This is the first of the penitential Psalms in our Bibles: Psalms of confession and/or humility before the Lord.

“LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger. 

Do not discipline me in your raging fury.

Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am frail. 

Heal me, LORD, for my bones are shaking.”

(vv.1-2)

David cries out that his trial and tribulation ends. Whether this all stems from some sin confessed before the Lord or an illness un-described, we don’t know, but David is suffering and is open and honest enough to pour out his feelings to God. He finds himself at the end of what he could physically and mentally tolerate (my bones are shaking). Emotions are high (v.3) and remorse is clear.

David asks the Lord to relent (v.4) and that he be delivered because of God’s own faithfulness. Another reason in support of his request is seen in v.5: nobody praises from the grave. David reasons that God desires praise, and that praise cannot be offered from beyond the land of the living, and so, therefore, rescue me God!

Lament after lament is given in vv.6-7 and David is at his poetic best when he says that his bed is [drenched] in tears and that his eyes grow dim from suffering. His hyperbole – making a point with exaggerated language – is clear and he feels death awaits should nothing change. Thankfully, he knows that the Lord has heard [his] appeal for mercy and accepted [his] prayer and exhorts his enemies to accept this truth, too.

For you and for me, the confidence with which David moves through times of trouble is something that we can all have. We know that God is working through whatever circumstances we are experiencing now, both good and bad, for his glory and our good (Romans 8.28). Yes, to the Romans Paul is writing about sanctification and not comfort in trials, but the truth is the same as David is espousing: God is always there, always working, and always willing to hear and help those He knows and loves.

The next time you feel as David did in vv.1-7, remember the truth of v.9 and take comfort:

“The LORD has heard my appeal for mercy; 

the LORD has accepted my prayer.”