Psalm 6

The inscription tells us that David wrote this psalm, but we aren’t sure when he wrote it. It could have been composed during the time of Absalom’s rebellion when David was old, sick, and unable to handle all the complex responsibilities of the kingdom. David’s gradual failure as a visible leader was one of Absalom’s “selling points” as he stole the hearts of the Israelites (2 Sam. 15:1-6). But the psalm might have been written at any time during David’s reign when he was ill and being attacked by his enemies. He describes his plight–“foes without, fears within”–and cries out to God for mercy. He was sure he was facing death (v. 5), which indicates that his experience was real and that he wasn’t using sickness and war only as metaphors for his personal troubles. Neginoth means “stringed instruments,” and Sheminith means “eighth,” which may refer to the number of a familiar melody, a lower octave for men’s voices, or the number of strings of the instrument to be played. You find Sheminith also in the title of Psalm 12 (see 1 Chron. 15:21). Psalm 6 is the first of seven “penitential psalms” in which the writers are being disciplined by God and experiencing suffering. The other psalms are 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; and 143; and all of these psalms are helpful to us when we need to confess our sins and draw closer to the Lord. In this psalm, David records the stages in his difficult experience of moving by faith from trial to triumph.