Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [a]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away;
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed.
3 And my soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—how long?4 Return, O Lord, rescue my [b]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For there is no [c]mention of You in death;
In [d]Sheol who will give You thanks?6 I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has become old because of all my adversaries.8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication,
The Lord receives my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed;
They shall [e]turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.
David was in trouble, and he knew God was the only one who could help him. That seems pretty simple and obvious, but in the middle of his despair, a couple things come to light.
First, He admits wrongdoing. Basically, he is saying, “I know I’ve messed up, but please don’t punish me even worse.” Many times, our sin comes with its own punishment, and God has merely to let things run their natural course. But whatever David had done, he asks God for pardon, and help to escape the trap of his enemies.
Second, we find that God will answer, even when human justice says he shouldn’t. The point of God’s punishment is not often just to dole out the prescribed penalty for our sin. It isn’t simply retribution for how we have wronged God. There will come a day when folks will be judged for their lives, but while we yet live, his “wrath” has a deeper purpose.
That is, God disciplines us to correct us, and show us that we’ve crossed the line. Yet more than that, He brings hardship to send us back to him. Our highest purpose is to know our Creator, and everything He sends our way has that goal in mind. As Solomon would later say, “do not despise the correction of the Lord.” God disciplines those he loves, and given that John wrote that “God loves the world” and “is not willing that any should perish”, then we should cherish his reproof. A strange thought, but let it be a wakeup call, and cry out to God for rescue. He will hear you.