Psalms 69
69
PSALM 69
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim,
A Psalm of David.
1Save me, O God, because the floods
do so environ me,
That ev'n unto my very soul
come in the waters be.
2I downward in deep mire do sink,
where standing there is none:
I am into deep waters come,
where floods have o'er me gone.
3I weary with my crying am,
my throat is also dry'd;
Mine eyes do fail, while for my God
I waiting do abide.
4Those men that do without a cause
bear hatred unto me,
Than are the hairs upon my head
in number more they be:
They that would me destroy, and are
mine en'mies wrongfully,
Are mighty: so what I took not,
to render forc'd was I.
5Lord, thou my folly know'st, my sins
not cover'd are from thee.
6Let none that wait on thee be sham'd,
Lord God of hosts, for me.
O Lord, the God of Israel,
let none, who search do make,
And seek thee, be at any time
confounded for my sake.
7For I have borne reproach for thee,
my face is hid with shame.
8To brethren strange, to mother's sons
an alien I became.
9Because the zeal did eat me up,
which to thine house I bear;
And the reproaches cast at thee,
upon me fallen are.
10My tears and fasts, t' afflict my soul,
were turned to my shame.
11When sackcloth I did wear, to them
a proverb I became.
12The men that in the gate do sit
against me evil spake;
They also that vile drunkards were
of me their song did make.
13But, in an acceptable time,
my pray'r, Lord, is to thee:
In truth of thy salvation, Lord,
and mercy great, hear me.
14Deliver me out of the mire,
from sinking do me keep;
Free me from those that do me hate,
and from the waters deep.
15Let not the flood on me prevail,
whose water overflows;
Nor deep me swallow, nor the pit
her mouth upon me close.
16Hear me, O Lord, because thy love
and kindness is most good;
Turn unto me, according to
thy mercies' multitude.
17Nor from thy servant hide thy face:
I'm troubled, soon attend.
18Draw near my soul, and it redeem;
me from my foes defend.
19To thee is my reproach well known,
my shame, and my disgrace:
Those that mine adversaries be
are all before thy face.
20Reproach hath broke my heart; I'm full
of grief: I look'd for one
To pity me, but none I found;
comforters found I none.
21They also bitter gall did give
unto me for my meat:
They gave me vinegar to drink,
when as my thirst was great.
22Before them let their table prove
a snare; and do thou make
Their welfare and prosperity
a trap themselves to take.
23Let thou their eyes so darken'd be,
that sight may them forsake;
And let their loins be made by thee
continually to shake.
24Thy fury pour thou out on them,
and indignation;
And let thy wrathful anger, Lord,
fast hold take them upon.
25All waste and desolate let be
their habitation;
And in their tabernacles all
inhabitants be none.
26Because him they do persecute,
whom thou didst smite before;
They talk unto the grief of those
whom thou hast wounded sore.
27Add thou iniquity unto
their former wickedness;
And do not let them come at all
into thy righteousness.
28Out of the book of life let them
be raz'd and blotted quite;
Among the just and righteous
let not their names be writ.
29But now become exceeding poor
and sorrowful am I:
By thy salvation, O my God,
let me be set on high.
30The name of God I with a song
most cheerfully will praise;
And I, in giving thanks to him,
his name shall highly raise.
31This to the Lord a sacrifice
more gracious shall prove
Than bullock, ox, or any beast
that hath both horn and hoof.
32When this the humble men shall see,
it joy to them shall give:
O all ye that do seek the Lord,
your hearts shall ever live.
33For God the poor hears, and will not
his prisoners contemn.
34Let heav'n, and earth, and seas, him praise,
and all that move in them.
35For God will Judah's cities build,
and he will Sion save,
That they may dwell therein,
and it in sure possession have.
36And they that are his servants' seed
inherit shall the same;
So shall they have their dwelling there
that love his blessed name.
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Psalms 69: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 69
69
A Cry of Anguish in Great Distress
1For the leader; according to “Lilies.”#“Lilies”: apparently the name of the melody. Of David.
I
2Save me, God,
for the waters#Waters: the waters of chaos from which God created the world are a common metaphor for extreme distress, cf. Ps 18:5; 42:8; 88:8; Jon 2:3–6. have reached my neck.#Ps 18:5; 93:3–4; Jb 22:11.
3I have sunk into the mire of the deep,
where there is no foothold.
I have gone down to the watery depths;
the flood overwhelms me.#Ps 40:2; 124:4–5.
4I am weary with crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
from looking for my God.#Ps 25:15; 119:82; 123:2; 141:8; Is 38:14.
5More numerous than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause.#Ps 40:13; Lam 3:52; Jn 15:25.
Those who would destroy me are mighty,
my enemies without reason.
Must I now restore
what I did not steal?#What I did not steal: the psalmist, falsely accused of theft, is being forced to make restitution.
II
6God, you know my folly;
my faults are not hidden from you.
7Let those who wait in hope for you, Lord of hosts,
not be shamed because of me.
Let those who seek you, God of Israel,#Ps 40:17.
not be disgraced because of me.
8For it is on your account I bear insult,
that disgrace covers my face.#Jer 15:15.
9I have become an outcast to my kindred,
a stranger to my mother’s children.#Jb 19:13–15.
10Because zeal for your house has consumed me,#Zeal for your house has consumed me: the psalmist’s commitment to God’s cause brings only opposition, cf. Jn 2:17. I am scorned by those who scorn you: Rom 15:3 uses the verse as an example of Jesus’ unselfishness.
I am scorned by those who scorn you.#Zeal for your house has consumed me: the psalmist’s commitment to God’s cause brings only opposition, cf. Jn 2:17. I am scorned by those who scorn you: Rom 15:3 uses the verse as an example of Jesus’ unselfishness.#Ps 119:139; Jn 2:17; Rom 15:3.
11When I humbled my spirit with fasting,#Ps 109:24–25; Jb 30:9; Lam 3:14.
this led only to scorn.
12When I clothed myself in sackcloth;
I became a byword for them.
13Those who sit in the gate gossip about me;
drunkards make me the butt of songs.
III
14But I will pray to you, Lord,
at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
with your sure deliverance.#Is 49:8.
15Rescue me from the mire,#Ps 28:1; 30:4; 32:6; 40:3; 88:5; Prv 1:12.
and do not let me sink.
Rescue me from those who hate me
and from the watery depths.
16Do not let the flood waters overwhelm me,
nor the deep swallow me,
nor the pit close its mouth over me.
17Answer me, Lord, in your generous love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
18Do not hide your face from your servant;
hasten to answer me, for I am in distress.#Ps 102:3; 143:7.
19Come and redeem my life;
because of my enemies ransom me.
20You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace;
before you stand all my foes.
21Insult has broken my heart, and I despair;
I looked for compassion, but there was none,#Lam 1:2.
for comforters, but found none.
22Instead they gave me poison for my food;
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.#Lam 3:15; Mt 27:34, 48; Mk 15:23.
IV
23May their own table be a snare for them,
and their communion offerings a trap.#Rom 11:9–10.
24Make their eyes so dim they cannot see;
keep their backs ever feeble.
25Pour out your wrath upon them;
let the fury of your anger overtake them.
26Make their camp desolate,
with none to dwell in their tents.#Acts 1:20.
27For they pursued the one you struck,
added to the pain of the one you wounded.
28Heap punishment upon their punishment;
let them gain from you no vindication.
29May they be blotted from the book of life;
not registered among the just!#Ps 139:16; Ex 32:32; Is 4:3; Dn 12:1; Mal 3:16; Rev 3:5.
V
30But here I am miserable and in pain;
let your saving help protect me, God,
31#That I may praise God’s name in song: the actual song is cited in Ps 69:33–35, the word “praise” in Ps 69:35 referring back to “praise” in Ps 69:31.That I may praise God’s name in song
and glorify it with thanksgiving.
32That will please the Lord more than oxen,
more than bulls with horns and hooves:#Ps 40:7; 50:8–9, 14; 51:18; Is 1:11–15; Hos 6:6; Am 5:21–22; Heb 10:5–8.
33“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, take heart!#Ps 22:27; 35:27; 70:5.
34For the Lord hears the poor,
and does not spurn those in bondage.
35Let the heaven and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!”
VI
36For God will rescue Zion,
and rebuild the cities of Judah.#Is 44:26; Ez 36:10.
They will dwell there and possess it;
37the descendants of God’s servants will inherit it;
those who love God’s name will dwell in it.#Ps 102:29; Is 65:9.
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