To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David
1. O Yahweh, in your anger do not rebuke me,
And in your rage do not chasten me.
2. Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, for weak am I.
Heal me, O Yahweh, for my bones are dismayed.
3. My soul also is greatly dismayed,
And you, O Yahweh, how long?
4. Return, O Yahweh, deliver my soul.
Save me for the sake of your lovingkindness.
5. For there is in death no remembrance of you.
In sheol who will give thanks to you?
6. I grow weary in my groaning.
I cause my bed to swim all night.
With my tears my couch I dissolve.
7. My eye is consumed with grief.
It grows old because of all my adversaries.
8. Turn aside from me, all workers of iniquity,
For Yahweh hears the sound of my weeping.
9. Yahweh hears my supplication.
Yahweh my prayer will receive.
10. Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly dismayed.
Let them return. Let them be ashamed suddenly.
Notes
The name Yahweh appears eight times in ten verses. David’s focus is intense and urgent. He needs help quickly.
In verse 4 David prays that the Lord will return to him. In verse 10 he prays that his enemies may return to where they came from, leaving him in peace.
In verses 2 and 3 David describes the dismay of his bones and of his soul. In verse 10 he prays that this same dismay may be the lot of his enemies.
Sheol is a term for the grave, but it has strong negative connotations. It is the place of the dissolution of the body under the wrath of God and the gateway to hell, and only those whose life here has become a misery to them (like Job) want to go there. This psalm and many others seek deliverance from it.
Christology
We see Christ enduring the persecution of his enemies and the rage of the Lord against our sins, dismayed and weeping – “O God, why have you forsaken me?” But we also see him confident that the Lord has heard his prayers and will put all his enemies to shame by frustrating their evil counsels against him.