Psalm 6 Overview
The sound of my weeping
Psalm 6
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 6
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 6 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 6
Author
- David
Book
- Book 1 of the Psalter (Chapters 1–41)
Psalm 6: A Brief Summary
- David felt himself near death. He felt cut off from God. He described himself as actually generating those waters of chaos with his own tears. His plea was going unanswered. But, even in the depths of despair, David was not actually cut off from God. God did not discipline in order to weaken and diminish. He disciplined, even brought low into a kind of death, in order to then vindicate and restore to a power of authority and strength.
"The sound of my weeping" This title is a memorable phrase that helps remember the unique character and content of this psalm.
- These are words taken directly from the Hebrew that capture something of the mood and content. Psalm 6 is about weeping, in a fairly significant way. From the tears of one man to the watery chaos of Sheol, which was how the ancient world understood the world apart from the world of the living.
Purpose The Purpose was the psalmist's probable intent or reason for writing this psalm.
- To plead for mercy and healing.
Content The Content is a concise summary of the whole psalm's content.
- YHWH have mercy and heal me, because I am near death, and no one can praise you in death.
Message The Message is the main idea the psalmist probably wanted the audience to remember upon or after hearing the psalm.
- "A moment in his anger; a lifetime in his favor..." (Ps. 30:6). YHWH's loyalty to David is stronger than sin and death.
Psalm 6 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
| v. 1 For the director. With stringed instruments. According to the octave. A psalm. By David. | Superscription | |||
| v. 2 YHWH, do not correct me in your anger, and do not discipline me in your wrath! | Plea |
YHWH, have mercy!
“My soul has become very dismayed. |
 |
dismay (distress
and fear) |
| v. 3 Have mercy on me, YHWH, for I am languishing! Heal me, YHWH, for my bones have become dismayed! | ||||
| v. 4 And my soul has become very dismayed. And you, YHWH ... How long? | ||||
| v. 5 Turn back, YHWH! Rescue my life! Save me because of your loyalty! |
YHWH, turn!
| |||
| v. 6 For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. In Sheol, who can praise you? | ||||
| v. 7 I have grown weary because of my groaning. I drench my bed every night. I dissolve my couch with my tears. | Death | There is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. |
 | |
| v. 8 My eye has wasted away because of vexation. It has become weak because of all my adversaries. | ||||
| v. 9 Get away from me, all you who do evil! For YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping. | Answer |
YHWH has heard!
“May all my enemies be very dismayed… |
 |
triumph
|
| v. 10 YHWH has heard my plea for mercy. YHWH will accept my prayer. | ||||
| v. 11 May all my enemies be shamed and very dismayed! May they turn back! May they be shamed in a moment! | ||||
Background Orientation for Psalm 6
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- The king is God's son (cf. Pss 2:7; 89:27; 2 Sam 7:14).
- Fathers discipline their sons when they disobey (Prov 13:24; 23:13–14; cf. 2 Sam 7:14).
- YHWH promised to never remove his loyalty from David's house, even if David's descendants disobey: "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him..." (2 Sam 7:14–15, ESV; cf. Ps 89:31–35).
- "In the Psalms, sickness is closely linked with sin" (Pss. 41:4; 107:17-20)" (Keel 1997, 62; see also Job 4:7–11, 8:1–22, 11:13–20; cf. John 9:2).
- The sickness of a king gives opportunity to his enemies (cf. Pss 38:13, 17; 41:6–11), who conclude that God has forsaken him (cf. Pss 3:3; 71:9–11).
Background Situation for Psalm 6
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 6
There are # participants/characters in Psalm 6:
Profile List
| David |
| "David" (v. 1) |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2, 3[x2], 4, 5, 9, 10[x2]) |
| Enemies |
| "My adversaries" (v. 8) |
| "All you who do evil" (v. 9) |
| "my enemies (v. 11) |
Profile Notes
- David is the king of Israel. He is in covenant relationship with YHWH (2 Sam 7; Ps 89). He is YHWH's "son" (2 Sam 7:14).
- YHWH is the god of Israel. He is in covenant relationship with David (2 Sam 7; Ps 89). He is YHWH's "father" (2 Sam 7:14).
- David's enemies are those who conclude that YHWH has forsaken him (cf. Pss 3:3; 71:10–11) and try to take advantage of his weak position (cf. Pss 38:13, 17; 41:5-12).