Saturday, May 16, 2015

Psalm 69: A Prayer From Quicksand

I confess to getting a little claustrophobic whenever I read Psalm 69.  The psalmist's images include the sensations of falling into a pit, being dragged down into mire, and drowning.

  • "The waters have come up to my neck" (vs. 1)
  • "I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold" (vs. 2)
  • "The flood sweeps over me" (vs. 2)

That is why the psalmist turns to God to plead for deliverance: "Rescue me from the deep mire...from the deep waters...do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me" (vs. 14-15).

These descriptions are a metaphor for what the psalmist experiences as he is under attack from his (numerous) enemies.  He feels attacked, isolated and ashamed, and his recourse is the Lord.  "But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord" (vs. 13).

It is not coincidental that a psalm of such exquisite suffering and trouble was applied to Jesus.  "It is zeal for your house that has consumed me" (vs. 9) and "They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (vs. 21).  While the Psalms are not strictly prophetic in nature, the situations that they describe frequently find their parallels in New Testament fulfillment.

The next time you read Psalm 69, consider it a description of the emotions that Jesus may have been feeling on the cross.


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