Psalm 69
English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible
1 Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck [waters threaten my life].
2 I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
O God of Israel.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother's sons.
9 For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and humbled [lacks and humbled ]my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant;
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
22 Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap
[a snare, and retribution and a trap].
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
One of the ministers stood up and said that he and his fellow ministers often say "All is not perfect behind the trees" of our community. It would seem like it is. We have low crime. Our employment rates are reasonable. Yet we have a pretty high suicide rate and a very high motor vehicle accident rate. Probably something to do with the trees. And substance abuse. People are lonely. I can tell as I walk through my community, the houses are well cared for, but not bustling with friends visiting as I grew up seeing.
How are you? I'm fine. I suppose it's polite and better than not speaking, but. .
Today is a beautiful summer day. And Psalm 69 comes as something different than my peaceful day. But I tell you what, I really appreciate the fact that this Psalm is Real. This is a man who had seen Trouble. Not a careful God-given access to the best life-events-schools-skills elevator.
David says that all the people skills in the world will not make life smooth all the time.
Can you imagine going to the Tabernacle with the rest of Israel to worship, after David is King and hearing this poetry/worship/reality as part of worship? I think people would be rather shocked. I remember when Jimmy Carter was elected, people were shocked he was not going to go by James Carter or Jim Carter.
David says it just doesn't matter, in depth, if you are up or down in life. He says life will revolve both ways for all of us. David says what is important is knowing God loves you. The promises of God are for you. David says regardless of what you own and what owns you, you are in wisdom, happiness, and good favor when you know God holds you in His promises. Paul agreed. Paul said when we look at trouble as temporary and look to see what God will do with these things to His glory, we find the happiness that can be elusive. God agrees, the Holy Spirit breathing out Scripture.
David says being at ease can be a trap. David found this out himself. Paul said to find contentment in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you
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Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 69
February 4, 2011
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