psalm 6 : Death of the soul

 

If I die, I cannot praise you or even remember you.(psalm 6:5)

If both hell and heaven possess thoughts and emotions, then they hold significance. If we can sense pain and experience joy and contentment, then hell and heaven are real. 

However, it's only reasonable to perceive them as extensions of the present moment. Since they're considerably distant from the present, we can only describe them in the context of the present. Therefore, heaven must consist of all the wonderful things of the present - gold and silver jewelry, life-giving water, and lavish homes. On the other hand, hell must be an amalgamation of the most unpleasant things that one can experience in the present.

David isn't referring to death in general, but rather death in a state where God can't even be contemplated. In such a state, God does not exist, it's a godless realm, the dimension of death that Matthew mentions. It's not a dimension that solely kills the body, leaving the soul unscathed, but rather a dimension that destroys both. Matthew named this realm hell. Since the soul is lifeless, there's nothing to revere God.

Before the crucifixion, Jesus prayed with trembling hands due to the world without God. When God instructed him to go there, he must have seemed insane and delirious. Do you really dig me out of your family register?

Regardless, even in the midst of David's struggles, God doesn't afflict him significantly, but instead, soothes him and applies a healing balm.

God, please don't let me descend into a godless world today, so that I may find favor in your sight. Amen.