◄ Psalm 6:4 ►
Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion.
Study Bible
Turn, O LORD,
This phrase is a plea for God’s attention and intervention. The psalmist is asking for a change in God's disposition towards him, indicating a sense of urgency and desperation. In the Hebrew context, "turn" often implies repentance or a change of direction, suggesting the psalmist's desire for God to redirect His focus and favor upon him. This reflects the covenant relationship between God and His people, where God’s presence and attention are crucial for their well-being.

and deliver my soul;
The request for deliverance of the soul indicates a deep, existential need for salvation and rescue. In the Old Testament, the soul (nephesh) often refers to the whole being, not just the spiritual aspect. The psalmist is seeking comprehensive salvation from distress, which could be physical, emotional, or spiritual. This plea echoes the broader biblical theme of God as a deliverer, as seen in the Exodus narrative and throughout the Psalms.

save me because of Your loving devotion.
The basis for the psalmist's request is God's "loving devotion," often translated as "steadfast love" or "mercy" (chesed in Hebrew). This term is central to the understanding of God’s character in the Old Testament, emphasizing His covenantal faithfulness and kindness. The appeal to God's loving devotion underscores the psalmist's reliance on God's unchanging nature rather than his own merit. This reflects the broader biblical narrative of salvation by grace, prefiguring the New Testament revelation of salvation through Jesus Christ, who embodies God's ultimate act of loving devotion.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The author of the psalm, traditionally believed to be King David, who often wrote psalms during times of distress and seeking God's intervention.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal presence and faithfulness to His people.

3. Deliverance
The act of being rescued or saved, which is a central theme in this psalm as David seeks God's intervention.

4. Loving Devotion (Chesed)
A key Hebrew term that refers to God's steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness, which is the basis for David's plea for salvation.
Teaching Points
Understanding God's Character
Recognize that God's loving devotion (chesed) is central to His nature and is the foundation for our hope and salvation.

The Importance of Repentance
Like David, we should approach God with a heart of repentance, acknowledging our need for His mercy and deliverance.

Trust in God's Deliverance
In times of distress, we can trust in God's ability and willingness to deliver us, just as He did for David.

Prayer as a Means of Seeking God
Use prayer as a way to express our dependence on God and to seek His intervention in our lives.

God's Faithfulness Across Time
Reflect on how God's faithfulness in the past assures us of His continued presence and help in our current circumstances.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the meaning of "chesed" (loving devotion) deepen our appreciation of God's character in Psalm 6:4?

2. In what ways can we relate David's plea for deliverance to our own personal struggles today?

3. How does the theme of repentance in Psalm 6:4 connect with other scriptures that emphasize the importance of turning back to God?

4. What are some practical ways we can remind ourselves of God's faithfulness and loving devotion in our daily lives?

5. How can the assurance of God's deliverance in Psalm 6:4 encourage us to trust Him more fully in difficult situations?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 51
Another psalm of David where he seeks God's mercy and forgiveness, highlighting the theme of repentance and God's loving devotion.

Exodus 34:6-7
Describes God's character as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, which underpins David's appeal in Psalm 6:4.

Lamentations 3:22-23
Speaks of God's mercies being new every morning, reinforcing the idea of God's unfailing love and faithfulness.

2 Samuel 22:2-3
David praises God as his rock and deliverer, showing his reliance on God's protection and salvation.

Romans 5:8
Demonstrates God's love through Christ's sacrifice, connecting the Old Testament understanding of God's loving devotion to the New Testament revelation of Jesus.
Sermons
A Postulatory PrayerJohn Donne.Psalm 6:4
For the Sake of MercySir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:4
The Obscured Presence of GodA. Symson.Psalm 6:4
A Cry to God, and its ResponseW. Forsyth Psalm 6:1-10
A Revengeful God the Creation of a Guilty ConscienceHomilistPsalm 6:1-10
A Song of SorrowA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 6:1-10
Angerless Reproof Often Quite EffectiveLife of Bishop John Selwyn.Psalm 6:1-10
Angry Chastening DeprecatedSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:1-10
Deliverance from Sore TroubleC. Short Psalm 6:1-10
God's Anger Against SinA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
God's Anger TerriblePsalm 6:1-10
Great Afflictions, Greater ConsolationW. Forsyth Psalm 6:1-10
Night and Morning in the SoulW. Forsyth Psalm 6:1-10
Rebuke Combined with AngerSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:1-10
Rebuke NeededSir Richard Baker.Psalm 6:1-10
The Anger of God as Pure as His MercyA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
The Cry of the PenitentWilliam Nicholson, D. D.Psalm 6:1-10
The Difference Between a Cross and a CurseA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
The Moan of a Saint, and the Mercy of His GodC. Clemance Psalm 6:1-10
The Penitent SuppliantJohn Donne.Psalm 6:1-10
The Prayer of the a Afflicted SoulA. Symson.Psalm 6:1-10
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Deliver, Draw, Free, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercies, Mercy, Mercy's, O, Oh, Rescue, Return, Sake, Salvation, Save, Soul, Steadfast, Turn, Unfailing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 6:4

     8296   love, nature of

Psalm 6:1-7

     5831   depression

Psalm 6:2-4

     1055   God, grace and mercy
     8724   doubt, dealing with

Psalm 6:2-6

     5933   restlessness

Library
The Life of Mr. James Renwick.
Mr. James Renwick was born in the parish of Glencairn in Nithsdale, Feb. 15, 1662. His parents though not rich, yet were exemplary for piety. His father Andrew Renwick (a weaver to trade) and his mother Elizabeth Corsan, had several children before Mr. James, who died young; for which when his mother was pouring forth her motherly grief, her husband used to comfort her with declaring, that he was well satisfied to have children, whether they lived or died, young or old, providing they might be heirs …
John Howie—Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies)

Weep Not.
"Weine nicht!" "The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping."--Psalm 6:8. [3]B. Schmolk transl., Sarah Findlater, 1854 Weep not--Jesus lives on high, O sad and wearied one! If thou with the burden sigh, Of grief thou canst not shun, Trust Him still, Soon there will Roses in the thicket stand, Goshen smile in Egypt's land. Weep not--Jesus thinks of thee When all beside forget, And on thee so lovingly His faithfulness has set, That though all Ruin'd fall, Every thing on earth be shaken, Thou wilt …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

Pleading for Mercy. Ps 6
 …
John Newton—Olney Hymns

"O Save Me for Thy Mercies' Sake. " --Ps. vi. 4
"O save me for thy mercies' sake."--Ps. vi. 4. Mercy alone can meet my case; For mercy, Lord, I cry;-- Jesus! Redeemer! show thy face In mercy, or I die. Save me, for none beside can save; At thy command I tread, With failing step, life's stormy wave; The wave goes o'er my head. I perish, and my doom were just; But wilt thou leave me? No: I hold Thee fast, my hope, my trust, I will not let Thee go. Still sure to me Thy promise stands, And ever must abide; Behold it written on Thy hands, And graven …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Letters of St. Bernard
I To Malachy. 1141.[924] (Epistle 341.) To the venerable lord and most blessed father, Malachy, by the grace of God archbishop of the Irish, legate of the Apostolic See, Brother Bernard called to be abbot of Clairvaux, [desiring] to find grace with the Lord. 1. Amid the manifold anxieties and cares of my heart,[925] by the multitude of which my soul is sore vexed,[926] the brothers coming from a far country[927] that they may serve the Lord,[928] thy letter, and thy staff, they comfort …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

The Tears of the Penitent.
Adversity had taught David self-restraint, had braced his soul, had driven him to grasp firmly the hand of God. And prosperity had seemed for nearly twenty years but to perfect the lessons. Gratitude had followed deliverance, and the sunshine after the rain had brought out the fragrance of devotion and the blossoms of glad songs. A good man, and still more a man of David's age at the date of his great crime, seldom falls so low, unless there has been previous, perhaps unconscious, relaxation of the …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

If Then to Sin, that Others May not Commit a Worse Sin...
21. If then to sin, that others may not commit a worse sin, either against us or against any, without doubt we ought not; it is to be considered in that which Lot did, whether it be an example which we ought to imitate, or rather one which we ought to avoid. For it seems meet to be more looked into and noted, that, when so horrible an evil from the most flagitious impiety of the Sodomites was impending over his guests, which he wished to ward off and was not able, to such a degree may even that just …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in even unto my soul: I am come into deep waters; so that the floods run over me.--Ps. lxix. 1, 2. I am brought into so great trouble and misery: that I go mourning all the day long.--Ps. xxxviii. 6. The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: Oh! bring Thou me out of my distress.--Ps. xxv. 17. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping: the Lord will receive my prayer.--Ps. vi. 8. In the multitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Epistle xxxix. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). But what can be good news to me, so far as concerns the behoof of holy Church, but to hear of the health and safety of your to me most sweet Holiness, who, from your perception of the light of truth, both illuminate the same Church with the word of preaching, and mould it to a better way by the example of your manners? As often, too, as I recall in …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle xv. To George, Presbyter.
To George, Presbyter. Gregory to George, Presbyter, and to Theodore, deacon, of the Church of Constantinople. Mindful of your goodness and charity, I greatly blame myself, that I gave you leave to return so soon: but, since I saw you pressing me importunately once and again for leave to go, I considered that it might be a serious matter for your Love to tarry with us longer. But, after I had learnt that you had lingered so long on your journey owing to the winter season, I confess that I was sorry …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle Xlvi. To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem .
To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem [159] . Gregory to Isacius, &c. In keeping with the truth of history, what means the fact that at the time of the flood the human race outside the ark dies, but within the ark is preserved unto life, but what we see plainly now, namely that all the unfaithful perish under the wave of their sin, while the unity of holy Church, like the compactness of the ark, keeps her faithful ones in faith and in charity? And this ark in truth is compacted of incorruptible timber, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Rules to be Observed in Singing of Psalms.
1. Beware of singing divine psalms for an ordinary recreation, as do men of impure spirits, who sing holy psalms intermingled with profane ballads: They are God's word: take them not in thy mouth in vain. 2. Remember to sing David's psalms with David's spirit (Matt. xxii. 43.) 3. Practise St. Paul's rule--"I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the understanding also." (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) 4. As you sing uncover your heads (1 Cor. xi. 4), and behave yourselves in comely reverence as in the …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Epistle Lxiv. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [174] . Here begins the epistle of the blessed Gregory pope of the city of Rome, in exposition of various matters, which he sent into transmarine Saxony to Augustine, whom he had himself sent in his own stead to preach. Preface.--Through my most beloved son Laurentius, the presbyter, and Peter the monk, I received thy Fraternity's letter, in which thou hast been at pains to question me on many points. But, inasmuch as my aforesaid sons found me afflicted with the …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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