CHAPTER 69

A PSALM OF DAVID: THE SUFFERING SERVANT

¹Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. (Eight quotations from the New Testament establish the relationship of this Psalm to the Messiah [Mat. 27:34; Mk. 15:23; Jn. 2:17; 15:25; 19:29; Rom. 11:9; 15:3; II Cor. 6:2]. The voice is, therefore, that of the Man of Sorrows, excepting Verses 2228, which record the prediction of the Holy Spirit of temporary wrath upon Israel because of its supreme sin in the Crucifixion of their King and Redeemer [Rom. 11:912].

The Psalm throbs with unspeakable agony. Jesus at Calvary, as the great Trespass Offering, restored that which He took not away, that is, He perfectly restored to God the love and obedience of which man had robbed God, at the same time He voluntarily charged Himself with mans foolishness and guiltiness, and called them His Own, thereby declaring Himself to be the guilty Person.)

²I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. (David is speaking of the terrible difficulties that his failure regarding Bath-sheba has brought upon him. From these Passages, we understand the horror of sin. Truly the words, deep mire, perfectly describe sin. There is no way that one can extricate himself from such without the Power of God. In fact, only the Cross can extricate one from the deep mire.)

³I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: my eyes fail while I wait for my God. (All of us, at one time or the other, have failed God. Our concern and attitude certainly should be the same as Davids. This speaks of true Repentance.)

⁴They who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: they who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. (This is quoted by Christ in St. John 15:25. He, through His death on Calvary, restored that which man lost by his rebellion against God. Because of sinful hearts, men hated him without a cause.)

⁵O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from You. (Even though David uttered these words, it more so points to Christ in His Intercessory Work, Who takes our sins as His Own and prays to the Father for us, as though He is asking for Mercy and Pardon for His Own sin, when in fact He has never sinned. Actually, when one reads these Psalms, one is reading the Intercessory Work of Christ. These words stand for time and eternity, meaning that Christ does not presently have to say anything else. His very Presence at the Throne of God guarantees that His Intercession is accepted by the Father, all on our behalf [Heb. 1:3; 7:2527].)

⁶Let not them who wait on You, O Lord GOD of Hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those who seek You be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. (The meaning of Verses 6 and 7 is that Gods abandonment, so to speak, of His Beloved Son at Calvary might upset the faith of those who confide in God for Deliverance from human or Satanic hatred. He prayed that they might understand that He, as the Trespass Offering, should be so forsaken.)

⁷Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. (Bearing the sin penalty on the Cross, our Lord suffered untold reproach and shame.)

⁸I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mothers children. (This Prophecy refutes the lie of the Catholic Church that Mary had no other children but Christ. The Gospels are replete with the fact that His Own Brethren [His half-brothers] did not believe in Him, at least before the Cross [Jn. 7:5].)

⁹For the zeal of Your House has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them who reproached You are fallen upon me. (Our Lord quoted this Passage in St. John 2:17. All the rebellion of the evil hearts of men against God was directed at the Lord Jesus Christ.)

¹⁰When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. (Even though all of these Passages refer to David in some manner, their basic intent is to portray Christ. No human being ever suffered the reproach that Christ suffered, not even remotely so!)

¹¹I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. (There is no record that Christ literally wore sackcloth; therefore, this Passage proclaims that which Christ gave up and became for lost humanity. It is referred to as the self-emptying of Christ [Phil. 2:58].)

¹²They who sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. (The short phrase, sit in the gate, speaks of those who held positions of authority. Ridicule was heaped upon David, because of the incident with Bath-sheba. But with Christ there was no wrong, and yet the religious leaders of Israel spoke vehemently against Him, and they did all within their power to make the Name of Christ a reproach until it was the song of the drunkards.)

¹³But as for me, my prayer is unto You, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of Your Mercy hear me, in the truth of Your Salvation. (This speaks of David as a Type of Christ. Both, David and Christ, cried to God incessantly. David, as a Type of Christ, knew that God was his only hope. The Greater Son of David would likewise cry to God for leading and guidance.

This should be an example to us. God is the only One Who can protect us and can, in fact, change our situation, whatever it might be.)

¹⁴Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them who hate me, and out of the deep waters. (David is speaking in this Passage of the terrible mire of sin he has fallen into, regarding Bath-sheba. His enemies, of which he seemed to have many, greatly used this as a weapon against him.

The same could be said for Christ in an even greater way, except He committed no sin; however, He would so much take our sin upon Himself, becoming one with its penalty, that He would suffer the full effects of its horror, even though He Himself never failed even one time.)

¹⁵Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. (This terminology inspired by the Holy Spirit is a perfect picture of the efforts of Satan to destroy an individual. These Passages could well apply to the horror of Gethsemane, when Satan attempted to kill Christ before He could go to the Cross. Only Gods intervention saved His Life [Lk. 22:4344].)

¹⁶Hear me, O LORD; for Your Lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of Your tender Mercies. (The Hebrew word translated Lovingkindness means Grace, and as tender Mercies, it signifies the same tender affection that mothers show their offspring. If it is to be noticed, it is used quite often in the Psalms.)

¹⁷And hide not Your face from Your servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. (The only relief from trouble is for the Believer to express Faith in Christ and the Cross, which will then give the Holy Spirit the latitude to apply the Word and its effect to your heart and life.)

¹⁸Draw near unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of my enemies. (Anyone who is truly called of God will experience the opposition of these enemies. These will come from three sources: the world, the apostate Church, and demon spirits.)

¹⁹You have known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: my adversaries are all before You. (Most of the adversaries against Christ were those of the religious leaders of His day.)

²⁰Reproach has broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. (This spoke of David, but far more of Christ. It probably refers to His trial and the terrible ordeal on the Cross. He actually died of a broken heart [Jn. 19:34].)

²¹They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (This was fulfilled at the Crucifixion [Mat. 27:48]. It must be remembered that those who did this were not the drunks, the thieves, or the harlots who nailed Christ to a Cross, but, instead, it was the religious leaders of that day. Regrettably, it has not changed from then until now.)

²²Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. (The table that is referred to here is actually that which the Lord prepares for His Own [Psalm 23]. Judas did not want the table that the Lord had prepared; he desired another table. It would become a snare. Along with Judas, this also speaks of the Priests who opposed Christ, and most did!)

²³Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. (They refused light, so now they will have darkness. This darkness will bring a fear that will cause them continually to shake. And so it did!)

²⁴Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let Your wrathful anger take hold of them. (Judas committed suicide, as did Caiaphas, the High Priest. Also, Jerusalem, some thirty-seven years later [A.D. 70], was totally destroyed by the Roman army.)

²⁵Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. (This was quoted about Judas in Acts 1:20. It was also quoted in part by Christ concerning Israel and Jerusalem [Lk. 13:3435].)

²⁶For they persecute Him whom You have smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom You have wounded. (The Father Himself smote the Son, which speaks of the Cross [Isa. 53:4].

²⁷Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into Your Righteousness. (This speaks of Judas and the religious leaders of Israel blaspheming the Holy Spirit. They added this iniquity unto their iniquity.)

²⁸Let them be blotted out of the Book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. (This proves that names can be blotted out of the Book of Life. The same thing is said in other places of the Bible, as well [Ex. 32:33; Rev. 3:5; 22:19]. That this is the Book of Life is clear from the fact that it is the Book wherein the names of the righteous are written.)

²⁹But I am poor and sorrowful: let Your Salvation, O God, set me up on high. (The religious leaders of Israel would not set Christ on high, meaning they would not recognize Him for Who He actually was; however, the Father most definitely did set Him upon high.)

³⁰I will praise the Name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. (David was noted for praising the Name of the Lord with a song. As well, Jesus and His Disciples sang a song at the Last Supper [Mat. 26:30].)

³¹This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that has horns and hoofs. (David is saying that praise to the Name of the Lord in song and thanksgiving pleases the Lord better than animal sacrifices. In a greater measure, it speaks of the Greater Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, which was better than animal sacrifices.)

³²The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. (Even though the humble refers to all Believers in a general sense, even more so it speaks of Christ.)

³³For the LORD hears the poor, and despises not His prisoners. (The word poor refers to Christ. His prisoners refer to those who follow Him. The Lord will always hear Christ, and those who follow Him will never be despised by God.)

³⁴Let the Heaven and Earth praise Him, the seas, and everything that moves therein. (The One Who is called humble and poor will ultimately see the entirety of the heavens and the Earth praising Him. This will be fulfilled in the Millennial Reign, and forever.)

³⁵For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. (This speaks of the coming Kingdom Age. As well, it tells us, by the use of the word Zion, which is strictly Jewish, that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews, and not to the Arabs. It is their possession, and given to them by the Lord [Gen. 17:19, 21].)

³⁶The Seed also of His Servants shall inherit it: and they who love His Name shall dwell therein. (Here, Jesus is called the Seed. Paul wrote, And to thy Seed, which is Christ [Gal. 3:16]. At the beginning of the Kingdom Age, the dispute concerning the Land of Israel will forever end. The Lord Jesus Christ shall inherit it.)