Psalms 6
AOSNPsalms 6:1-10
The occasion for this lament might have been sickness or a mental or spiritual depression from which the psalmist sought healing.
Psalms 6:1-3
The psalmist asks for God’s favor and restoration at a difficult time.
Psalms 6:1
do not rebuke me … or discipline me: The psalmist does not clearly connect God's discipline with sin here (compare Psalm 39:8–11), but it might be implied.
Psalms 6:2-3
The psalmist became physically weak while waiting for God's answer to his prayer (Psalm 6:6; see 77:3; 119:81; 142:1–3; see also Psalm 101). Fasting (abstaining from eating food) might have contributed to his suffering, but it is not mentioned.
Psalms 6:4-5
The experience was so painful that the psalmist might as well have been dead, or perhaps he feared for his life.
Psalms 6:5
from Sheol?: In the Old Testament, Sheol is the place of the dead. It is not necessarily associated with punishment.
Psalms 6:6-7
The psalmist feels deeply exhausted due to his spiritual distance from the Lord (Psalms 22:1; 31:9–10; 102:5).
When eyes grow dim, it means the body is failing (see Psalms 13:3; 31:9; 38:10; Matthew 6:22).
Psalms 6:8-10
In a closing note of triumph, the psalmist reasserts his confidence in the Lord.
Aquifer Open Study Notes © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.