Psalms 6:5 Because there is no celebration of you at death; who can praise you in Sheol?

Lots of people believe that death sets a person free and sends her to God’s presence. If that were the case, then it is hard to explain the psalmist’s prayer here. He anticipates his own death, and expects to descend to Sheol— the state of death. But he thinks of that state as an unconscious one where worship is not possible. He wants to be rescued— to stay alive.

The Bible speaks of the hope of resurrection— the promise of life after this life. But it does not endorse the pagan notion of disembodied life beyond death.