Return, O Lord: Three Biblical Meanings of Divine Restoration

Psalm 6:4 contains a postulatory prayer expressing confidence grounded in former presence, present absence, and future hope. When David cries "Return, O Lord," he invokes God's restoration through three distinct biblical meanings.

First, return signifies motion toward one's natural place. As heavy things descend to the center and light things ascend, so the Church—God's center—naturally draws His presence. Yahweh is naturally affected toward His beloved.

Second, return denotes the cessation of divine anger. When God's wrath departs, God Himself remains. His anger returns from us, but His presence stays with us.

Third, and most crucially, God's return is operative—it effectually tunes our hearts, eyes, hands, and feet toward His ways, producing repentance and obedience. These twin virtues form the legs upon which conversion stands.

John Donne grounds David's petition in God's mercy itself: "Do it for Thy mercy's sake." Yet ultimately, even David's reasons resolve wholly in God's glory.

Although sin and misery cloud our perception like clouds obscuring the sun, God pierces through and dissipates those clouds in His appointed time. He returns not by change of place—for Elohim dwells everywhere—but through gracious providence and the declaration of His new mercies. When the Lord comes, even in correction and chastisement, refusal to turn represents irreverent negligence of His saving approach.