My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?
What does Psalms 6:3 mean?
These verses speak the language of a heart truly humbled, of a broken and contrite spirit under great afflictions, sent to awaken conscience and mortify corruption.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Psalms 6:3
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? My soul is also sore vexed - The word "soul" here is used in the sense in which it is commonly with us, as denoting the mind. The idea is, that his sorrows were not merely those of the bodily frame. They had a deeper seat than even the bones. His mind, his soul, was full of anguish also, in view of the circumstances which surrounded him, and which had brought on these bodily afflictions. But thou, O Lord - This is a broken sentence, as if he had commenced an address to God, but did not complete it.
Key words
- soul
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soul. The idea is, that his sorrows were not merely those of the bodily frame.
- vexed
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My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? My soul is also sore vexed - The word "soul" here is used in the sense in which it is commonly with us, as denoting the mind.
Context in Psalms 6
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Psalms 6 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book I. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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