Psalm 69, Floods of Mockers

For the director of music. To [the tune of]"Lilies." Of David.

This psalm is apparently to be sung to a particular melody.

This is a classic supplication-praise psalm (but longer than usual.) It begins with desperate pleading but ends with praise and jubilation. Along the way, David asks God to curse his enemies and so some classify this psalm as an imprecatory psalm.

Psalm 69: 1-3, Drowning

 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. 

I have come into the deep waters; 

the floods engulf me.

I am worn out calling for help; 

my throat is parched. 

My eyes fail, 

looking for my God.

David is overwhelmed; he has been calling out for help but no one comes. In the first stanza, the metaphor describes drowning in a flood.  That metaphor will run throughout the psalm.

Psalm 69: 4, Haters

 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; 

many are my enemies without cause, 

those who seek to destroy me. 

I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

David is surrounded by enemies. 

Psalm 69: 5-9, Zeal 

 You know my folly, O God; 

my guilt is not hidden from you.

 May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; 

may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.

 

For I endure scorn for your sake, 

and shame covers my face.

I am a stranger to my brothers, 

an alien to my own mother's sons;

 for zeal for your house consumes me, 

and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

David is attacked because he relies on God.

Verse 9 will be recalled by the disciples of Jesus when Jesus clears moneychangers out of the temple of Jerusalem.  (See John 2: 17.)

Psalm 69: 10-12, Mockers

 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;

when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me.

 Those who sit at the gate mock me, 

and I am the song of the drunkards.

David is surrounded by mockers.  Drunkards sing about him; when he fasts or publicly mourns in sackcloth, people make ridicule.

Psalm 69: 13, Coming salvation

 But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; 

in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.

But despite being mocked by drunkards and overwhelmed with personal attacks, David will insist on trusting God. 

The NIV translates here the Hebrew words hesed as "great love" and emeth as "sure". Alter argues that these two Hebrew words often appear together in Old Testament scripture, representing "love and truth" or "grace and truth." In the New Testament the Greek words charis and alētheia appear together as "grace and truth", occurring in John 1: 14 as a description of the Messiah. (As noted elsewhere, the Hebrew word hesed is complex; the Septuagint translates hesed here as eleos, that is, mercy or pity.)

Psalm 69: 14-15, Suffocation

 Rescue me from the mire, 

do not let me sink; 

deliver me from those who hate me, 

from the deep waters.

Do not let the floodwaters engulf me 

or the depths swallow me up 

or the pit close its mouth over me.

David continues to feel like he is drowning, sinking, being swallowed up.  The imagery of suffocation is vivid.

Psalm 69: 16-20, No sympathy

 Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; 

in your great mercy turn to me.

 Do not hide your face from your servant; 

answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

Come near and rescue me; 

redeem me because of my foes.

 You know how I am scorned, 

disgraced and shamed; 

all my enemies are before you.

Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; 

I looked for sympathy, but there was none, 

for comforters, but I found none.

David is scorned and hated. Helpless, he looks for love and comfort and finds none.

Psalm 69: 21, Gall and vinegar

They put gall in my food 

and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

Gall, a bitter spice is put into David's food to ruin it; when he is thirsty, they give him vinegar.  Later, Messiah Yeshua, on the cross, will be given vinegar to drink and his followers will remember this psalm. (See Matthew 27: 32-37.)

Psalm 69: 22-28, Retribution

 May the table set before them become a snare;

 may it become retribution and a trap.

May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, 

and their backs be bent forever.

Pour out your wrath on them; 

let your fierce anger overtake them.

May their place be deserted; 

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

For they persecute those you wound 

and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

Charge them with crime upon crime; 

do not let them share in your salvation.

May they be blotted out of the book of life 

and not be listed with the righteous.

David begs for retribution, for punishment on those who attack him. As Kidner points out, many Christians see, in the first 21 verses of this psalm, images of Jesus at the crucifixion. But when Jesus is crucified (see Luke 23: 33-43), unlike David here, Jesus cries out "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." For Jesus's Jewish followers, this is a shock. They (and us) would expect to hear David's demand for retribution. 

Psalm 69: 29, Pain

I am in pain and distress; 

may your salvation, O God, protect me.

After begging for retribution, David briefly returns to his own worries -- he is in pain and relying on God for protection. At this point the psalm turns (says Alter) -- the rest of it is pure praise.

Psalm 69: 30-33, Needy praise

 I will praise God's name in song 

and glorify him with thanksgiving.

 This will please the LORD more than an ox, 

more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

The poor will see and be glad--

you who seek God, may your hearts live! 

The LORD hears the needy 

and does not despise his captive people.

David will praise God and he knows that the praise is more important that sacrifices.  He then turns to the vulnerable, the needy, the poor, the captives.

Alter points out some wordplay in verses 30 and 31.  The Hebrew word translated "song" is shiyr while the Hebrew translated "ox" is shor. David claims that praising God with shiyr is more pleasing than shor.

Psalm 69: 34-36, Rebuild Judah

 Let heaven and earth praise him, 

the seas and all that move in them,

 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. 

Then people will settle there and possess it;

the children of his servants will inherit it, 

and those who love his name will dwell there.

All creation is to praise God.  God's action will lead to clear salvation for the people of Judah.