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READ: Psalm 6

I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. —Psalm 6:6

On a November day in 1963, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote a song quite unlike the band’s typically upbeat tunes. It was a mournful song about love that’s been lost. Mike said later, “As hard as that kind of loss is, the one good that comes from it is having had the experience of being in love in the first place.” They titled it “The Warmth of the Sun.”

Sorrow serving as a catalyst for songwriting is nothing new. Some of David’s most moving psalms were penned in times of deep personal loss, including Psalm 6. Though we aren’t told the events that prompted its writing, the lyrics are filled with grief, “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim, I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away because of grief” (vv.6-7).

But that’s not where the song ends. David knew pain and loss, but he also knew God’s comfort. And so he wrote, “The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer” (v.9).

In his grief, David not only found a song, he also found reason to trust God, whose faithfulness bridges all of life’s hard seasons. In the warmth of His presence, our sorrows gain a hopeful perspective. —Bill Crowder

Heavenly Father, life can be so wonderful, but also so
hard. Help us to seek You in the good times as well as
the bad. Help us to always be mindful that You are our
sure hope in a world that doesn’t always seem to care.

A song of sadness can turn our hearts to the God whose joy for us is forever.

Insight

This individual lament, a prayer of penitence, was written by David during a time of prolonged and severe distress (Ps. 6:2-3,5). His plight emboldened his enemies to launch a personal attack and to gloat over his misfortune (vv.7-8,10). David acknowledged that his trouble was a consequence of specific wrongdoings committed, and that God was angry and was disciplining him (v.1). Anguished by his lack of intimacy with God and exhausted by his sorrowing over his sins, in repentance David, on the basis of God’s mercies (vv.2,4), asked for forgiveness, favor, and restoration. David concluded his prayer with the assurance that those who truly repent will receive God’s mercy (vv.9-10).