A Suffering Savior

“Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary with my crying;
My throat is dry;
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;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
5 O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
6 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.
11 I also made sackcloth my garment;
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You,
O LORD, in the acceptable time;
O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire,
And let me not sink;
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
And out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,
Nor let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, O LORD, for Your loving kindness is good;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in trouble;
Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation upon them,
And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute the ones You have struck,
And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,
And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
And not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
33 For the LORD hears the poor,
And does not despise His prisoners.
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
And build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
And those who love His name shall dwell in it.” (Psalm 69)

Psalm 69 is a prophetic song that tells of the suffering of the coming Christ. It is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament. When David wrote this song, he was in a world of trouble and he poured out his troubles to God!
• In verse 1; he pleaded for God to save him. “Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.”
• In verse 13; He implored God to hear him. “13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.”
• In verse 14; he prayed for God to deliver him. “14 Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters.”
• In Verse 18; He pleaded for God to come near to him. “18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.”

David could find no way out for himself. He knew his only hope for salvation was from God alone! He is so confident in God’s mercy that he closes the psalm with verses of praise (Ref. verses 30-36).

It is plainly evident that the problems that David faced are the same as those faced by Jesus in His life.
• David was hated for no apparent reason (verse 4), as was Jesus “24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.” (John 15:24-25)

• David’s own brothers had turned against him (Ref. verse as did Jesus’ brothers “5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” (John 7:5).
• David was zealous for God, despite everything that assailed him (Ref. verse 9). Jesus had the same zeal and this psalm was recalled by the disciples when Jesus cleared the temple of the moneychangers. “17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” (Ref John 2:17)

• David suffered insults from his oppressors (Ref. verse 19). Paul referenced the insults that Jesus received “3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” (Romans 15:3)
• David compared his situation to be the same as being offered vinegar to quench his thirst (Ref. verse 21). Jesus suffered much the same as David as recorded in the 4 Gospels;
o “24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” (Matthew 27:24)
o “3 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.” (Mark 15:23)
o “26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.“ (Luke 23:26)
o “28 After this, Jesus, knowing[e] that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.“ (John19:28-30)
• David asked God to deal with his enemies (Ref. verse 25) Peter quoted David when speaking of the fate of Judas after his betrayal of Jesus “20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.” (Acts 1:20)

One thing that David was sure of is that God would never abandon him nor desert him. We are given that same assurance in Hebrews “5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). The writer of Hebrews was quoting “6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, . No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in; God will provide strength for us to continue “13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13). Because of who He is, God will never stop loving us because “3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3).

Jesus suffered unimaginably for us. He endured insults, betrayals, brutal beating of His body and extreme emotional distress of His Spirit. Because He suffered so greatly, He understands our pain and anguish when we are suffering in the midst of trials “14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.“ (Hebrews 4:14-16).
The writer of Hebrews exhorts (challenges) us to live righteously before God as we run the race He has set for us “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.“ (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Because Jesus suffered for us, we should be willing to live for Him as we go through each day. Let us look for God’s many blessings in the midst of our trials so that we may find joy and peace!

In Christ,
John