Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger
The psalm opens with its musical heading and an urgent plea that the LORD not rebuke or chasten in anger. David asks for mercy because he is frail to the bone and deeply shaken in soul, so the prayer begins with weakness laid bare before God.
F1or the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. 2Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; 3My soul is deeply distressed.
David asks the LORD to turn toward him, deliver him, and save him for the sake of steadfast love. He reasons from the silence of death itself, insisting that if he is lost to the grave he cannot continue publicly remembering and praising God.
4Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; 5For there is no mention of You in death;
The lament sinks into bodily imagery as David says his groaning has exhausted him and his bed is soaked with tears night after night. His eyes waste away under grief and grow dim because of all his adversaries.
6I am weary from groaning; 7My eyes fail from grief;
Without softening the reality of the conflict, the psalm suddenly turns: David tells the workers of evil to depart because the LORD has heard the sound of his weeping and accepted his prayer. The enemies who once loomed over the lament are now destined for shame and dismay because God has answered.
8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, 9The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; 10All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;