Rebuke me not in your anger?

I'm currently working through The Devotional Challenge Book by Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller.  The book is a 16-week daily workbook and is intended to help Christians "build strong devotional habits of daily hearing the Lord's Word and praying the Scriptures, back to God."




The 1st week's prayers start out easy with The Apostles' Creed, The Lord's Prayer, and Martin Luther's Morning or Evening Prayer.  During subsequent weeks, short Bible passages are added, and then whole chapters and various Psalms.

Along with the Bible readings, Pastor Wolfmueller includes:   
1) questions meant to help one think about the passage, and
2) instructions on praying the Psalms in your own words, starting with praying just one verse from that day's Psalm.

The other day, I read Psalm 6, one of the Penitential Psalms.

I read the Psalm a few times and was thinking about which verse I would be asked to pray.  Would it be:

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. Psalm 6:2

Or...

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. Psalm 6:4 

In fact, I read through the Psalm, praying almost all the verses, in my own words.

Then, I read the assignment - "Pray verse 1."

O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.  Psalm 6:1 

What?  Rebuke me not...nor discipline me?  That doesn't sound fun or comforting.  How do I pray that?

I wrote the verse down to spend some time thinking about it. 

The next couple of days, I kept thinking, "Don't be mad at me or mean to me.  Don't be mad or mean."

But why? Do I need to pray that?

When faced with God's law and my position, my only response is despair.  In fact, my conscience knows my own guilt and God's anger.

And it came to me:  Luke 18 - Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Luke 18:13

Of all the things and people I could pray for, including good situations and good relationships...really, it's God's mercy that I need to pray for, His forgiveness, His love...which bring me His peace, no matter the situation.  

"Forgive me for my sins which deserve punishment, not mercy.  Don't be mad at me.  Don't be mean to me."   

And He answers my prayer...

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  2 Corinthians 5:18-19