LORD, Don't Rebuke Me

LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger,neither discipline me in your wrath.

O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

The psalm opens by asking God not to act in anger. It does not ask to escape correction altogether, only that rebuke and discipline not come from wrath. That request sets the tone for everything that follows.

Also read Isaiah 54:9, Psalm 38:1, Jeremiah 46:28, 1 Corinthians 11:31-32

Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint.LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

The request is for mercy and healing, and the reason given is weakness, not merit. Faint and troubled bones point to something felt in the body, not only in the mind.

Also read Exodus 15:26, Hosea 6:1, Psalm 51:8, Numbers 12:13

My soul is also in great anguish.But you, LORD— how long?

My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?

The anguish moves from the bones to the soul. The verse then breaks off with a question that is never finished: how long. The psalm leaves it hanging.

Also read Psalm 42:5, Matthew 26:38, Psalm 90:13, John 12:27

Return, LORD. Deliver my soul,and save me for your loving kindness’ sake.

Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.

Return suggests the speaker feels God has turned away. The appeal rests on God's loving kindness rather than on anything the speaker has done.

Also read Psalm 79:8-9, Psalm 80:14, Psalm 116:8, Psalm 90:13

For in death there is no memory of you.In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?

For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

This verse gives God a reason to act: the dead do not remember him or thank him. In Sheol, the psalm says, nobody gives thanks, so rescue would mean more praise, not less.

Also read Psalm 115:17, Psalm 88:10-12, Ecclesiastes 9:10, John 9:4

I am weary with my groaning.Every night I flood my bed.I drench my couch with my tears.

I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

The most vivid lines in the psalm describe weeping every night until the bed and couch are drenched. Weary with my groaning is a plain description of exhaustion from grief.

Also read Lamentations 1:16, Lamentations 1:2, Psalm 39:12, Psalm 77:2-9

My eye wastes away because of grief.It grows old because of all my adversaries.

Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.

Grief is said to waste the eye and make it grow old. The cause is named for the first time as adversaries, so the suffering has a human side as well as a physical one.

Also read Psalm 32:3, Job 17:7, Lamentations 5:17, Psalm 88:9

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.

The psalm turns here without warning. The speaker orders the workers of iniquity to leave, because the LORD has heard the voice of the weeping. The tears of verse 6 are now treated as a prayer that got through.

Also read Luke 13:27, Psalm 119:115, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 7:23

The LORD has heard my supplication.The LORD accepts my prayer.

The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.

The same assurance is repeated twice more: the LORD has heard the supplication and accepts the prayer. Nothing in the circumstances is said to have changed yet. The confidence rests on being heard.

Also read Psalm 40:1-2, Psalm 31:22, Psalm 3:4, Psalm 120:1

May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed.They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly.

Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

The last verse turns to the enemies. They will be ashamed, dismayed and turned back, and it will happen suddenly. The psalm ends with the shame moved from the speaker to those who troubled them.

Also read Psalm 7:6, Psalm 21:8-9, Psalm 5:10, Psalm 71:24