Psalms 101

Psalms 101:1

Complaint

While the Lord Jesus is in the deepest suffering, He still thinks of others (Psalms 69:6). This is characteristic of Him. In the night in which He was betrayed, knowing all that would come upon Him, He loved His own to the end (John 13:1) and instituted the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). On the cross He cared for Mary (John 19:26-27) and for the one repentant criminal (Luke 23:40-43). There He did pray for the people: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34a).

In this psalm, He asks God that because of His suffering, others will not be ashamed of their trust in God after all. He has always expected His help from God and in spite of that He is now enduring great and deep suffering. How will this affect those who also expect their help from the “Lord, GOD of hosts”?

Because of the suffering that the Lord Jesus endures, it may seem that seeking the “God of Israel” is useless. He therefore asks God that through Him, through His suffering, those who seek God will not be dishonored. He asks this because despite His present suffering and the apparent absence of God, He still trusts in God completely.

His suffering is not useless, but provides an example of trust in God especially in the deepest suffering. The suffering He undergoes has a cause and a purpose. Its cause is the sin that has come into the world, dishonoring God. Its purpose is for God to regain the honor that has been stolen from Him by man’s sin. Only when we see this there is perseverance in trust in God. In that, God is glorified. The awareness of these two aspects will sustain the remnant in the end time.

The reproach that the Lord Jesus has borne, He has borne for the sake of God (Psalms 69:7). He links everything that happens to Him to God. The reproach done to God, He bears. The dishonor done to God covers His face.

His complete identification with God in what sinful men do to Him has caused a deep separation between Him and His brothers after the flesh (Psalms 69:8; cf. Mark 3:21; John 7:3-9). He has become an alien to them. He does not belong to His family. They do not even know Him anymore. He complains: “I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother’s sons.” This speaks of deep loneliness.

All the suffering the Lord has endured stems from His zeal for God’s house (Psalms 69:9). He devoted Himself with all His energy to God’s dwelling place on earth. It is the place where God wants to gather with His people and have fellowship with them. That place must fully respond to His holiness. For this the Lord Jesus worked with a zeal that consumed Him, a zeal that cost Him everything (John 2:17).

God’s people made that house a place of business and a den of robbers (John 2:16; Matthew 21:13). Thereby they have reproached God. The Lord Jesus speaks of “the reproaches” with which God has been reproached. This defamation has been inflicted on Him in many ways and countless times. It shows how deeply God has been grieved by it. All that libel has fallen on the Lord Jesus. It is again that identification of Him with God.

This also has a practical application for us. We learn this from Paul in the letter to the Romans, in a section where he tells us not to please ourselves, but our neighbor for his good (Romans 15:1-3). Thereby he sets Christ as an example for us and then quotes this verse (Psalms 69:9b). Throughout His life, Christ had the honor of God in mind. That is what He lived for, and not for Himself. That is why He could say to His Father at the end of His life on earth: “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).

He was so fully engaged in His dealings with God that He felt the reproach with which God was reproached as His own. His example gives us the strength to do what is required: to bear the weaknesses of others and to please our neighbor for his good.

Christ felt that reproach more deeply than we are ever capable of feeling. It moved Him to tears; He wept over it (Psalms 69:10). The sorrow over that situation merged with the fasting of His soul. His tears and His fasting, however, did not evoke pity and even less self-judgment from the people, but instead it became His “reproach”.

The sackcloth which He put on as His clothing revealed the feelings of His heart (Psalms 69:11). This, too, didn’t win Him any acclaim for His sorrow for the dishonor done to God. On the contrary, in their scorn they made Him a byword because of His appearance in sackcloth.

Not only did the common people despise Him. He has been the talk of the day of those who “sit in the gate” (Psalms 69:12). These are the dignitaries and judges of the people, the upper class of the population (Matthew 27:41; Joshua 20:4; Rth 4:1-2; Lamentations 5:14). The lower class of the people, the drunkards, the people who cannot control themselves, also feasted on Him (Matthew 27:44). They have laudingly sung a song of derision about Him. All that He has done for His God, all that He has been burdened with, has been met with contempt and ridicule by the people, from high to low (cf. Lamentations 3:14).

Psalms 101:2

Complaint

While the Lord Jesus is in the deepest suffering, He still thinks of others (Psalms 69:6). This is characteristic of Him. In the night in which He was betrayed, knowing all that would come upon Him, He loved His own to the end (John 13:1) and instituted the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). On the cross He cared for Mary (John 19:26-27) and for the one repentant criminal (Luke 23:40-43). There He did pray for the people: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34a).

In this psalm, He asks God that because of His suffering, others will not be ashamed of their trust in God after all. He has always expected His help from God and in spite of that He is now enduring great and deep suffering. How will this affect those who also expect their help from the “Lord, GOD of hosts”?

Because of the suffering that the Lord Jesus endures, it may seem that seeking the “God of Israel” is useless. He therefore asks God that through Him, through His suffering, those who seek God will not be dishonored. He asks this because despite His present suffering and the apparent absence of God, He still trusts in God completely.

His suffering is not useless, but provides an example of trust in God especially in the deepest suffering. The suffering He undergoes has a cause and a purpose. Its cause is the sin that has come into the world, dishonoring God. Its purpose is for God to regain the honor that has been stolen from Him by man’s sin. Only when we see this there is perseverance in trust in God. In that, God is glorified. The awareness of these two aspects will sustain the remnant in the end time.

The reproach that the Lord Jesus has borne, He has borne for the sake of God (Psalms 69:7). He links everything that happens to Him to God. The reproach done to God, He bears. The dishonor done to God covers His face.

His complete identification with God in what sinful men do to Him has caused a deep separation between Him and His brothers after the flesh (Psalms 69:8; cf. Mark 3:21; John 7:3-9). He has become an alien to them. He does not belong to His family. They do not even know Him anymore. He complains: “I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother’s sons.” This speaks of deep loneliness.

All the suffering the Lord has endured stems from His zeal for God’s house (Psalms 69:9). He devoted Himself with all His energy to God’s dwelling place on earth. It is the place where God wants to gather with His people and have fellowship with them. That place must fully respond to His holiness. For this the Lord Jesus worked with a zeal that consumed Him, a zeal that cost Him everything (John 2:17).

God’s people made that house a place of business and a den of robbers (John 2:16; Matthew 21:13). Thereby they have reproached God. The Lord Jesus speaks of “the reproaches” with which God has been reproached. This defamation has been inflicted on Him in many ways and countless times. It shows how deeply God has been grieved by it. All that libel has fallen on the Lord Jesus. It is again that identification of Him with God.

This also has a practical application for us. We learn this from Paul in the letter to the Romans, in a section where he tells us not to please ourselves, but our neighbor for his good (Romans 15:1-3). Thereby he sets Christ as an example for us and then quotes this verse (Psalms 69:9b). Throughout His life, Christ had the honor of God in mind. That is what He lived for, and not for Himself. That is why He could say to His Father at the end of His life on earth: “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).

He was so fully engaged in His dealings with God that He felt the reproach with which God was reproached as His own. His example gives us the strength to do what is required: to bear the weaknesses of others and to please our neighbor for his good.

Christ felt that reproach more deeply than we are ever capable of feeling. It moved Him to tears; He wept over it (Psalms 69:10). The sorrow over that situation merged with the fasting of His soul. His tears and His fasting, however, did not evoke pity and even less self-judgment from the people, but instead it became His “reproach”.

The sackcloth which He put on as His clothing revealed the feelings of His heart (Psalms 69:11). This, too, didn’t win Him any acclaim for His sorrow for the dishonor done to God. On the contrary, in their scorn they made Him a byword because of His appearance in sackcloth.

Not only did the common people despise Him. He has been the talk of the day of those who “sit in the gate” (Psalms 69:12). These are the dignitaries and judges of the people, the upper class of the population (Matthew 27:41; Joshua 20:4; Rth 4:1-2; Lamentations 5:14). The lower class of the people, the drunkards, the people who cannot control themselves, also feasted on Him (Matthew 27:44). They have laudingly sung a song of derision about Him. All that He has done for His God, all that He has been burdened with, has been met with contempt and ridicule by the people, from high to low (cf. Lamentations 3:14).

Psalms 101:3

Prayer for Salvation

The psalmist – and prophetically the Lord Jesus – in all his distress turns in prayer to the LORD his God (Psalms 69:13). The whole life of the Lord Jesus was entirely “prayer” (Psalms 109:4b), especially during His suffering. Literally it says here “but I, my prayer …” In Hebrew, “I” has emphasis. The psalmist, in his deep suffering of the preceding verses, seeks refuge in the God of the covenant, the “LORD”.

That he addresses God as “LORD” implies that he is counting on the “greatness” of God’s “lovingkindness” – that is, God’s faithfulness to the promises of His covenant – that assures him of God’s salvation. As we have seen earlier, in this second book of psalms the name LORD is mentioned rarely. However, at the moment when the faithfulness of God in connection with the covenant is in question, the name of the LORD comes up again.

He knows that there is “an acceptable time” (cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He looks forward to that. We can read it as an observation, that is, that prayer is a time of acceptance. That is because the psalmist is completely assured of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God.

That time of acceptance comes because of “the greatness of Your lovingkindness”. The Lord Jesus knows that lovingkindness and He trusts in it. He asks for the answer to His prayer because He knows “the saving truth” of God. We can think here of His prayer in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7). What He further says is also reminiscent of this.

The Lord Jesus sees Himself in “the mire” by which He feels surrounded (Psalms 69:14). The mire here is not a picture of sin. Here the principle of paralleling between the first and second line of the verse applies. Then it appears that by “the mire” in the first line the “foes” are meant and that “the deep waters” in the second line refer to the same thing. The hatred, in word and deed, of these hostile persons can pull you down so much that it stifles your spiritual life. It can make your heart bitter, bringing you down spiritually. The Lord Jesus asks God to deliver Him from that.

The deliverance He asks for concerns two forms of suffering He underwent. Firstly, He asked to be delivered from His foes. Secondly, He asks to be delivered from a second suffering, a suffering greater than the first. He expresses in three forms of imagery the enormous severity and depth of that suffering (Psalms 69:15). Firstly, He speaks of “the flood of water” – that is a whirlpool – that it will not “overflow” Him – meaning that the whirlpool pulls Him down. Secondly, He speaks of “the deep” that it will not “swallow” Him “up”. Finally, about “the pit” that it will not “shut its mouth” on Him, shutting Him off from light and life.

The pit is a subsurface, pear-shaped, water tank that can be closed with a stone to prevent an animal from falling into it and rendering the water unusable. It is a hewn pit that, when dry, can be used as a prison (Genesis 37:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 38:6). If the opening is closed, it is impossible to escape. The pit is often a picture of the danger of the realm of the dead (cf. Psalms 55:23; Psalms 88:6).

These three expressions – the flood of water, the deep and the pit – indicate how severe He sees the judgment that God will bring on Him because of the sins He takes upon Himself. He is drowning in it, devoured by it and cut off from fellowship with God. He sees the end of His life on earth before Him, cast out from living in the presence of God. As a faithful God-fearing Jew, this thought is horrible to Him. His only desire has always been to live with and for God. That this should come to an end and in such a dramatic way, fills him with horror.

This leads Him to ask again for the answer to His prayer (Psalms 69:16). He asks for it on the basis of God’s “lovingkindness” which is “good”. Likewise, He asks that God turns to Him because He understands the “greatness” of God’s “compassion”. God’s good lovingkindness and the greatness of His compassion are the basis of His prayer.

David reminds God that he is His “servant” (Psalms 69:17). He is called the servant of the LORD several times (Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Isaiah 37:35). The Lord Jesus is also called “the servant of the LORD” in the second half of the book of Isaiah. David prays to the LORD on the basis of the covenant – the lovingkindness of the LORD – and on the basis of having a special relationship with the LORD as His servant. The latter applies in a surpassing way to the Lord Jesus.

He has always served Him unconditionally and with unfailing faithfulness. Then God cannot hide His face from Him, can He? The fear of it oppresses Him. He cannot live without the presence of God. Therefore he begs God to answer him quickly.

The psalmist’s prayer is the question to the LORD to act actually and immediately by drawing near to him (Psalms 69:18; cf. Malachi 3:5). When he experiences that, when God comes to him, redemption takes place. No power can stand in the presence of God. He asks to ransom him for the sake of his enemies. He does not want them to think that God is incapable to ransom him from impending doom. He is also thinking of the honor of God here.

Psalms 101:4

Prayer for Salvation

The psalmist – and prophetically the Lord Jesus – in all his distress turns in prayer to the LORD his God (Psalms 69:13). The whole life of the Lord Jesus was entirely “prayer” (Psalms 109:4b), especially during His suffering. Literally it says here “but I, my prayer …” In Hebrew, “I” has emphasis. The psalmist, in his deep suffering of the preceding verses, seeks refuge in the God of the covenant, the “LORD”.

That he addresses God as “LORD” implies that he is counting on the “greatness” of God’s “lovingkindness” – that is, God’s faithfulness to the promises of His covenant – that assures him of God’s salvation. As we have seen earlier, in this second book of psalms the name LORD is mentioned rarely. However, at the moment when the faithfulness of God in connection with the covenant is in question, the name of the LORD comes up again.

He knows that there is “an acceptable time” (cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He looks forward to that. We can read it as an observation, that is, that prayer is a time of acceptance. That is because the psalmist is completely assured of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God.

That time of acceptance comes because of “the greatness of Your lovingkindness”. The Lord Jesus knows that lovingkindness and He trusts in it. He asks for the answer to His prayer because He knows “the saving truth” of God. We can think here of His prayer in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7). What He further says is also reminiscent of this.

The Lord Jesus sees Himself in “the mire” by which He feels surrounded (Psalms 69:14). The mire here is not a picture of sin. Here the principle of paralleling between the first and second line of the verse applies. Then it appears that by “the mire” in the first line the “foes” are meant and that “the deep waters” in the second line refer to the same thing. The hatred, in word and deed, of these hostile persons can pull you down so much that it stifles your spiritual life. It can make your heart bitter, bringing you down spiritually. The Lord Jesus asks God to deliver Him from that.

The deliverance He asks for concerns two forms of suffering He underwent. Firstly, He asked to be delivered from His foes. Secondly, He asks to be delivered from a second suffering, a suffering greater than the first. He expresses in three forms of imagery the enormous severity and depth of that suffering (Psalms 69:15). Firstly, He speaks of “the flood of water” – that is a whirlpool – that it will not “overflow” Him – meaning that the whirlpool pulls Him down. Secondly, He speaks of “the deep” that it will not “swallow” Him “up”. Finally, about “the pit” that it will not “shut its mouth” on Him, shutting Him off from light and life.

The pit is a subsurface, pear-shaped, water tank that can be closed with a stone to prevent an animal from falling into it and rendering the water unusable. It is a hewn pit that, when dry, can be used as a prison (Genesis 37:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 38:6). If the opening is closed, it is impossible to escape. The pit is often a picture of the danger of the realm of the dead (cf. Psalms 55:23; Psalms 88:6).

These three expressions – the flood of water, the deep and the pit – indicate how severe He sees the judgment that God will bring on Him because of the sins He takes upon Himself. He is drowning in it, devoured by it and cut off from fellowship with God. He sees the end of His life on earth before Him, cast out from living in the presence of God. As a faithful God-fearing Jew, this thought is horrible to Him. His only desire has always been to live with and for God. That this should come to an end and in such a dramatic way, fills him with horror.

This leads Him to ask again for the answer to His prayer (Psalms 69:16). He asks for it on the basis of God’s “lovingkindness” which is “good”. Likewise, He asks that God turns to Him because He understands the “greatness” of God’s “compassion”. God’s good lovingkindness and the greatness of His compassion are the basis of His prayer.

David reminds God that he is His “servant” (Psalms 69:17). He is called the servant of the LORD several times (Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Isaiah 37:35). The Lord Jesus is also called “the servant of the LORD” in the second half of the book of Isaiah. David prays to the LORD on the basis of the covenant – the lovingkindness of the LORD – and on the basis of having a special relationship with the LORD as His servant. The latter applies in a surpassing way to the Lord Jesus.

He has always served Him unconditionally and with unfailing faithfulness. Then God cannot hide His face from Him, can He? The fear of it oppresses Him. He cannot live without the presence of God. Therefore he begs God to answer him quickly.

The psalmist’s prayer is the question to the LORD to act actually and immediately by drawing near to him (Psalms 69:18; cf. Malachi 3:5). When he experiences that, when God comes to him, redemption takes place. No power can stand in the presence of God. He asks to ransom him for the sake of his enemies. He does not want them to think that God is incapable to ransom him from impending doom. He is also thinking of the honor of God here.

Psalms 101:5

Prayer for Salvation

The psalmist – and prophetically the Lord Jesus – in all his distress turns in prayer to the LORD his God (Psalms 69:13). The whole life of the Lord Jesus was entirely “prayer” (Psalms 109:4b), especially during His suffering. Literally it says here “but I, my prayer …” In Hebrew, “I” has emphasis. The psalmist, in his deep suffering of the preceding verses, seeks refuge in the God of the covenant, the “LORD”.

That he addresses God as “LORD” implies that he is counting on the “greatness” of God’s “lovingkindness” – that is, God’s faithfulness to the promises of His covenant – that assures him of God’s salvation. As we have seen earlier, in this second book of psalms the name LORD is mentioned rarely. However, at the moment when the faithfulness of God in connection with the covenant is in question, the name of the LORD comes up again.

He knows that there is “an acceptable time” (cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He looks forward to that. We can read it as an observation, that is, that prayer is a time of acceptance. That is because the psalmist is completely assured of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God.

That time of acceptance comes because of “the greatness of Your lovingkindness”. The Lord Jesus knows that lovingkindness and He trusts in it. He asks for the answer to His prayer because He knows “the saving truth” of God. We can think here of His prayer in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7). What He further says is also reminiscent of this.

The Lord Jesus sees Himself in “the mire” by which He feels surrounded (Psalms 69:14). The mire here is not a picture of sin. Here the principle of paralleling between the first and second line of the verse applies. Then it appears that by “the mire” in the first line the “foes” are meant and that “the deep waters” in the second line refer to the same thing. The hatred, in word and deed, of these hostile persons can pull you down so much that it stifles your spiritual life. It can make your heart bitter, bringing you down spiritually. The Lord Jesus asks God to deliver Him from that.

The deliverance He asks for concerns two forms of suffering He underwent. Firstly, He asked to be delivered from His foes. Secondly, He asks to be delivered from a second suffering, a suffering greater than the first. He expresses in three forms of imagery the enormous severity and depth of that suffering (Psalms 69:15). Firstly, He speaks of “the flood of water” – that is a whirlpool – that it will not “overflow” Him – meaning that the whirlpool pulls Him down. Secondly, He speaks of “the deep” that it will not “swallow” Him “up”. Finally, about “the pit” that it will not “shut its mouth” on Him, shutting Him off from light and life.

The pit is a subsurface, pear-shaped, water tank that can be closed with a stone to prevent an animal from falling into it and rendering the water unusable. It is a hewn pit that, when dry, can be used as a prison (Genesis 37:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 38:6). If the opening is closed, it is impossible to escape. The pit is often a picture of the danger of the realm of the dead (cf. Psalms 55:23; Psalms 88:6).

These three expressions – the flood of water, the deep and the pit – indicate how severe He sees the judgment that God will bring on Him because of the sins He takes upon Himself. He is drowning in it, devoured by it and cut off from fellowship with God. He sees the end of His life on earth before Him, cast out from living in the presence of God. As a faithful God-fearing Jew, this thought is horrible to Him. His only desire has always been to live with and for God. That this should come to an end and in such a dramatic way, fills him with horror.

This leads Him to ask again for the answer to His prayer (Psalms 69:16). He asks for it on the basis of God’s “lovingkindness” which is “good”. Likewise, He asks that God turns to Him because He understands the “greatness” of God’s “compassion”. God’s good lovingkindness and the greatness of His compassion are the basis of His prayer.

David reminds God that he is His “servant” (Psalms 69:17). He is called the servant of the LORD several times (Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Isaiah 37:35). The Lord Jesus is also called “the servant of the LORD” in the second half of the book of Isaiah. David prays to the LORD on the basis of the covenant – the lovingkindness of the LORD – and on the basis of having a special relationship with the LORD as His servant. The latter applies in a surpassing way to the Lord Jesus.

He has always served Him unconditionally and with unfailing faithfulness. Then God cannot hide His face from Him, can He? The fear of it oppresses Him. He cannot live without the presence of God. Therefore he begs God to answer him quickly.

The psalmist’s prayer is the question to the LORD to act actually and immediately by drawing near to him (Psalms 69:18; cf. Malachi 3:5). When he experiences that, when God comes to him, redemption takes place. No power can stand in the presence of God. He asks to ransom him for the sake of his enemies. He does not want them to think that God is incapable to ransom him from impending doom. He is also thinking of the honor of God here.

Psalms 101:6

Prayer for Salvation

The psalmist – and prophetically the Lord Jesus – in all his distress turns in prayer to the LORD his God (Psalms 69:13). The whole life of the Lord Jesus was entirely “prayer” (Psalms 109:4b), especially during His suffering. Literally it says here “but I, my prayer …” In Hebrew, “I” has emphasis. The psalmist, in his deep suffering of the preceding verses, seeks refuge in the God of the covenant, the “LORD”.

That he addresses God as “LORD” implies that he is counting on the “greatness” of God’s “lovingkindness” – that is, God’s faithfulness to the promises of His covenant – that assures him of God’s salvation. As we have seen earlier, in this second book of psalms the name LORD is mentioned rarely. However, at the moment when the faithfulness of God in connection with the covenant is in question, the name of the LORD comes up again.

He knows that there is “an acceptable time” (cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He looks forward to that. We can read it as an observation, that is, that prayer is a time of acceptance. That is because the psalmist is completely assured of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God.

That time of acceptance comes because of “the greatness of Your lovingkindness”. The Lord Jesus knows that lovingkindness and He trusts in it. He asks for the answer to His prayer because He knows “the saving truth” of God. We can think here of His prayer in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7). What He further says is also reminiscent of this.

The Lord Jesus sees Himself in “the mire” by which He feels surrounded (Psalms 69:14). The mire here is not a picture of sin. Here the principle of paralleling between the first and second line of the verse applies. Then it appears that by “the mire” in the first line the “foes” are meant and that “the deep waters” in the second line refer to the same thing. The hatred, in word and deed, of these hostile persons can pull you down so much that it stifles your spiritual life. It can make your heart bitter, bringing you down spiritually. The Lord Jesus asks God to deliver Him from that.

The deliverance He asks for concerns two forms of suffering He underwent. Firstly, He asked to be delivered from His foes. Secondly, He asks to be delivered from a second suffering, a suffering greater than the first. He expresses in three forms of imagery the enormous severity and depth of that suffering (Psalms 69:15). Firstly, He speaks of “the flood of water” – that is a whirlpool – that it will not “overflow” Him – meaning that the whirlpool pulls Him down. Secondly, He speaks of “the deep” that it will not “swallow” Him “up”. Finally, about “the pit” that it will not “shut its mouth” on Him, shutting Him off from light and life.

The pit is a subsurface, pear-shaped, water tank that can be closed with a stone to prevent an animal from falling into it and rendering the water unusable. It is a hewn pit that, when dry, can be used as a prison (Genesis 37:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 38:6). If the opening is closed, it is impossible to escape. The pit is often a picture of the danger of the realm of the dead (cf. Psalms 55:23; Psalms 88:6).

These three expressions – the flood of water, the deep and the pit – indicate how severe He sees the judgment that God will bring on Him because of the sins He takes upon Himself. He is drowning in it, devoured by it and cut off from fellowship with God. He sees the end of His life on earth before Him, cast out from living in the presence of God. As a faithful God-fearing Jew, this thought is horrible to Him. His only desire has always been to live with and for God. That this should come to an end and in such a dramatic way, fills him with horror.

This leads Him to ask again for the answer to His prayer (Psalms 69:16). He asks for it on the basis of God’s “lovingkindness” which is “good”. Likewise, He asks that God turns to Him because He understands the “greatness” of God’s “compassion”. God’s good lovingkindness and the greatness of His compassion are the basis of His prayer.

David reminds God that he is His “servant” (Psalms 69:17). He is called the servant of the LORD several times (Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Isaiah 37:35). The Lord Jesus is also called “the servant of the LORD” in the second half of the book of Isaiah. David prays to the LORD on the basis of the covenant – the lovingkindness of the LORD – and on the basis of having a special relationship with the LORD as His servant. The latter applies in a surpassing way to the Lord Jesus.

He has always served Him unconditionally and with unfailing faithfulness. Then God cannot hide His face from Him, can He? The fear of it oppresses Him. He cannot live without the presence of God. Therefore he begs God to answer him quickly.

The psalmist’s prayer is the question to the LORD to act actually and immediately by drawing near to him (Psalms 69:18; cf. Malachi 3:5). When he experiences that, when God comes to him, redemption takes place. No power can stand in the presence of God. He asks to ransom him for the sake of his enemies. He does not want them to think that God is incapable to ransom him from impending doom. He is also thinking of the honor of God here.

Psalms 101:7

Prayer for Salvation

The psalmist – and prophetically the Lord Jesus – in all his distress turns in prayer to the LORD his God (Psalms 69:13). The whole life of the Lord Jesus was entirely “prayer” (Psalms 109:4b), especially during His suffering. Literally it says here “but I, my prayer …” In Hebrew, “I” has emphasis. The psalmist, in his deep suffering of the preceding verses, seeks refuge in the God of the covenant, the “LORD”.

That he addresses God as “LORD” implies that he is counting on the “greatness” of God’s “lovingkindness” – that is, God’s faithfulness to the promises of His covenant – that assures him of God’s salvation. As we have seen earlier, in this second book of psalms the name LORD is mentioned rarely. However, at the moment when the faithfulness of God in connection with the covenant is in question, the name of the LORD comes up again.

He knows that there is “an acceptable time” (cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He looks forward to that. We can read it as an observation, that is, that prayer is a time of acceptance. That is because the psalmist is completely assured of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God.

That time of acceptance comes because of “the greatness of Your lovingkindness”. The Lord Jesus knows that lovingkindness and He trusts in it. He asks for the answer to His prayer because He knows “the saving truth” of God. We can think here of His prayer in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7). What He further says is also reminiscent of this.

The Lord Jesus sees Himself in “the mire” by which He feels surrounded (Psalms 69:14). The mire here is not a picture of sin. Here the principle of paralleling between the first and second line of the verse applies. Then it appears that by “the mire” in the first line the “foes” are meant and that “the deep waters” in the second line refer to the same thing. The hatred, in word and deed, of these hostile persons can pull you down so much that it stifles your spiritual life. It can make your heart bitter, bringing you down spiritually. The Lord Jesus asks God to deliver Him from that.

The deliverance He asks for concerns two forms of suffering He underwent. Firstly, He asked to be delivered from His foes. Secondly, He asks to be delivered from a second suffering, a suffering greater than the first. He expresses in three forms of imagery the enormous severity and depth of that suffering (Psalms 69:15). Firstly, He speaks of “the flood of water” – that is a whirlpool – that it will not “overflow” Him – meaning that the whirlpool pulls Him down. Secondly, He speaks of “the deep” that it will not “swallow” Him “up”. Finally, about “the pit” that it will not “shut its mouth” on Him, shutting Him off from light and life.

The pit is a subsurface, pear-shaped, water tank that can be closed with a stone to prevent an animal from falling into it and rendering the water unusable. It is a hewn pit that, when dry, can be used as a prison (Genesis 37:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 38:6). If the opening is closed, it is impossible to escape. The pit is often a picture of the danger of the realm of the dead (cf. Psalms 55:23; Psalms 88:6).

These three expressions – the flood of water, the deep and the pit – indicate how severe He sees the judgment that God will bring on Him because of the sins He takes upon Himself. He is drowning in it, devoured by it and cut off from fellowship with God. He sees the end of His life on earth before Him, cast out from living in the presence of God. As a faithful God-fearing Jew, this thought is horrible to Him. His only desire has always been to live with and for God. That this should come to an end and in such a dramatic way, fills him with horror.

This leads Him to ask again for the answer to His prayer (Psalms 69:16). He asks for it on the basis of God’s “lovingkindness” which is “good”. Likewise, He asks that God turns to Him because He understands the “greatness” of God’s “compassion”. God’s good lovingkindness and the greatness of His compassion are the basis of His prayer.

David reminds God that he is His “servant” (Psalms 69:17). He is called the servant of the LORD several times (Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Isaiah 37:35). The Lord Jesus is also called “the servant of the LORD” in the second half of the book of Isaiah. David prays to the LORD on the basis of the covenant – the lovingkindness of the LORD – and on the basis of having a special relationship with the LORD as His servant. The latter applies in a surpassing way to the Lord Jesus.

He has always served Him unconditionally and with unfailing faithfulness. Then God cannot hide His face from Him, can He? The fear of it oppresses Him. He cannot live without the presence of God. Therefore he begs God to answer him quickly.

The psalmist’s prayer is the question to the LORD to act actually and immediately by drawing near to him (Psalms 69:18; cf. Malachi 3:5). When he experiences that, when God comes to him, redemption takes place. No power can stand in the presence of God. He asks to ransom him for the sake of his enemies. He does not want them to think that God is incapable to ransom him from impending doom. He is also thinking of the honor of God here.

Psalms 101:8

Prayer for Salvation

The psalmist – and prophetically the Lord Jesus – in all his distress turns in prayer to the LORD his God (Psalms 69:13). The whole life of the Lord Jesus was entirely “prayer” (Psalms 109:4b), especially during His suffering. Literally it says here “but I, my prayer …” In Hebrew, “I” has emphasis. The psalmist, in his deep suffering of the preceding verses, seeks refuge in the God of the covenant, the “LORD”.

That he addresses God as “LORD” implies that he is counting on the “greatness” of God’s “lovingkindness” – that is, God’s faithfulness to the promises of His covenant – that assures him of God’s salvation. As we have seen earlier, in this second book of psalms the name LORD is mentioned rarely. However, at the moment when the faithfulness of God in connection with the covenant is in question, the name of the LORD comes up again.

He knows that there is “an acceptable time” (cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He looks forward to that. We can read it as an observation, that is, that prayer is a time of acceptance. That is because the psalmist is completely assured of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God.

That time of acceptance comes because of “the greatness of Your lovingkindness”. The Lord Jesus knows that lovingkindness and He trusts in it. He asks for the answer to His prayer because He knows “the saving truth” of God. We can think here of His prayer in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7). What He further says is also reminiscent of this.

The Lord Jesus sees Himself in “the mire” by which He feels surrounded (Psalms 69:14). The mire here is not a picture of sin. Here the principle of paralleling between the first and second line of the verse applies. Then it appears that by “the mire” in the first line the “foes” are meant and that “the deep waters” in the second line refer to the same thing. The hatred, in word and deed, of these hostile persons can pull you down so much that it stifles your spiritual life. It can make your heart bitter, bringing you down spiritually. The Lord Jesus asks God to deliver Him from that.

The deliverance He asks for concerns two forms of suffering He underwent. Firstly, He asked to be delivered from His foes. Secondly, He asks to be delivered from a second suffering, a suffering greater than the first. He expresses in three forms of imagery the enormous severity and depth of that suffering (Psalms 69:15). Firstly, He speaks of “the flood of water” – that is a whirlpool – that it will not “overflow” Him – meaning that the whirlpool pulls Him down. Secondly, He speaks of “the deep” that it will not “swallow” Him “up”. Finally, about “the pit” that it will not “shut its mouth” on Him, shutting Him off from light and life.

The pit is a subsurface, pear-shaped, water tank that can be closed with a stone to prevent an animal from falling into it and rendering the water unusable. It is a hewn pit that, when dry, can be used as a prison (Genesis 37:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 38:6). If the opening is closed, it is impossible to escape. The pit is often a picture of the danger of the realm of the dead (cf. Psalms 55:23; Psalms 88:6).

These three expressions – the flood of water, the deep and the pit – indicate how severe He sees the judgment that God will bring on Him because of the sins He takes upon Himself. He is drowning in it, devoured by it and cut off from fellowship with God. He sees the end of His life on earth before Him, cast out from living in the presence of God. As a faithful God-fearing Jew, this thought is horrible to Him. His only desire has always been to live with and for God. That this should come to an end and in such a dramatic way, fills him with horror.

This leads Him to ask again for the answer to His prayer (Psalms 69:16). He asks for it on the basis of God’s “lovingkindness” which is “good”. Likewise, He asks that God turns to Him because He understands the “greatness” of God’s “compassion”. God’s good lovingkindness and the greatness of His compassion are the basis of His prayer.

David reminds God that he is His “servant” (Psalms 69:17). He is called the servant of the LORD several times (Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Isaiah 37:35). The Lord Jesus is also called “the servant of the LORD” in the second half of the book of Isaiah. David prays to the LORD on the basis of the covenant – the lovingkindness of the LORD – and on the basis of having a special relationship with the LORD as His servant. The latter applies in a surpassing way to the Lord Jesus.

He has always served Him unconditionally and with unfailing faithfulness. Then God cannot hide His face from Him, can He? The fear of it oppresses Him. He cannot live without the presence of God. Therefore he begs God to answer him quickly.

The psalmist’s prayer is the question to the LORD to act actually and immediately by drawing near to him (Psalms 69:18; cf. Malachi 3:5). When he experiences that, when God comes to him, redemption takes place. No power can stand in the presence of God. He asks to ransom him for the sake of his enemies. He does not want them to think that God is incapable to ransom him from impending doom. He is also thinking of the honor of God here.