Day Six: Psalm Six- The Woodshed Experience

Good Morning,

Let’s read the scripture passage first and then break it down. Many people misread this Psalm, skipping over the 1^st verse’s line. Don't forget to favorite this blog. I can't post it on every one's wall everyday. It looks like a phishing scam when I do. I had to change my FB password twice now over it.

Psalm 6 (NIV 1984)

¹ O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
    or discipline me in your wrath.
² Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint;
    O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
³ My soul is in anguish.
    How long, O Lord, how long?

⁴ Turn, O Lord, and deliver me;
    save me because of your unfailing love.
⁵ No one remembers you when he is dead.
    Who praises you from the grave^[b]?

⁶ I am worn out from groaning;
    all night long I flood my bed with weeping
    and drench my couch with tears.
⁷ My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
    they fail because of all my foes.

⁸ Away from me, all you who do evil,
    for the Lord has heard my weeping.
⁹ The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
¹⁰ All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
    they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%206&version=NIV1984

Psalm 6 (MSG)

^1-2 Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed.
   Treat me nice for a change;
      I'm so starved for affection.

 ^2-3 Can't you see I'm black-and-blue,
      beat up badly in bones and soul?
   God, how long will it take
      for you to let up?

 ^4-5 Break in, God, and break up this fight;
      if you love me at all, get me out of here.
   I'm no good to you dead, am I?
      I can't sing in your choir if I'm buried in some tomb!

 ^6-7 I'm tired of all this—so tired. My bed
      has been floating forty days and nights
   On the flood of my tears.
      My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
   The sockets of my eyes are black holes;
      nearly blind, I squint and grope.

 ^8-9 Get out of here, you Devil's crew:
      at last God has heard my sobs.
   My requests have all been granted,
      my prayers are answered.

 ¹⁰ Cowards, my enemies disappear.
   Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%206&version=MSG

The Fire Bible tells us that this a penitential Psalm (903). That word comes from the word penance, which means to be sorry or repentant for sins. In this Psalm, David is suffering the consequences of something he has done. He has been crying forty days and forty nights (v 6-7). The Message translation puts it like this: “Please God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed”. Going to the woodshed implies a big fat spanking! That’s right sometimes God does spank His children. He has to discipline them when they get in trouble, rebel, and get out of line. It happened to David, it happens to you, and it happens to me; one should never make light of the Lord’s discipline. However, we need to remember that God loves His children, and that He does not discipline us like our heavenly fathers do at times. It always in pure love and concern!

6 “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.”. ⁷ As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? ⁸ If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. ⁹ Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever ¹⁰ For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. ¹² So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. ¹³ Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. (Hebrews 12: 6-13 NLT)

David writes about his bed being soaked with tears and being so tired. Getting in trouble or making a wrong decision requires correction on our parts, a turning if you will. The tears are a necessary part of repentance. They take us to the end of ourselves, which makes us ready for God to strengthen us as we begin to turn towards Him. David was crying over something for forty days, and I guarantee you it was not over something like spilled milk. It took David time for his heart to change, see what he needed to correct, want to change, fix, or do whatever God was telling Him to do! In verses 5-6, he asks God to get him out of his trouble that he got himself into. If he was not ready to change, it would have been a prayer amiss. Instead, David cries out for mercy, which is the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone (dictionary.com). Once he had done that, He knew God had heard his prayers and it was all over! True repentance came, and he was going to be okay. He would be delivered, though he had reaped something he had sown.  God was coming to his rescue to deliver him; mercy found him!

Questions to ponder:

1.      Have you ever been to the woodshed and back?

2. Wat is true repentance?

3.      Why is it sometimes so hard to stop doing something we know is wrong to do?

4.      Does God discipline His children? If so, why (hint- it’s in Hebrews 12)?

5.      What does it mean to reap what you sow?

6.      Has God’s mercy every found you?

7.      Is Psalm 6 relevant for today’s Christian? If so, why?

Reflect and comment:

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