Soul Trouble

The Psalms are a school for the soul, teaching us not only how to praise God when life is good, but how to pray when life is falling apart. In Psalm 6, David gives voice to the anguish of a deeply troubled soul—burdened by suffering, surrounded by enemies, and painfully aware of his own sin.

Rather than hiding his grief or shifting the blame, David brings his tears honestly before God. He becomes honest about his sorrow, humble about his helplessness, and hopeful in the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 6 reminds us that biblical happiness is not the absence of pain, but a life rooted deeply enough in God to survive it.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "Soul trouble is the heart of trouble." Despite advances in neuroscience, you cannot take an MRI of the soul. And its healing requires not medical treatment, but spiritual intervention. By the end of the Psalm, David’s circumstances may not yet have changed, but his confidence has. How? Only through the one who said "Now my soul is troubled" (John 12:27) on our behalf.