When Tears Won’t Stop: Finding Mercy in the Depths (Psalm 6)

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Episode Title: When Tears Won’t Stop: Finding Mercy in the Depths of Psalm 6

Episode Summary

Psalm 6 is a lifeline for the crushed, the grieving, the guilt-ridden, and the spiritually weary. In this episode of Counseling Through the Psalms, James Long, Jr. guides us through one of the most raw and vulnerable passages in the Psalter. We hear the groans of a broken soul and learn how honest lament can become the doorway to mercy.

David’s prayer teaches us that God’s love does not wait until we are clean or composed. It meets us in the flood of tears. Whether you are battling depression, chronic pain, spiritual despair, or unresolved grief, Psalm 6 will lead you into hope—not by avoiding sorrow, but by facing it in the presence of God.

Key Takeaways

• God’s mercy is not delayed by our sin or our sorrow; it is steadfast and available.
• Lament is a form of worship. Honest cries of anguish are welcomed by God.
• Prayer is not based on how we feel but on who God is.
• Spiritual depression and emotional exhaustion are not signs of faithlessness.
• God's love can restore confidence even when circumstances remain the same.

Scripture Focus

• Psalm 6:1–10
• Romans 5:8
• Psalm 121:4
• 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Reflect and Respond

• When was the last time you wept before the Lord? What kept you from turning to Him?
• Do you believe God's mercy is available even when you feel unworthy?
• What lies arise in your heart when sorrow makes God seem distant or silent?
• How does appealing to God's steadfast love change how you pray in pain?
• Are you allowing space for lament in your spiritual walk—or rushing past it?
• Who in your life needs a companion in sorrow—and how can Psalm 6 help you walk with them?

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ABOUT JAMES AND LESSONS FOR LIFE

Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles. Learn the power of living by God’s grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are in search of freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Counseling Through the Psalms with James
Long Jr, a special series fromLessons for Life.
I'm James, and in each episodewe will journey into the rich,
honest and healing language ofthe Psalms to find hope, clarity
and comfort for life's deepeststruggles.
Whether you're wrestling withanxiety, grief, anger or

(00:21):
spiritual dryness, the Psalmsoffer us a path towards
restoration and peace throughGod's Word.
So, wherever you are right now,take a deep breath and let's
enter into the heart ofScripture together.
Welcome back, it's James.
Turn to Psalm 6.
If you have a copy of yourScriptures and I always
encourage you to have a journalwith a pen or pencil available

(00:44):
so that we can work through thispsalm We've entitled this when
Tears Won't Stop Finding Mercyin the Depth of Psalm 6.
Now, psalm 6 is a raw, honestcry of the soul overwhelmed by
grief, guilt and fear.
Now, in this psalm, davidteaches us how to turn our

(01:05):
deepest anguish into a prayerfor mercy, reminding us that
God's love will meet us evenwhen we are undone Crying out
from the depths.
There are moments in life whenthe heart feels crushed beneath
sorrow and the soul isunraveling under the weight of
suffering.
Psalm 6 gives voice to thatexperience.

(01:27):
This is not a psalm of praise,it's a psalm of pleading.
Verse 1 says this O Lord,rebuke me not in your anger, nor
discipline me in your wrath.
David is not merely struggling,he is undone.
He feels the heavy hand of God,perhaps because of personal sin
, and he doesn't know how muchlonger he can bear it.

(01:50):
Many people wrestle silentlywith this kind of despair,
depression, chronic illness,spiritual shame, unresolved
grief.
These realities do not fitneatly into the categories of
modern self-help.
But Psalm 6 refuses to sanitizepain.
It meets us in the mess notwith platitudes, but with prayer

(02:12):
.
David's cry is more thancircumstantial.
His whole being is affected.
Watch what it says in verse 2.
Be gracious to me, o Lord, forI am languishing.
Heal me, o Lord, for I amlanguishing.
Heal me, o Lord, for my bonesare troubled.
The Hebrew word here forlanguishing means withering,
wasting away.
His physical frame is shaking,but more than his body, his soul

(02:36):
is in anguish.
Watch what it says in verse 3.
My soul also is greatlytroubled, but you, o Lord?
How long?
That's the question.
How long?
It's not just a cry offrustration, it's the language
of lament.
It reveals a soul that knowsGod can act but struggles with
the silence.

(02:57):
This is what spiritualdepression often feels like
Disorientation, inner tremblingand the haunting delay of divine
relief.
But even here Psalm 6 becomes acompanion.
It doesn't explain sufferingaway, it guides us through it
when you feel forgotten by grace.

(03:18):
The heart of the psalm lies inverses 4-5, where David makes
his urgent plea Turn O Lord,deliver my life, save me for the
sake of your steadfast love.
Notice the basis of his hope.
David does not appeal to hisworthiness or his record or his
suffering.
He appeals to chesed We'vetalked about this before God's

(03:41):
steadfast love.
This is covenantal love, notconditional kindness.
It's the same love that carriedIsrael through the wilderness
and holds every believer throughthe night.
Now, in counseling, this verseis a powerful reorientation.
We often default to self-blameor to shame when life falls

(04:01):
apart.
We think if I were morefaithful, if I prayed more, if I
were stronger.
But David shows us that the wayforward is not through
self-justification but throughgrace.
He doesn't demand deliverancebecause he is good.
He begs for it because God iswhat, merciful and faithful.

(04:22):
Then comes the startlingstatement For in death, there is
no remembrance of you In Sheolwho will give you praise Verse 5
.
David is not giving a theologyof the afterlife.
Here he's expressing the agonyof feeling cut off from the
presence of God.
In his cultural context, deathrepresented the final separation

(04:43):
.
What David is saying is this ifI die in this despair, how will
I praise you again?
It is not a threat.
It's a desperate cry to berestored, to worship.
A flood of tears, a flickeringhope.
The emotional low point of thepsalm comes in verses 6 and 7.
I am weary with my moaning.

(05:06):
Every night I flood my bed withtears.
I drench my couch with myweeping.
My eyes waste away because ofgrief.
It grows weak because of all myfoes.
Now, this is not metaphor.
David is describing actualphysical exhaustion from
emotional turmoil.
His nights are soaked withtears.

(05:26):
His vision is blurred by sorrow.
Grief has worn him down to thebone and his enemies remain.
This section is one of the mosthonest depictions of depression
and sorrow in all of Scripture.
It validates the experience ofthose who feel emotionally numb,
physically depleted andspiritually hollow of those who
feel emotionally numb,physically depleted and

(05:46):
spiritually hollow.
Now, in the counseling room,these verses become a mirror for
clients who feel ashamed oftheir tears.
David shows us that you can bea person of faith and still feel
broken.
But the psalm doesn't end there.
A shift takes place in verse 8.
Depart from me all you workersof evil, for the Lord has heard
the sound of my weeping.
What changed Once again?

(06:07):
Not his circumstances, but hisconfidence.
David's plea turns into adeclaration the Lord has heard
my plea.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
Verse 9.
This is the moment ofsoul-stabilizing truth.
The tears were not wasted.
The weeping was not ignored.
The Lord heard.
And because he heard, davidknows that evil will not have

(06:30):
the final word.
Mercy for the weary, strengthfor the broken.
The psalm closes with anunexpected note of victory Verse
10,.
All my enemies shall be ashamedand greatly troubled.
They shall turn back and be putto shame.
The one who began the psalmgreatly troubled, in verse 3, is
now secure.

(06:51):
The enemies who seemed powerfulwill themselves be undone.
Not because David got stronger,but because God never stopped
listening.
For the person navigatingspiritual discouragement, grief
or guilt, psalm 6 is a lifeline.
It offers a path through thedarkness, not by minimizing pain

(07:12):
, but by magnifying the mercy ofGod.
His love does not wait until weare cleaned up.
It meets us in a flood of tearsand it draws us to solid ground
.
Here's the doctrinal insightsthat we learn from this psalm
God's mercy.
He is not quick to anger butabounds in steadfast love to his

(07:32):
children, even when they arebroken by sin or sorrow.
Lament as worship.
Honest prayer is not weaknessbut a faithful response to
suffering.
God welcomes our groaning,justification by grace alone.
David does not plead hisworthiness, but appeals to God's
steadfast love as the basis forhis help and God's nearness.

(07:57):
Even when God feels distant, hehears.
Prayer does not depend on howwe feel, but on who God is.
So now let's take all of thattheology and let's make it
practical.
Psalm 6 offers critical insightsfor pastoral care, counseling
and personal soul care For thedepressed.

(08:18):
It shows us that spiritualmaturity includes seasons of
anguish.
Depression is not faithlessness.
It's a place where faith mustbe cried For the grieving.
It offers language for lamentand a promise that God hears
every tear.
For those who are wrestlingwith guilt, it reminds us that
God's mercy is greater than ourfailures.

(08:39):
Wrestling with guilt.
It reminds us that God's mercyis greater than our failures.
For caregivers, it teaches usto guide others towards honest
prayer, not quick fixes.
And for the church, it modelshow to minister to the hurting
with compassion and theologicaldepth, creating space for lament
in worship and discipleship.

(09:00):
Now, once again, you have yourjournals.
Consider working through someof these reflect and respond
questions.
I'll give you six of them here.
Question number one when wasthe last time you wept before
the Lord?
What kept you from turning tohim?
Question number two do youbelieve God's mercy is still
available to you even when youfeel unworthy?

(09:23):
Question number three what liesdo you need to confront when
sorrow makes God seem silent orfar?
Question number four how doesappealing to God's steadfast
love reshape the way you pray inpain?
Appealing to God's steadfastlove reshape the way you pray in

(09:43):
pain.
Question number five are youallowing lament to have a place
in your faith journey or are youtrying to move on too quickly?
Question number six how canPsalm 6 equip you to walk with
someone who is drowning insorrow?
Well, let's pray.
Merciful Father, you hear thegroans that I cannot articulate.

(10:05):
You see the tears I shed in thenight.
Thank you for your mercy.
That does not depend on mystrength and your presence is
not absence when I feel forsaken.
Meet me in my weariness, healwhat is broken, forgive what is
sinful and steady my soul byyour steadfast love.
Teach me to wait with hope andto trust that you will hear me,

(10:29):
even when I cannot see you.
In Jesus' name, the one who weptand now reigns, we pray Amen.
So here's the call to action Ifyour soul feels crushed and
your strength is gone, do notgive up.
Psalm 6 shows us that God'smercy meets us in the depth, not

(10:49):
just to comfort us, but tocarry us forward.
If you'd love to learn moreabout us, I would encourage you
to join our free navigatorslevel of Lessons for Life
community atcommunityjameslongjrorg for
devotionals, meetups andtraining that will help you walk
by faith, or explore one of ourfull memberships at

(11:13):
jameslongjrorg slash.
Sign up now for deeper coachingand content designed to help
you grow emotionally,relationally and spiritually.
Let your tears become prayers.
God hears them all.
Till next time, be blessed.