Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. (Psalm 6:1-2)
Though written by David to express his feelings in times of distress, it is applicable to us all. There is no one who, at one time or another, hasn’t felt the angst of knowing we have displeased the Almighty in some way and the sting of His rebuke. At the same time, we know that the Lord chastens those He loves, as it is written: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:11-12). Still, when this occurs, it isn’t a pleasant experience and can leave one feeling despondent; perhaps that is what prompted David to plead, “Do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.”
However, one would think that David would understand the necessity of reproof especially seeing that David was beloved of the LORD; that is, in fact, what the name David means — beloved. Our Jewish friends have an idea about David’s comments that I find interesting, and that is, David wasn’t asking God to withhold correction; he was asking God to restrain from correcting him while He was angry. The Hebrew word translated here as “hot displeasure” actually means “rage.” So, David fully expected chastening but desired that it be in a time when God’s anger had subsided, not when He was enraged. The prophet Jeremiah also prayed in this manner saying, “O Lord, correct me, but with justice; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing” (Jeremiah 10:24).
All of us should expect correction when it is needed, whether it is from an earthly parent, a supervisor or civil authority. But we would hope that the correction to be meted out would be tempered with mercy. No one wants to be on the receiving end of someone’s enraged anger and especially if that person has power and authority to make our lives uncomfortable. How much more frightening is the prospect of an angry God dispensing His judgment while enraged? When the early American preacher, Jonathan Edwards, expounded upon this in his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, it is said the Great Awakening was born — in other words, it is a fearsome thought.
Thankfully, God is just, slow to wrath and quick to forgive. Furthermore, Paul says that we, as His people, are not appointed to wrath but to “obtain salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Obviously that doesn’t mean we should tempt the LORD with wicked pursuits; it means that we can trust in His mercy and compassion even as He dispenses correction and reproof because He knows we are weak. As the writer of Hebrews put it, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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