O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, or discipline me in Your wrath. O LORDThe term "LORD" here is translated from the Hebrew "YHWH," the sacred and personal name of God, often vocalized as Yahweh. This name signifies God's eternal existence and His covenantal relationship with His people. In the context of this psalm, it reflects a personal plea to a God who is both transcendent and immanent, emphasizing the psalmist's intimate relationship with the Creator. The invocation of "O LORD" sets a tone of reverence and urgency, acknowledging God's sovereignty and the psalmist's dependence on Him. do not rebuke me
The Hebrew word for "rebuke" is "yākah," which can mean to correct or reprove. In the ancient Near Eastern context, rebuke was often associated with a verbal correction or a call to repentance. The psalmist's plea here is not to avoid correction altogether but to seek a gentler form of it. This reflects a heart that is aware of its shortcomings and desires restoration without the harshness that might accompany divine anger. in Your anger
The word "anger" is translated from the Hebrew "’aph," which literally means "nose" or "nostrils," metaphorically used to describe the flaring of nostrils in anger. This anthropomorphic expression conveys the intensity of God's righteous indignation against sin. The psalmist is acutely aware of the seriousness of divine anger and seeks mercy, understanding that God's anger, while just, is something to be feared and respected. or discipline me
"Discipline" comes from the Hebrew "yāsar," which means to chasten or instruct. This term implies a corrective measure intended for growth and improvement. In the biblical context, discipline is seen as an act of love from God, who desires His people to walk in righteousness. The psalmist's request is not to avoid discipline but to be spared from its severity, recognizing the need for correction but hoping for it to be tempered with compassion. in Your wrath
The Hebrew word for "wrath" is "ḥēmâ," which denotes a burning anger or fury. This term is often used in the Old Testament to describe God's response to sin and rebellion. The psalmist's plea highlights an understanding of the gravity of sin and the rightful response of a holy God. However, it also reflects a hope in God's mercy, trusting that His wrath can be mitigated by His love and grace. Persons / Places / Events 1. DavidTraditionally attributed as the author of this psalm, David is expressing a deep sense of distress and seeking God's mercy. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His personal relationship with His people. 3. Rebuke and DisciplineThese terms indicate correction and instruction, often used in the context of a parent-child relationship. 4. Anger and WrathThese terms describe God's righteous response to sin, highlighting His holiness and justice. 5. The Psalmist's DistressThe emotional and spiritual state of the psalmist, seeking relief from God's corrective measures. Teaching Points Understanding Divine DisciplineRecognize that God's discipline is an expression of His love and desire for our growth in holiness. Responding to God's CorrectionApproach God's rebuke with humility and a willingness to learn, rather than with resistance or despair. Balancing Justice and MercyAcknowledge that while God is just in His anger, He is also merciful and desires restoration. Seeking God's MercyIn times of distress, turn to God in prayer, seeking His mercy and relief from His corrective measures. Reflecting on Personal SinUse moments of discipline as opportunities for self-examination and repentance, aligning oneself more closely with God's will. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding God's discipline as an act of love change your perspective on personal trials? 2. In what ways can you seek God's mercy in times of distress, as David did in this psalm? 3. How can you balance the fear of God's wrath with the assurance of His mercy in your spiritual life? 4. What are some practical steps you can take to respond positively to God's correction in your life? 5. How do other scriptures, such as Hebrews 12:5-11 and Proverbs 3:11-12, enhance your understanding of Psalm 6:1? Connections to Other Scriptures Hebrews 12:5-11This passage discusses God's discipline as a sign of His love and a means of producing righteousness in His children. Proverbs 3:11-12These verses encourage not to despise the Lord's discipline, as it is a sign of His love. 2 Samuel 24:10-17David's experience of God's discipline after his sin of taking a census, illustrating the balance of God's justice and mercy. Job 5:17This verse speaks to the blessedness of being corrected by God, reinforcing the theme of divine discipline. Lamentations 3:31-33These verses highlight God's compassion and unwillingness to afflict willingly, providing hope amidst discipline. People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Anger, 6, Bitter, Chasten, Chastise, Chief, Choirmaster, Corded, David, Discipline, Displeasure, Eight-stringed, Fury, Gt, Heat, Hot, Instruments, Leader, Lt, Lyre, Music, Musician, Music-maker, Neginoth, O, Octave, Overseer, Passion, Psalm, Punishment, Rebuke, Reprove, Sheminith, Stringed, String-music, WrathDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 6: 5420 music
5421 musical instruments Psalm 6:1-7 5831 depression
5952 sorrow 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
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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 Links Psalm 6:1 NIVPsalm 6:1 NLTPsalm 6:1 ESVPsalm 6:1 NASBPsalm 6:1 KJV
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