Growing in Faith in the PsalmsSample

Psalm 6: Two Words

“Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”

Psalm 6:4 NIV

The unfailing love of God has no comparison. To experience God’s unfailing love is to experience His very nature. His unfailing love is a heavenly, divine, grace-filled love that delivers and saves. It is a love that responds and rescues, especially in moments of heartache and failure. These two words are redemptive words. It would be difficult to find two words that could be paired together that could be as profound in meaning as the pairing of these two words. They have the capacity to change the condition of one’s soul, a person’s perspective, and the outcome of a situation.

David is the author of this Psalm. He is in desperate need of God’s unfailing love. He wrote this Psalm as a song played with stringed instruments, likely creating a melancholy and sober melody. We are not sure what event in his life prompted him to write this Psalm, for there were many moments he was in need of God’s unfailing love. What we do know is that this is a song of self-awareness, repentance, confession, and faith.

Let’s consider these two words for a moment. The unfailing love of God is mentioned nearly thirty times in the entire book of Psalms. David mentions God’s unfailing love more than any other Psalmist. The experience of God’s unfailing love was a staple in David’s spiritual journey.

The Hebrew word for unfailing contains the concepts of loyalty, faithfulness, goodness, graciousness, and godly action. The Hebrew word for love includes the concepts of loving kindness, faithfulness, mercy, goodness, and grace. It moves Him into action to support and care for those He calls His children.

The beauty of God’s unfailing love is that it is best experienced when we are at our worst. It does not fail even when we do. Even when we are unloving, He remains loving. When we are unfaithful in our devotion to Him, He remains devoted to us. When others fail us, He will never do so. The very nature of His love and sovereignty compels Him to love us when we think of ourselves as unloving.

This Psalm, while a song, is also David’s prayer. It is deeply personal and sincere. It is not pious or practiced. The Psalmist is baring his soul in verses one to seven. He is honest and transparent about his thoughts, failures, and heartache before the Lord. He allows himself to be human while never forgetting he has a covenant relationship with the Lord that transcends his humanity. While he is sickened by his current situation, He remembers God loves him despite any sinful choices he may have made. It is an honest example of how we should live in the tension of our humanity and faith. In his humanity, he turns to the Lord. He could have wallowed in pity, guilt, and isolation. He could have “acted out” in many ways to numb his pain. He did not. He turned to the only One who could cleanse his soul and conscience. He turned to the One who could help him, heal him, and restore his soul and body to a healthy place.

He wrote in verse three, “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?” (Psalm 2:3 NIV). In this context, the Hebrew word for anguish is very concerning. The meaning contains the ideas of being horrified, out of one’s senses, or terrified. David knew that the successes he had experienced in his life were because God had blessed him. In this moment, he felt the risk of losing God’s favor and blessing. He was terrified to the point of being in agony and anguish. David was clearly concerned that the Lord was punishing him for a sin he had committed. But he does not clearly state that the agony and anguish he was experiencing were due to something specific. In verses eight through ten, he mentions that his enemies were confronting him. Maybe his agony and anguish were due to the unfairness of how others were treating him.

In the end, understanding the “why” of what has caused our hardship is not as important as how we respond to it. David turned to the Lord because he knew the Lord knew. He knew the Lord could save and deliver him. So, he poured out his heart to the Lord and put his faith in God’s unfailing love for him.

The antidote to any kind of agony and anguish is the unfailing love of God. In the midst of either, or both, and especially when we do not understand why we are in the condition we are in, we must remember to turn to the Lord and ask Him to do what only He can do. We must choose to engage our faith even in our weakest state. In doing so, He who is in us will rise within us and be who He says He is—our Lord and Savior.