Psalm 69

What a magnificent Song!  A Psalm of David who, probably unbeknownst to him, was writing of his Lord and Son, the Messiah!  We NEED this Messianic Psalm to understand the nature of Christ’s suffering, the depth of Christ’s suffering, and the concerns and desires of our Lord in the midst of His suffering.

There are numerous references in Psalm 69 to the Messiah which make clear its Messianic message.  Note the following.

·        69:4, “those who hate me without a cause” was quoted by Christ of Himself (Jn. 15:35).

·        69:8, the estrangement from family, was true of Jesus (e.g. Mark 3:21).

·        69:9, both parts of this are true of Christ.  His disciples remember His “zeal for Your house” when He cleansed the temple (John 2:17).  Paul spoke of the reproaches” of Christ in Rom. 15:3.

·        69:19 reminds us of Heb. 12:2 which speaks of Christ “despising the shame.”

·        69:21 speaks of two incidents fulfilled on the cross in which He was offered gall (which He refused) and sour wine (vinegar) (Matt. 27:34,48).

Some might object to this Messianic attribution on the basis of a reference to “my sins” (v5).  But careful thought reveals the accuracy and power of this statement.  The “foolishness” (v5) and the shame and reproach (v5-12) spoken of here is the result of the true identification of Christ with our sin.  He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).  This is not just a symbolic statement; it is true.  Jesus died.  His Father turned His back on Him.  None of this would have happened to Jesus, the sinless and holy One.  He truly bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).  We are not saying David understood all this when he wrote.  But we are saying it is perfectly true of our Redeemer! 

Others might object on the basis of the imprecatory prayer (a prayer calling on God to judge others, as in 69:19-28).  After all, didn’t Jesus pray Father, forgive them on the cross?  To pray that His enemies be blotted out of the book (69:28) seems inconsistent.  But again, think carefully.  Jesus did pray for forgiveness for those nailing Him to the cross, who knew not what they did.  But remember He offered no forgiveness to the ones who rejected Him, blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-37).  The disobedient nation would be destroyed in the near future; Jesus declared that Himself (Luke 19:41-44).  Remember also that within the Nation that did not receive Him, there were individuals who did receive Him (John 1:11-12).  The Sanhedrin voted to condemn Christ; but at least two were not complicit (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea).  Paul speaks of himself as part of a remnant of believers within the unbelieving nation (Rom. 11:1).  In the same context (Rom. 11:9-10) Paul quotes Ps. 69:22-23, applying it to Israel.  Again, the Psalm fits well with the Messiah, the Son to whom the Father said, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110:1).

Once you recognize the Messianic character of this Psalm, you can see:

·        The deep agony of Christ on the cross (v1-4);

·        His concern for the elect, “those who wait for you,” that they not turn away because of His shame and reproach (v5-12);

·        His own prayer for deliverance (v13-18);

·        His accurate prayer for His “mighty” adversaries (v19-28);

·        And His call to praise, both for Himself (v29-33) and for all of heaven and earth (v34-36).

Perhaps you will want to re-read this Song of the Savior with the crucified Lord as the focus.  But then we must say, this Song is for us to sing as well.  Jesus said that those who follow Him will be despised as He was; it must be!  So we too have a standing before God, in the name of Jesus, to cry out, “Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck.”