Psalms 69
Psalm 69 is classified as an individual lament in which, amid suffering and distress, a person earnestly seeks God’s help. Although this psalm is based on David’s experience, it universally represents the mindset of those who cry out to God in their hardship. Overall, it can be divided into three parts. First, the psalmist lays out his own suffering and sense of urgency(verses 1-12), speaking candidly about his deep pain. Next, he pleads for deliverance and restoration from his enemies(verses 13-29), seeking God’s grace. Finally, praise and hope toward God(verses 30-36) follow, confessing trust in God even in a crisis, as the psalm concludes.
1verseFor the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Lilies.” By David. Save me, God, for the waters have come up to my neck!
2verseI sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3verseI am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail looking for my God.
4verseThose who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore what I didn’t take away.
5verseGod, you know my foolishness. My sins aren’t hidden from you.
6verseDon’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord GOD of Armies. Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel.
7verseBecause for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.
8verseI have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children.
9verseFor the zeal of your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10verseWhen I wept and I fasted, that was to my reproach.
11verseWhen I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12verseThose who sit in the gate talk about me. I am the song of the drunkards.
13verseBut as for me, my prayer is to you, LORD, in an acceptable time. God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.
14verseDeliver me out of the mire, and don’t let me sink. Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.
15verseDon’t let the flood waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.
16verseAnswer me, LORD, for your loving kindness is good. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.
17verseDon’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily!
18verseDraw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies.
19verseYou know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you.
20verseReproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none.
21verseThey also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
22verseLet their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap.
23verseLet their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent.
24versePour out your indignation on them. Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
25verseLet their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents.
26verseFor they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt.
27verseCharge them with crime upon crime. Don’t let them come into your righteousness.
28verseLet them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous.
29verseBut I am in pain and distress. Let your salvation, God, protect me.
30verseI will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31verseIt will please the LORD better than an ox, or a bull that has horns and hoofs.
32verseThe humble have seen it, and are glad. You who seek after God, let your heart live.
33verseFor the LORD hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people.
34verseLet heaven and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moves therein!
35verseFor God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it.
36verseThe children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein.
Key Themes and Meaning of the Passage
- The setting of suffering: The psalmist describes a variety of trials, such as suffering as if engulfed by a flood (verse 2), slander unrelated to his own sins (verse 4), and loneliness even being shunned by his family (verse 8).
- Prayer and trust: Even in hardship, the psalmist prays to God and places his trust in God’s unchanging love and mercy (verse 16).
- Compassion and representation: By implying that my sorrow and cries could be present for anyone, he represents the hearts of all those who suffer.
- Praise and hope: The attitude of praising God even before the suffering is over (verses 30-31) describes a posture of not letting go of faith amid difficulties.
Points for Reflection
- In times of suffering and crisis, who do we turn to first with our hearts? Pay attention to how the author of the psalm confesses honestly to God.
- Along with the prayers that appeal to God, meditate on the attitude of casting your worries by still trusting and praising God.
- In the psalmist’s prayers, see that a person’s suffering can sometimes connect to the pain of a larger nation or community.
Applying It to Me
- If I have any sense of injustice, loneliness, or difficulties that I experience, then lay them out honestly before God.
- Practice how to trust in and praise God even when the problem has not yet been resolved.
- Pray together for those around me who are suffering, and cultivate and put into practice a heart of empathy.
