“Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing” (Psalm 6:2 ESV).
David knows that he has sinned against God and doesn’t deserve any help, but he cries out for grace - forgiveness and kindness to those who have offended against the Lord.
He says he is “languishing.” This word describes “a state of exhaustion or extremity.” The New King James Version renders it as “weak.” It generally refers to the condition of God’s people when they are being rebuked by him for sin.
To begin with, David is sick, so much so that his “bones are troubled” (3). This is not a temporary illness, but a sickness that goes bone deep, perhaps even unto death (5).
More than that, his “soul also is greatly troubled” (6). In other words, he suffers from depression, perhaps for several reasons. Insomnia robs him of sleep night after night and has left him exhausted from his groaning and sobbing, so much so that his “eye wastes away because of grief” (8).
As if his sickness and sorrow were not enough, David is surrounded with enemies. Beginning with King Saul, evil men sought to do him harm.
Most of us feel this way at some time in our life. Perhaps you do now. If so, it is good to remember that like all the psalms, this one points to Jesus, especially in his last days and acutely on the cross. Our Lord knows. He can “sympathize with our weaknesses,” because he was tempted like us in every way, though without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).