Observation: Psalm 6 is a song of lament, which is very common, in which the writer asks God's help in a difficult time. An interesting feature of this particular Psalm is the argument that God should save the psalmist "for the sake of your steadfast love," or in other words, so that God's reputation as kind and merciful may be kept intact. Also, the psalm shares a fairly common Old Testament view of the afterlife: that there isn't much to it. "In Sheol [the abode of the dead] who can give you praise?"
Application: Noone knows for sure what happens to us after we die. Every religious tradition has at least one take on it, and truth be told, the Christian tradition, based on the Bible, has several. Different believers put it together in different ways. But this we agree on: our time in this life is very limited. My Father-in-law just reminded me of a saying of Laura's grandfather, that "In this life you get three-score and ten, and the rest is extra." By that measure, I'm over halfway there.
I remember a song by Weird Al Yankovic, of all people, called "I'll be Mellow When I'm Dead." It's a goofy song, as you'd expect, but there's a wisdom to it, too: if you feel passionate about something, and particularly an issue of right and wrong, as the psalmist faces, there may not be time to be laid-back about it. God promises us times of rest, even in this life. But we'd better also put each day to use. We can be mellow when we're dead. :)
Prayer: Lord, teach us to value each day, and seize the opportunities you give us to do the right thing. Amen.
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