A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c]flood overflows me.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
What I did not steal, I then have to restore.5 O God, it is You who knows my folly,
And my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g]song of the drunkards.
While David experienced many of these things, this psalm is also prophetic in nature. I was reminded recently that much of the Old Testament was viewed as prophetic by the Jews. I don’t know if that applies to all the psalms, but it certainly applies to this one. So whether David knew it or not, he was looking forward to a day when God would send a rescuer.
Which is definitely what David needed; a rescuer, and to look forward. As Paul would later write to the church at Philippi, he knew he hadn’t “arrived”, but daily endeavored to “forget what lies behind, and reach forward to what lies ahead…” Paul likewise had his own share of troubles and could certainly relate to David. He had been stoned, imprisoned, gone hungry, but still he looked forward.
It’s easy to look at the past, to wallow in “deep mire” or feel that the floodwaters have all but drowned us. Yet God didn’t send his Son to this earth so that we could stay in that desperate place. He sent his Son to rescue us, from the mire, from the flood, and from ourselves. If we aren’t learning from the past, it’s no good to us.
Whatever God plans that you must go through, know that this is not all there is. Yes, His plan includes suffering and hard times, but He has a better end in mind, and He can already see it. If we keep pressing on, toward His voice that calls us on, we will make it through the mud, to higher ground. We are at all times safe in His hands, and nothing on this earth can separate us from our Father. Lean in, and keep walking.