Psalm 69 Commentary
David uses various images to describe his sad state of affairs. He is stuck in the mud; the waters have come up to his neck; his eyes fail, looking for his God, and his throat is parched, calling out for help.
The psalmist is experiencing pain and suffering. And he is innocent! Strange. The theology that saints cannot experience suffering is not only strange but anti-scripture.
“Many are my enemies without cause,” says David. They hate him without reason. But I think we understand. “The insults of those who insult you fall on me.” This psalm gives us a balanced view of suffering. The saint in the correct gear and at a good level can still experience suffering on account of his relationship with God.
Laziness aside, the saint’s faith and belief that the LORD provides is a source of ridicule. Outsiders pride themselves in getting things done by themselves and for themselves by any means necessary. They boast about their wealth while laughing at the saint’s methods. It can be very painful. Then you know it’s time to pray
“But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.”
Deliver me from the evil one. David seems to take up the Lord’s Prayer perfectly.
We know the psalmist is suffering for taking sides with the Creator God. He is having a taste of what the LORD Jesus went through at Calvary. He looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but found none. It was a lonely trip. He was given vinegar for his thirst.
But the story doesn’t end there. There is a time when God’s fierce anger will overtake the God-haters. Their eyes will be darkened and their place of advantage deserted. The smart ones will not be smart at all.
For their malicious damage to God’s set plans, they will be charged with crime upon crime. When God said yes, they said no. They persecuted those who said yes, alongside their Master. They will not share in God’s salvation. Their names will be blotted out in the Book of Life.
In the meantime, the psalmist decides to praise God. It is a fitting reaction to persecution. And the saint can rest secure in the hope of a renewed life. A new Garden of peace and tranquility, under the perfect throne of the Lamb of God. Evil will have been destroyed, alongside the evildoers.
An easy pick from today’s psalm is the saint’s vision of a renewed life under the perfect rule of Christ. The confusion and false success are all temporal. It will come under judgment as the scripture puts it. The saints can trust the LORD to bear them up in moments of intense trouble but let the saints understand that it is the LORD’s will to subject them to this kind of life.
More resources visit http://www.lovingscripture.com
LOVING SCRIPTURE 