, Swim, Tear, Tears, Voice, Waste, Watered, Wearied, Weariness, Weary, Weeping, Wet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 6:6

     4957   night
     5229   bed
     5582   tiredness

Psalm 6:1-7

     5831   depression

Psalm 6:2-6

     5933   restlessness

Psalm 6:6-7

     5567   suffering, emotional
     5844   emotions

Library
The Life of Mr. James Renwick.
Mr. James Renwick was born in the parish of Glencairn in Nithsdale, Feb. 15, 1662. His parents though not rich, yet were exemplary for piety. His father Andrew Renwick (a weaver to trade) and his mother Elizabeth Corsan, had several children before Mr. James, who died young; for which when his mother was pouring forth her motherly grief, her husband used to comfort her with declaring, that he was well satisfied to have children, whether they lived or died, young or old, providing they might be heirs
John Howie—Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies)

Weep Not.
"Weine nicht!" "The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping."--Psalm 6:8. [3]B. Schmolk transl., Sarah Findlater, 1854 Weep not--Jesus lives on high, O sad and wearied one! If thou with the burden sigh, Of grief thou canst not shun, Trust Him still, Soon there will Roses in the thicket stand, Goshen smile in Egypt's land. Weep not--Jesus thinks of thee When all beside forget, And on thee so lovingly His faithfulness has set, That though all Ruin'd fall, Every thing on earth be shaken, Thou wilt
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

Pleading for Mercy. Ps 6

John Newton—Olney Hymns

"O Save Me for Thy Mercies' Sake. " --Ps. vi. 4
"O save me for thy mercies' sake."--Ps. vi. 4. Mercy alone can meet my case; For mercy, Lord, I cry;-- Jesus! Redeemer! show thy face In mercy, or I die. Save me, for none beside can save; At thy command I tread, With failing step, life's stormy wave; The wave goes o'er my head. I perish, and my doom were just; But wilt thou leave me? No: I hold Thee fast, my hope, my trust, I will not let Thee go. Still sure to me Thy promise stands, And ever must abide; Behold it written on Thy hands, And graven
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Letters of St. Bernard
I To Malachy. 1141.[924] (Epistle 341.) To the venerable lord and most blessed father, Malachy, by the grace of God archbishop of the Irish, legate of the Apostolic See, Brother Bernard called to be abbot of Clairvaux, [desiring] to find grace with the Lord. 1. Amid the manifold anxieties and cares of my heart,[925] by the multitude of which my soul is sore vexed,[926] the brothers coming from a far country[927] that they may serve the Lord,[928] thy letter, and thy staff, they comfort
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

The Tears of the Penitent.
Adversity had taught David self-restraint, had braced his soul, had driven him to grasp firmly the hand of God. And prosperity had seemed for nearly twenty years but to perfect the lessons. Gratitude had followed deliverance, and the sunshine after the rain had brought out the fragrance of devotion and the blossoms of glad songs. A good man, and still more a man of David's age at the date of his great crime, seldom falls so low, unless there has been previous, perhaps unconscious, relaxation of the
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

If Then to Sin, that Others May not Commit a Worse Sin...
21. If then to sin, that others may not commit a worse sin, either against us or against any, without doubt we ought not; it is to be considered in that which Lot did, whether it be an example which we ought to imitate, or rather one which we ought to avoid. For it seems meet to be more looked into and noted, that, when so horrible an evil from the most flagitious impiety of the Sodomites was impending over his guests, which he wished to ward off and was not able, to such a degree may even that just
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in even unto my soul: I am come into deep waters; so that the floods run over me.--Ps. lxix. 1, 2. I am brought into so great trouble and misery: that I go mourning all the day long.--Ps. xxxviii. 6. The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: Oh! bring Thou me out of my distress.--Ps. xxv. 17. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping: the Lord will receive my prayer.--Ps. vi. 8. In the multitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Epistle xxxix. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). But what can be good news to me, so far as concerns the behoof of holy Church, but to hear of the health and safety of your to me most sweet Holiness, who, from your perception of the light of truth, both illuminate the same Church with the word of preaching, and mould it to a better way by the example of your manners? As often, too, as I recall in
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle xv. To George, Presbyter.
To George, Presbyter. Gregory to George, Presbyter, and to Theodore, deacon, of the Church of Constantinople. Mindful of your goodness and charity, I greatly blame myself, that I gave you leave to return so soon: but, since I saw you pressing me importunately once and again for leave to go, I considered that it might be a serious matter for your Love to tarry with us longer. But, after I had learnt that you had lingered so long on your journey owing to the winter season, I confess that I was sorry
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle Xlvi. To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem .
To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem [159] . Gregory to Isacius, &c. In keeping with the truth of history, what means the fact that at the time of the flood the human race outside the ark dies, but within the ark is preserved unto life, but what we see plainly now, namely that all the unfaithful perish under the wave of their sin, while the unity of holy Church, like the compactness of the ark, keeps her faithful ones in faith and in charity? And this ark in truth is compacted of incorruptible timber,
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Rules to be Observed in Singing of Psalms.
1. Beware of singing divine psalms for an ordinary recreation, as do men of impure spirits, who sing holy psalms intermingled with profane ballads: They are God's word: take them not in thy mouth in vain. 2. Remember to sing David's psalms with David's spirit (Matt. xxii. 43.) 3. Practise St. Paul's rule--"I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the understanding also." (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) 4. As you sing uncover your heads (1 Cor. xi. 4), and behave yourselves in comely reverence as in the
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Epistle Lxiv. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [174] . Here begins the epistle of the blessed Gregory pope of the city of Rome, in exposition of various matters, which he sent into transmarine Saxony to Augustine, whom he had himself sent in his own stead to preach. Preface.--Through my most beloved son Laurentius, the presbyter, and Peter the monk, I received thy Fraternity's letter, in which thou hast been at pains to question me on many points. But, inasmuch as my aforesaid sons found me afflicted with the
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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