1 {To the chief Musician. Upon Shoshannim. [A Psalm] of David.} Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto [my] soul.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I am come into the depths of waters, and the flood overfloweth me.
3 I am weary with my crying, my throat is parched; mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
5 Thou, O God, knowest my foolishness, and my trespasses are not hidden from thee.
6 Let not them that wait on thee, Lord, Jehovah of hosts, be ashamed through me; let not those that seek thee be confounded through me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; confusion hath covered my face.
8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's sons;
9 For the zeal of thy house hath devoured me, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen upon me.
10 And I wept, my soul was fasting: that also was to my reproach; --
11 And I made sackcloth my garment: then I became a proverb to them.
12 They that sit in the gate talk of me, and [I am] the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, Jehovah, in an acceptable time: O God, in the abundance of thy loving-kindness answer me, according to the truth of thy salvation:
14 Deliver me out of the mire, let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters.
15 Let not the flood of waters overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut its mouth upon me.
16 Answer me, O Jehovah; for thy loving-kindness is good: according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, turn toward me;
17 And hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble: answer me speedily.
18 Draw nigh unto my soul, be its redeemer; ransom me because of mine enemies.
19 *Thou* knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
20 Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am overwhelmed: and I looked for sympathy, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21 Yea, they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table become a snare before them, and their very welfare a trap;
23 Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake.
24 Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of thine anger take hold of them.
25 Let their habitation be desolate; let there be no dweller in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom *thou* hast smitten, and they talk for the sorrow of those whom thou hast wounded.
27 Add iniquity unto their iniquity, and let them not come into thy righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am afflicted and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me secure on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving;
31 And it shall please Jehovah more than an ox, -- a bullock with horns and cloven hoofs.
32 The meek shall see it, they shall be glad; ye that seek God, your heart shall live.
33 For Jehovah heareth the needy, and despiseth not his prisoners.
34 Let heavens and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moveth therein.
35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; and they shall dwell there, and possess it:
36 And the seed of his servants shall inherit it, and they that love his name shall dwell therein.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 69
Commentary on Psalms 69 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 69
Ps 69:1-36. Upon Shoshannim—(See on Ps 45:1, title). Mingling the language of prayer and complaint, the sufferer, whose condition is here set forth, pleads for God's help as one suffering in His cause, implores the divine retribution on his malicious enemies, and, viewing his deliverance as sure, promises praise by himself, and others, to whom God will extend like blessings. This Psalm is referred to seven times in the New Testament as prophetical of Christ and the gospel times. Although the character in which the Psalmist appears to some in Ps 69:5 is that of a sinner, yet his condition as a sufferer innocent of alleged crimes sustains the typical character of the composition, and it may be therefore regarded throughout, as the twenty-second, as typically expressive of the feelings of our Saviour in the flesh.
1, 2. (Compare Ps 40:2).
come in unto my soul—literally, "come even to my soul," endanger my life by drowning (Jon 2:5).
3. (Compare Ps 6:6).
mine eyes fail—in watching (Ps 119:82).
4. hate me, &c.—(Compare Joh 15:25). On the number and power of his enemies (compare Ps 40:12).
then I restored … away—that is, he suffered wrongfully under the imputation of robbery.
5. This may be regarded as an appeal, vindicating his innocence, as if he had said, "If sinful, thou knowest," &c. Though David's condition as a sufferer may typify Christ's, without requiring that a parallel be found in character.
6. for my sake—literally, "in me," in my confusion and shame.
7-12. This plea contemplates his relation to God as a sufferer in His cause. Reproach, domestic estrangement (Mr 3:21; Joh 7:5), exhaustion in God's service (Joh 2:17), revilings and taunts of base men were the sufferings.
10. wept (and chastened) my soul—literally, "wept away my soul," a strongly figurative description of deep grief.
12. sit in the gate—public place (Pr 31:31).
13-15. With increasing reliance on God, he prays for help, describing his distress in the figures of Ps 69:1, 2.
16-18. These earnest terms are often used, and the address to God, as indifferent or averse, is found in Ps 3:7; 22:24; 27:9, &c.
19, 20. Calling God to witness his distress, he presents its aggravation produced by the want of sympathizing friends (compare Isa 63:5; Mr 14:50).
21. Instead of such, his enemies increase his pain by giving him most distasteful food and drink. The Psalmist may have thus described by figure what Christ found in reality (compare Joh 19:29, 30).
22, 23. With unimportant verbal changes, this language is used by Paul to describe the rejection of the Jews who refused to receive the Saviour (Ro 11:9, 10). The purport of the figures used is that blessings shall become curses, the "table" of joy (as one of food) a "snare," their
welfare—literally, "peaceful condition," or security, a "trap." Darkened eyes and failing strength complete the picture of the ruin falling on them under the invoked retribution.
23. continually to shake—literally, "to swerve" or bend in weakness.
24, 25. An utter desolation awaits them. They will not only be driven from their homes, but their homes—or, literally, "palaces," indicative of wealth—shall be desolate (compare Mt 23:38).
26. Though smitten of God (Isa 53:4), men were not less guilty in persecuting the sufferer (Ac 2:23).
talk to the grief—in respect to, about it, implying derision and taunts.
wounded—or, literally, "mortally wounded."
27, 28. iniquity—or, "punishment of iniquity" (Ps 40:12).
come … righteousness—partake of its benefits.
28. book of the living—or "life," with the next clause, a figurative mode of representing those saved, as having their names in a register (compare Ex 32:32; Isa 4:3).
29. poor and sorrowful—the afflicted pious, often denoted by such terms (compare Ps 10:17; 12:5).
set me … high—out of danger.
30, 31. Spiritual are better than mere material offerings (Ps 40:6; 50:8); hence a promise of the former, and rather contemptuous terms are used of the latter.
32, 33. Others shall rejoice. "Humble" and poor, as in Ps 69:29.
your heart, &c.—address to such (compare Ps 22:26).
33. prisoners—peculiarly liable to be despised.
34-36. The call on the universe for praise is well sustained by the prediction of the perpetual and extended blessings which shall come upon the covenant-people of God. Though, as usual, the imagery is taken from terms used of Palestine, the whole tenor of the context indicates that the spiritual privileges and blessings of the Church are meant.