Psalms 6-8

Thoughts

Psalm 6

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

• Likely indicates a musical setting (“Sheminith” = “on the eighth”) could be an instrument or a note. 

“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your anger,
nor discipline me in Your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But You, O LORD—how long?”

• David feels both guilt and pain 
• He pleads for mercy instead of wrath

“Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of Your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of You;
in Sheol who will give You praise?”

• He argues  “If I die, I can’t praise You from the grave.” – oh how surprised he will be!
• steadfast love (hesed) (חסד)

“I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.”

• David’s pain is physical, emotional, and social 
• lament is part of worship.

“Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.”

• From despair to confidence.
• Enemies who once mocked now will be “troubled” –  no longer David. 

Psalm 7

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

• “Shiggaion” likely means a passionate or emotionally intense or irregular song 

“O LORD my God, in You do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.”

• David is being hunted and turns to God as his  refuge.

“O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it…”

• David invites God’s examination, similar to Job 
• He is willing to accept judgment if guilty.

“Arise, O LORD, in Your anger;
lift Yourself up against the fury of my enemies…
The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.”

• David calls for God’s intervention 
• He asks for God to be the Judge. 

“My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
If a man does not repent, God will whet His sword…”

• God is our protection- He is our shield and carries ours
• We are accountable to God

“Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head…”

• Evil is portrayed as self-destructive 

“I will give to the LORD the thanks due to His righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.”

• David shifts from pleading for justice to praising God

Psalm 8

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

• “Gittith” likely refers to a musical instrument or tune from Gath.

“O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory above the heavens.”

• Begins and ends with the same refrain 
• David sees the glory of God

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
You have established strength because of Your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.”

• God can show His power through the weak
• Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 21:16 when children cry out “Hosanna!” 

“When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You care for him?”

• David marvels at the night sky and feels small in comparison.
• God is the Creator of the universe, what is man compared to Him?

“Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”

• “A little lower than the heavenly beings” ( Elohim)  possibly means angels or God Himself.
• Man has some rule over earth. 

“O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

• Ends exactly as it began 

Questions

What did David think would happen after death? What does that say about how he lived his life?

Application

Psalm 6 is me today (maybe not as dramatic). When illness or exhaustion weigh you down, we can bring our brokenness before God. We don’t have to pretend we are OK. We have a God who we can trust is near us. Psalm 7 shows us that we don’t have to worry about being misjudged by others, but that God will defend us. We just need to live with integrity, and in due time God will reveal Himself. Lastly Psalm 8 gives us a bit more uplifting with praising God. We are the image of God and we should worship the One who gave us meaning.