Psalm 69:1-36

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Psalm 69:1-36[1]

To the chief Musician on Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David.

Save me, O God: for the waters are come in to [my] soul.  I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing.  I am come to deep waters, where the floods overflow me.  I am weary of my crying.  My throat is parched.  My eyes fail, while I wait for my God.

Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head.  Those who would destroy me, my wrongful enemies, are mighty.  Then I restored, what I took not away.

O God, You know my foolishness.  My sins are not hid from You.  O Lord God of hosts, let not those who wait on You be ashamed for my sake.  Let not those who seek You be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel: because, I have borne reproach for Your sake.  Shame has covered my face.  I am become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children: for the zeal of Your house has eaten Me up.[2]  The reproaches of those who reproached You are fallen on Me.

When I wept, [and punished] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.  I made sackcloth also my garment.  I became a proverb to them.  Those who sit in the gate speak against me.  I [was] the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer [is] to You, Lord, [in] an acceptable time.  O God, in the fullness of Your mercy hear me, in the truth of Your salvation.  Deliver me from the mire.  Let me not sink.  Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and from the deep waters.  Let not the floodwaters overflow me.  Nor let the deep swallow me up.  Let not the pit shut her mouth on me.  Hear me, Lord: for Your lovingkindness [is] good.  Turn to me according to the fullness of Your tender mercies.  Hide not Your face from Your servant: for I am in trouble.  Hear me speedily.  Draw near to my soul.  Redeem it.  Deliver me because of my enemies.

You have known my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor.  My adversaries [are] all before You.  Reproach has broken my heart.  I am full of heaviness.  I looked [for some] to take pity, but [there was] no one; and for comforters, but I found no one.  They gave Me also gall[3] for My food.  In My thirst they gave Me vinegar[4] to drink.

Let their table become a snare before them.  [Let that which should have been] for [their] welfare, [become] a trap.  Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not.  Make their loins continually shake.  Pour out Your indignation on them.  Let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.  Let their dwelling be desolate.  Let no one dwell in their tents: for they persecute [Him] Whom You have struck.  They talk to the grief of those whom You have wounded.  Add iniquity to their iniquity.  Let them not come to Your righteousness.  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

But I [am] poor and sorrowful.  Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.  I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.  [This] also shall please the Lord better than an ox [or] bull that has horns and hoofs.

The humble shall see, [and] be glad.  Your heart shall live that seek God: for the Lord hears the poor, and despises not His prisoners.

Let the heaven and earth praise Him, the seas, and everything that moves in them: for God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah.  That they may dwell there, and have it in possession.  The seed also of His servants shall inherit it.  Those who love His name shall dwell in them.[5]

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[1] Psalm 69 is a prophetic Psalm for Holy Week.

The introductory plea fits best against the crucifixion, which causes asphyxiation not unlike drowning.  The screams of pain result in a hoarse and parched throat, followed by delirium.

The multitude demanding crucifixion is large.  Jesus gives life to the ungrateful multitude: the very thing they stole from Him; the very thing He never took from anyone.  Jesus is innocent of the inevitable deaths of mankind.

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).”  It seems foolish to us that Jesus, the sinless lamb should take up and carry our sins for us, which Jesus did for the Father’s sake.  It seems foolish to us that Jesus, the spotless lamb should be alienated from the house of Israel because of this.  The flashback to the temple cleansing shows the reason for the Crucifixion (John 2:17).

David prophesies the mocking of Christ, which David describes as a drunken brawl.  It is not surprising that even tough Roman soldiers would have to get “liquored up” to face something as gory as a crucifixion.

David sees Jesus looking to the Father.  Prayer is Jesus’ constant companionship with the Father.  The acceptable time is throughout His life, but especially in Gethsemane and on the cross.

Jesus has a ruptured heart, death approaches swiftly.

David applies the results of Christ’s Passover and Crucifixion to unrepentant Israelites.  As Christ’s eyes failed, loins shook, He suffered indignation; even so, the unrepentant will face blindness, trembling, indignation … and blotting out of the book of life.

The purpose of bloody sacrifice has ended.  With the dawn of the Resurrection from the dead comes only joy, praise, and thanksgiving.

What the Israelites rejected will be seen by all the poor of the earth.

This is a Cosmic event.  The entire Universe praises God with the Resurrection, Ascension, and Enthronement of Jesus on the throne of David (Acts 2:30-31; Revelation 4).  While this is a heavenly event, there is a hint left that the Israelites and Jews will one day repent as well (Romans 10-11).  Nevertheless, the seed is Christianity.

[2] This relates to the temple cleansing reported in Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48; and John 2:3-17.  The difference in time between the Psalm, the synoptic Gospels, and John is more apparent than real.  The purpose of the temple cleansing is to show that the cleansing of God will come as a result of Jesus death, and resurrection; this cleansing will also bring healing to all who believe in Christ.  The Psalm is written from the perspective of the Crucifixion, and flashes back to the temple cleansing to disclose the purpose of the Crucifixion.  The synoptic Gospels present the historical perspective.  John is focused on Holy Week: half of John’s Gospel is devoted to the upper room discourse.  John wishes to provide details of the meaning of the Crucifixion events beginning with Palm Sunday, so the historic sequence is identical to the synoptic Gospels.  John’s theme is the free life brought about by the work of Christ in bringing lives of freedom from sin by His death on the cross and by His resurrection (John 8:36; 10:10; 20:31).  John 2:17 is one of John’s thematic statements.  The seeming historic narrative of John, consists of flashbacks and logical insertions that develop and illustrate John’s theme of free life in Christ.  The opposing theme is remaining in the slavery of sin.

[3] Possibly simply bitter herbs such as those eaten at Passover, the opposite taste of vinegar.  Or equally possible, an opiate or poison (hemlock or wormwood) intended to lessen pain.  If to hasten death, because of the Passover; but postponing death was the more usual point of the crucifixion spectacle.  The Roman’s did this for its public display and entertainment value.

[4] Vinegar, possibly alcoholic vinegar, to quench the thirst, allowing load groans and screams to continue.  If the victim fell silent the spectacle would be over: the twofold objective of entertaining the crowd, while at the same time warning them of the fruit of crime against Rome would be over.

[5] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.