Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 6:5

"For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?" — Psalms 6:5 (ASV)

For in death - In the state of the dead; in the grave.

There is no remembrance of thee - They who are dead do not remember you or think of you. The ground of this appeal is that it was regarded by the psalmist as a desirable thing to remember God and to praise Him, and that this could not be done by one who was dead. He prayed, therefore, that God would spare his life and restore him to health, that he might praise Him in the land of the living.

A sentiment similar to this occurs in Psalms 30:9: What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? So also in Psalms 88:11: Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in destruction? Likewise, in the language of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:18): The grave cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. See the notes on that passage.

A similar sentiment is also found in Job 10:21-22 (see the notes on that passage). Regarding the meaning of this, the following points may be noted:

1. It must be admitted that among the ancient saints there was much less understanding of the future state than we have, and that often, when expressing their feelings, they seemed to speak as if all were dark beyond the grave.

2. But, although they spoke this way in their sorrow and despondency, on other occasions they also expressed their belief in a future state and their expectation of happiness in a coming world (compare, for example, Psalms 16:10–11; Psalms 17:15).

3. Does their language in times of despondency and sickness not express the feelings that we often have now, even with all the understanding we possess and all the hopes we cherish? Are there not times in the lives of the pious, even though they have a strong prevailing hope of heaven, when their thoughts are fixed on the grave as a dark, gloomy, repulsive prison, and so fixed on it as to lose sight of the world beyond? And in such moments, does life not seem as precious and desirable to us as it did to David, to Hezekiah, or to Job?

In the grave - Hebrew, בשׁאול bish^e'ôl — “in Sheol.” For the meaning of the word, see Isaiah 5:14 (note), Isaiah 14:9 (note), and Job 7:9 (note). Its meaning here does not differ materially from the word “grave.”

Who shall give thee thanks? - Who shall praise you? The idea is that none would then praise God. It was the land of silence . This language implies that David desired to praise God, but that he could not hope to do it in the grave.