Hello, you're listening to Let the Bible Speak. Let the Bible Speak is the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church. Stephen Pollack is the pastor of Free Presbyterian Church of Malvern, Pennsylvania. The church is located at the junction of 401 and Mallon Road. Thank you for joining us today as Dr. Pollack opens the Word of God and lets the Bible speak. Let's take our Bibles together again this evening and turn to Psalm 6. It is to the chief musician of Neganoth, upon Shinnonath, a psalm of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed, but thou, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, Deliver my soul, O save me, for thy mercy's sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee in the grave. Who shall give thee thanks? I am weary with my groaning. All the night make I my bed to swim, my water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief, it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping, the Lord hath heard my supplication, the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed. Let them return and be ashamed suddenly. Amen. This is the word of God. And again, may it come as a blessing to our hearts tonight. Now this sixth Psalm is a prayer for life. It's a psalmist bringing his petitions to the Lord with a burden that his life would be preserved and prolonged. And you see that in verses four and five. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul, O save me for thy mercy's sake, for in death there is no remembrance of thee. It's this recognition that he is a longing in his soul to continue to live in this world. Now, of course, we understand that our lives are in the Lord's hands. Our times are in his hands. The day of our death is appointed unto man once to die, Hebrews 9, 27. And so we understand that, we understand that, again, our days cannot be prolonged beyond the will of God. But once more, understanding God's sovereignty shouldn't make us slow to pray for matters that we know fall under His sovereign purpose. We know that God will save his elect, and yet we're still to pray for God to save souls. We know that our lives are in God's hands, and yet here we see the psalmist praying for his life to be prolonged. We know that all answers to prayer are according to the Lord's will, and we pray with that in mind. We pray with that submissive spirit. We pray, Lord, I know what I'm praying for will only come to pass in your will, but yet still we're to pray. Still we're to pray for these things. See, the divine authority for this prayer is found in part in the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. Now again, remember the commandments are the summary of God's will, and so in the commandments there are truths that are revealed. And in our catechism, the sixth commandment, it says this, it requireth all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life and the life of others. And so from that, you get the inference that it is the will of God that life be preserved. It's the will of God that life be prolonged. It is the revelation of God and his commandments and his will that we are not to take lives, our own lives or others' lives, but to have that desire for our life to continue. And so we find ourselves looking at this psalm with that prayer in mind. Remember, O Lord, deliver my soul from death. It's a prayer for life. Let's begin our overview of this psalm by first of all considering the context and that is really an acknowledgment of misery. Our first sort of thought tonight is that this psalm has an acknowledgment of misery. Look at verse 6. I am weary with my groaning. Again, something we're seeing in these opening words, so these opening psalms, is just how vivid poetic language can be. He's not simply saying that he's in a difficult place. He's describing in such vivid terms that he's weary. Even with his groaning, not only is he groaning, but he's groaned so long that he now finds himself weary with that experience. It's been a prolonged season of tremendous trial. All the night make I my bed to swim. Again describing the weeping and the tears that follow. Mine eye is consumed because of grief. And you will see this in people's experience. You know, you'll see somebody perhaps walks into a room and you can tell that they've been upset. You can see it in their eyes. You can see it even around their eyes. Though they may not have wept for some time, yet the way this felt around the eyes, we see that in human experience. In verse eight, he also refers to that aspect of weeping. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. It's a prolonged season of tremendous misery and trial. You can trust this experience. Again, he's making his bed swim with his tears. You compare that back to chapter, to Psalm 3, sorry, and the verse number 5, I laid me down and slept. That sense of peace that he knew at that point in his life, or Psalm 4, verse number 8, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. Now his sleep is disturbed. He may get over it eventually, but his pillow, if you like, is wet with the tears as he goes to sleep with the troubles upon his soul. These are really very, very clear descriptions of what is common. Let's be honest, man is born to trouble. These are common in the lives of many of God's people on a continual basis. We have to accept this. And the troubles he has, we can certainly see these things as personal troubles. Oh, this misery is coming because of things occurring in his life that are deeply personal. Again, we see enemies again. We've seen that in the previous Psalms, but here we see enemies mentioned, but note how it describes in verse number seven, it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. And again, verse number 10, let all mine enemies be ashamed. Troubles are very, very personal. The psalmist feels the weight of, this is not general trouble in his life, but these are people who are intent on destroying his life even. Destroying his peace, destroying his comfort. They're out to get him personally. Others may not know the same problem. You see, for all of us, our experience of the impact of the fall is very, very personal. And what you may go through is different than what I may go through. We all live in a fallen world and there are certainly going to be compartisans, but our troubles are deeply personal. And that's a great comfort because the Bible tells us the Lord knows us personally. The Lord's acquainted with our ways, Psalm 139. We have a Lord who is personally acknowledging our experiences here, and while the psalmist is certainly struggling this, he feels very keenly the threat to himself, to his own soul, and to his well-being. I suspect there are things in your lives at different times, and you look upon them and say, oh, that's my enemy. It may not be a person, it may be a spiritual issue, it may be some other matter in your life, it may be illness, it may be burdens in family life, it may be something else, but you look upon them and say, that's mine, that belongs to me. You've got to take those things to the Lord. But this personal trouble that the psalmist has and this misery is accompanied by physical symptoms. This is a physical experience for him as well. Verse number two. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak, O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed. It's often language the psalmist uses to describe the physical symptoms of his trials. You know, we have reasons to go to God with physical troubles. And I certainly encourage us as a prayer church, as a praying church to focus on the spiritual matters of the kingdom. But we've not neglected to pray for physical troubles. And that is biblical and that's proper. You think of the words of 3 John verse 2. Beloved, I worship of all things that I must prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. The Lord cares for physical well-being. There's a wonderful insight to that in Philippians when Paul refers to Epaphroditus. And the Philippian church, they're really burdened because they hear their pastor, Epaphroditus, is sick unto death. But Paul tells them in the letter, he writes to them, but God had mercy on him. And not only on him only, but on me also. Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. The Lord cares for our physical infirmities. Again, there's so many of us in the church, and we find our prayer list full of those who have physical infirmities. You cannot live in this world without beginning to decay. It's part and parcel of a fallen world. You're getting older day by day, and as you get older, you feel the effects of the fall in your physical frame. We bring it to God. But you also see here the spiritual sorrows that accompany this. So yeah, these are very personal experiences with physical symptoms, but there's spiritual sorrows alongside. Verse number three, my soul is also sore vexed. And that leads to the prayer, well Lord, how long? He's weary of his groaning. These spiritual sorrows are also there. You know, we are psychosomatic beings. Really, we are physical and we are spiritual. We are complex in that sense. We have a physical aspect and a spiritual aspect and these things interact. Again, at times, our spiritual trials will provoke physical symptoms. You turn across to Psalm 32. Psalm 32, and you'll see the psalmist there in the midst of conviction of sin. Psalm 32, in the verse number three, When I kept silence, my bones waxed all through my roaring all the day long. Again, this is an experience of spiritual conviction of sin. And sometimes we deal with people in this world and they do not understand the nature of their humanity and we can help them. They may find themselves just so weighed down spiritually with conviction of sin that it is like their whole humanity is under that weight and they're weighed down in that sense and they go to the doctor and they want blood tests done and they want this done and that done and what they need to be told is that in Christ they need to know forgiveness of the guilt of their sins. It happens. I'm not suggesting for one second that every physical malady is due to conviction of sins. That would not be the case at all. However, it is a real experience. But it's also clear that the physical trials we face can also bring about spiritual symptoms. For those who go through physical trials, they can enter into the spiritual trials. You know the prayer for the sick in James chapter 5? Well, the one who is sick and calls for the elder, the word sick that's used in the first verse there, about calling for the elders, is dealing with this issue, I believe, of physical malady. But then in verse 15 it says this, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And the second word for sick there is not the same as verse 14, but it is the word to faint. And it seems to be the case that there are some in extreme ill health and they undergo a spiritual crisis and they faint in their spiritual crisis. They're like the ones who are weary in well-doing and therefore they faint in that regard. They're in a spiritual crisis. And so it goes both ways. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and at times our spiritual problems will provoke physical symptoms and vice versa. It's good to understand these things. Well, my point tonight, of course, is these are various troubles, and they provoke misery. The psalmist has got all three. He's got troubles with enemies, he's got troubles with his physical frame, he's troubles with his spiritual condition. All of these things are coming together. For others, they will come separately or together, different components, different, if you like, different mixtures of these problems, but they come upon us. And so there is this, if you like, an acknowledgement of misery. The Lord is not surprised when you go to him with your miseries. There's no credit in having a stiff upper lip in your prayer life with God. Pretending all is well when all is not well. If you cannot be honest with the Lord, then who are you going to be honest with? Getting before God and pouring out your hearts. And the Lord does not dismiss the Psalmist's prayer here. The Psalmist says, the Lord will receive my prayer. And we may get to the point where we think to ourselves, well, all I'm doing is grumbling. No, you can express your burdens without entering unbelief. The grumbling spirit is the spirit of unbelief. Expressing your troubles in faith is not the same as grumbling. And so you can come to God with these personal, spiritual, physical troubles in your misery, and you express it to God, and you can do so in the climate and the atmosphere of genuine faith. The psalmist does so here, which leads secondly to an appeal for mercy. And look at verse number two, have mercy upon me, O Lord. Or verse number four, return, O Lord, deliver my soul, O save me for thy mercy's sake. One writer says this, through it all, to make matters worse, he is keenly aware of his own sin and guilt, as evident from his opening words, in which he asks the Lord to withhold his heavenly rebuke and discipline. And he's aware of his spiritual condition. He's aware of his own sin. And so he appeals for mercy. He's asking God to intervene in kindness. You know, this is really praying with theological awareness. You know, our Bible studies, if you like, on a Lord's Day morning are not academic exercises simply to fill our minds with more information about who God is. It is that we understand our God and therefore can apply who God is in this world. As we live in this world, as we encounter sin, as we encounter our own troubles, we can apply the doctrine of God to our situations. And we do so often in the place of prayer. Knowing God gives us grounds for understanding our circumstances, and therefore going to God in our prayers. You see, the psalmist here understands something very important. He understands that troubles can come upon us under God's chastening hand. Not always. You're going to fit in Job. Job certainly had times of great troubles that the Lord was teaching him things out, but it's very clear in Job chapter one, he's a righteous man. But sometimes our troubles do come upon us because God is chastening us. And the psalmist experienced that, O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure, have mercy upon me. He's aware of his sin and he's aware whilst he may not be able to fit everything together in his mind, he understands the potential that what he's going through is a result of sin. He accepts that. I remember the words of Hebrews, my son despised not by the chasing of the Lord, nor faint when that rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourged every son whom he receiveth. But we believe firmly in the doctrine of propitiation that God's wrath is turned away from us. But that does not mean that God would not chasten us for our good. So trouble sometimes will come upon us under God's chastening hand. And again, we've got to be very careful here. And in terms of our own experience, in terms of counselling, we've got to be careful that because someone is going through some troubles, that we don't point the finger and say, well, where's that hidden sin? There are times when things come into our lives without that being a result of sin. But in all of our troubles, we can always come to God and say, Lord, I know I'm not right in your sight. In my own life, there are things in my life that are wrong. So we come in a humble spirit towards the Lord. So troubles can come under God's chastening hand, but troubles for God's people are also tempered by God's mercy. Understanding verse one is difficult. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thine hot displeasure. I was really helped by Spurgeon today on this. I've always struggled with this verse. What's he praying for here? Is he asking God not to chasten him or not to rebuke him? That wouldn't make sense. It's a foolish man who would ask God not to deal with his soul, not to sanctify him, not to deal with him in such a way that he's more like Christ Jesus. This is a prayer of great spirituality. What the psalmist is really praying here is he's praying that he would not be rebuked in God's anger. Of course the converse is that God's rebukes would come on his love. The burden is that he would understand these things and go through the experience with the mercy of God upon him. Spurgeon says this, the psalmist is very conscious that he deserves to be rebuked and he feels moreover that the rebuke in some form or other must come upon him, if not for condemnation yet for conviction and sanctification. Thus saith Jeremiah, O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. I know that I must be chastened, and though I shrink from thy rod, yet do I feel that it will be for my benefit. But, O my God, chasten me not in thy hot displeasure, lest the rod become a sword, and lest in smiting thou shouldst also kill. That's the sense of the words here. He's appealing to God for mercy. He's appealing for God to show him that covenant, the loving kindness that comes, again, because of Christ Jesus and his blood. So remember, in our troubles, that we go to God for mercy found in the covenant and found in Christ Jesus. But thirdly, as we look at this prayer, it's an appeal for life, and in the third place, I want you to note the argument that comes with meaning. Verse five is the argument, for in death there is no remembrance of thee, in the grave who shall give thee thanks? Here's the argument. He prays the prayer, verse four, return, O Lord, deliver my soul, and then he brings his argument, for in death there is no remembrance of thee. So it's a very notable aspect of the psalm, and it's the first time this sort of thing will come up in the Psalter, but it's not the only time. Turn across to Psalm 30. Let's look at some of these, and then you'll get a sense of the meaning here. Psalm 30. And the verse number eight. I cried to thee, O Lord, and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? And then across to Psalm 88. Psalm 88 in the verse number 10, again a very similar way. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah, shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Are thy faithfulness in destruction? I cross Psalm 115. Psalm 115 in the verse number 17. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. The last one, Psalm 118, and the verse number 17. I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. This is a continual argument, and you'll see the same. I could turn, your time is going quickly, but you could turn across to Isaiah 38, and you'll see the same in verse 18 and 19. Similar arguments given in various parts of the word of God. And it reminds us something very, very simple. Life is precious. Life is precious. We know the Christian is not to be afraid of death. Christ's work has destroyed him out of the power of death that is the devil. We're not in bondage anymore to the fear of death. We know the child of God is really walking with the Lord when they long to be with the Lord. As the Apostle Paul would say, to die is gain. Well, we understand that, but that does not mean that the Christian is permitted to despise life. You see, we have this tension within our souls. We don't fear death, we long to be with Christ, but yet we see the problem of those who are struggling with thoughts of self-harm or of life being not worth living. And we see that and we want to help them because we understand that's not good. That's not a good state of soul to be in. And so even in hardship, the psalmist is showing us that life is a gift. He longs to continue his life. He wants God's help. He does not want to die. Every breath he sees as a gift from God. You see, if you're in Psalm 118, you could turn back. For me, it's just across the column in Psalm 116. And the psalmist here is looking back upon his experience and how God has delivered him. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. He's experienced this deliverance of God and his life has been spared. So verse 12, What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord. Now in the presence of all his people, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. God has spared him from death that he might live and do the works of God in the land of the living. That's what he's saying here, verse number nine. I'll walk before the Lord in the land of the living. And he's describing the fact that God is ordinarily pleased in the covenant to give his people length of days. I understand there are exceptions, that's always the case, but in general terms, God is pleased to give his people life, that they would worship him, they'd honor him and glorify him in their lives. The Lord is pleased. to have a witness in this earth. And he sustains the life of the saints to that end. It is his purpose, why the Lord tarries, that he have people on this earth who would call upon his name and would make his name known. Life is precious and life is also purposeful. Again, back to the argument in the Psalm 6. There is no remembrance of thee in the grave. Who shall give thee thanks? Here's the argument. The reason to live is to glorify God and we can do that in the presence of our enemies, with our aching bones, with spiritual troubles. We can still make God known. Remembrance speaks of a memorial. It is to make God known in this world. A public testimony of the Lord's goodness, of the Lord's character, of the Lord's nature that evangelized the lost and encouraged the saints. That's the purpose here, that on this earth we are those who make public testimony. Now, the psalmist is not having a nihilistic view, that once we die that's all there is. He understands that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, but he's saying in this world one less saint is one less person bringing remembrance of the Lord's name in a public place. Now that can be God's purpose, we understand that, we trust in God's will. But the argument still comes with meaning that we are here with a purpose. And that's to make God known and to give thanks to God. Again, you think of all the commands in the scriptures to offer thanksgiving unto God. In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 18. Why? because thanksgiving glorifies God. We acknowledge that we receive God's gift, we're recipients of God's grace, especially the salvation that's ours in Christ Jesus. And as we live in this world, we give thanks to God who hears our prayers, who delivers our souls, and who saved us in Christ Jesus. And so there's thanksgiving. So the question remains, as long as you live, are you somebody who's going to make a memorial of God, making God's name known in this world? And are you someone who is marked out as a thankful person for the grace of God in the gospel? That's why God wants you here on earth, to make him known, the remembrance, and to give thanks for him and for all that he's done for us in Christ Jesus. It's good to be alive. Don't despise your life. Even a life of tremendous hardship is a continual opportunity to give glory to God. You think of some who have gone through prolonged illnesses and perhaps spent some years upon a deathbed. How many people could testify of how they have spoken of God's grace and God's goodness even in those times and used those times to make Christ known. So may God help us to value life, to thank the Lord for the lives that we have and make sure we use it for the glory and honor of His name. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode of Let the Bible Speak from Malvern Free Presbyterian Church. If you'd like more information about the gospel or the church, please call 610-993-3170 or email malvernfpc at yahoo.com. We extend an invitation to all to join us as we worship the Lord each week. You will be made very welcome. The church is situated at 80 Mallon Road, Malvern, Pennsylvania, at the junction of 401 and Mallon Road. We meet for worship on the Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. A Bible study and prayer meeting is also held on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. We preach Christ Crucified.