Psalm 69 - Save Us O Turner of Tables

8/7/2019 Psalm 69 - Save Us O Turner of Tables

1/18

Title: Save us, O Turner of tables! - 1

Text: Psalm 69

Title: Save us, O Turner of tables!Text: Psalm 69Speaker: Pastor Chad Bresson

When the dawn broke there was no stirring in the bedchamber. The master of the house didnot show up for the usual breakfast that morning. This wasnt completely unexpected. He

and old friends had been up to the wee hours of the morning watching movies, laughing,

and draining their favorite brew. And on this morning, no one dared wake him. They were

under strict orders not to bother the man of the house under any circumstances. And sothey waited and waited, not disturbing him throughout the day for fear of upsetting The

Boss. The late morning became afternoon became evening. Finally, late in the evening

one trusted employee decided to take the daily mail to the owners room. What he foundchanged the course of history for an entire nation. There on the floor, dying from a stroke,

most likely brought on from rat poison, lay his boss, a man who not coincidentally had

poisoned hundreds of others. It was revealed later that the one most suspected of the deathof the owner of the vacation home was himself the subject of a murderous plot by the

owner himself. Poisoned was one Joseph Stalin, killed in much the same manner as he

himself had killed millions of others. The tables had been turned. A taste of his ownmedicine. A reversal of fortune.

The turning of the tables is a familiar plot device for anyone who is a fan of James Bond or

Indiana Jones. The evil villain is done in by an ironic twist of fate, many times at his own

hand. The turning of the tables turned Wile E. Coyote into a Saturday morning favorite.Theres even an instance of this in the Scriptures the Persian official who dastardly

plotted to exterminate the Jews in the book of Esther is hung on the very same gallows he

himself built for his genocidal plans.

This last instance is quite close to the kind of turning of the tables that we will be looking

at tonight. The turning of the tables in Psalm 69 is not simply a plot device. Nor does itride on the evil plans of an evil man an even eviler man. This is justice served on the

enemies of God and his people.

Turn with me to Psalm 69. Passion week is only a week away. We are looking at a Psalm

that not only helps us orient our thoughts when life is bad and we get desperate, but alsohelp us identify with One who was crushed on our behalf in the events that became known

in church history as The Passion. As we consider the movement of our Lord Jesus Christ

toward a death that has given us life abundant, we are considering Psalm 69, a Psalm thathelps shape our thoughts regarding The Passion.

Some questions that arise in our own lives as we consider Passion week: What are your

thoughts when life is its darkest? When your life is narrowed in focus down to a single yetcataclysmic crisis, what is it that governs your thoughts about the circumstances in whichyou find yourself? What are your thoughts about Jesus? What do you believe to be true

about the One who died for you? And before we walk too far down the individual road,

there are those congregations this evening who are going through some dark hours becauseof things that have occurred in the past week. They simply want this day to be over.

Monday morning these church bodies will collectively wake up with no other thought than

survival. When we as a body are faced with disappointment or even attack, what governs

our thoughts? What do we believe to be true about the One who died for us, regeneratedus, and gathered us together?

ntroduction


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Text: Psalm 69

Our passage this evening is a journey into the thoughts and emotions of a king and apeople who are at the end of themselves. Life is dark. Life is hopeless. The Psalmists

world is in total upheaval. The outlook is bleak. The destiny of a people rides on a king

whose life seems on the verge of being snuffed out. And as this king is being crushed by

those who hate him and his God, there is a cry of desperation.

Psalms as a hymnbook: the Psalm of LamentTonight, our text is found in the Psalms. The Psalter was the hymnbook of Gods people.

The Psalms were meant to be sung in the assembly. Commonly in Jerusalem, the contextfor the original piece was the tabernacle or temple. Even in the instances in which the

songs of lament were written in the first person, the assembly well understood, as they

were singing, that the writer of the Psalm was one of them. The assembly identifies itself

with the writer in corporate solidarity with the Psalmist. The plight of the writerrepresented the plight of the people.

Our text is Psalm 69. Psalm 69 is a Psalm of Lament, songs sung as complaints to God

coupled with expressions of trust in the midst of complaint. In Psalms of lament, Israelcollectively voices complaint to God. While songs of Praise and Hope take their cue fromthe covenantal blessings given to Gods people, songs of lament arise from situations in

which there is either no covenant or the covenant has been broken. Songs of lament are

sung by those feeling the effects of the curse of the fall and covenant-breaking. In thePsalm of blessing, all is right with the world. God is in control and we enjoy his blessing.

The Lament Psalms are songs sung in distress, distress that is both physical and

fundamentally spiritual. In the Psalm of lament, the Psalmists world is in chaos. All is not

right with the world; in fact, very little is right with the world. The enemies of the Psalmistand his people seem to have the upper hand. The righteous are unjustly suffering the fate of

a covenant breaker. Most Psalms of Lament move from the cry for help and a sense ofhopelessness to a declaration of hope and praise in a God who does not forsake his people.We need to see that in this Psalm.

As we read this Psalm together, we need to notice that this theme of salvation is the glue

that holds this Psalm together.

Verse 1: Save me O God is the desperate cry of a drowning king.

Verse 14 is another plea for Gods salvation, this time in the context of a

loving God being faithful to his covenant with his people. The Psalmist ismoving from absolute desperation to an appeal to Gods covenantal love

and faithfulness.

Verse 29 is the bookend. In the final appeal, the Psalmist has moved into a fullconfidence of Gods salvation so much so that salvation becomes the vehicle forthe Kings exaltation. This Psalms story of salvation is moving from desperation to

exaltation through the covenantal love and faithfulness of God for his people.

And the addendum is in verse 33: God will save Zion. The Psalmists desperate cry

for salvation ends with an affirmation that God will indeed save His people.

Verse 1, verse 14, and verse 29 form the basic structure holding the Psalm in place,

highlighting the work of Gods salvation. Verse 14 is the thesis statement of the Psalm

more on that later. But notice how this theme provides the context for what we are reading.


3/18


Text: Psalm 69

Psalms of lament are not completely hopeless, though a couple of them seem to end thatway. From within the upside world comes a resolute expression of trust in the steadfast

love and faithfulness of a God who does not break covenant with his people. There is an

acknowledgment that no matter how bleak it looks, God is still in control, still saving hispeople, and some day, he will make all things right. Psalm 69 is *that* kind of Psalm. As

we read the Psalm together, lets notice the desperation, notice the faith in the midst of

despair, notice how the expressions of trust are woven into the complaints.

One other thing we need to keep in mind as we read this Psalm. Theres a reason whyPsalm 69 is not familiar to us. Even though this Psalm is quoted as much or more than any

other Psalm in the New Testament, its true Psalm 22 gets all the press when it comes to

Messianic Psalms. But Psalm 69 has something else that makes it a Psalm many

commentators and preachers these days wont touch. It is not only a Psalm of Lament, it isa Psalm of imprecation. That fancy term is simply a term that means a Psalm that calls

down Gods damnation on the Psalmists enemies. These kinds of Psalms in which the

Psalmist prays for all sorts of bad things to happen to his enemies defies our politicallycorrect sensibilities. In Psalm 69, its not enough for the Psalmist to cry out for help in

facing what seems to be certain death. His faith and trust in God moves him to expresses

confidence that God will save him, but also moves him to beg for God to judge hisenemies.

Psalm 69Psalm 69 is a Psalm of David. This song is written in eight discernable movements,

successively alternating between cries for help (vs. 1, 6, 13b-18, 22-29) and statements ofplight (vs. 2-5, 7-13a, 19-21), with the final statement being a statement of praise (30-36).

The statements of plight function as the reasons for the cries for salvation and deliverance,and as one moves through the Psalm, the lament increases in its intensity resolving thecomplaint and expression of trust in a chorus of praise.

It is a bit of a long Psalm, but meant to be sung in its entirety. The tune, identified here as

lilies has been lost to posterity. But lets stand as Gods people and read it aloud

together as an assembly. This is what Gods Word says:

1 Save me, O God!

For the waters have come up to my neck.

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


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Text: Psalm 69

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 mothers 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 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.


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Text: Psalm 69

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.

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.


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Text: Psalm 69

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 Zionand 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.

A Psalm of DavidThe first thing we notice about Psalm 69 is what we said earlier in that this is a Psalm ofDavid. We know almost nothing of the origins of this Psalm. Other than a couple of hints

in this passage, we do not know the circumstances that gave rise to this Psalm. We doknow from the book of Samuel that there are a couple of events in Davids life that wouldseem similar to what we find here. The first is Sauls chasing of David through the

wilderness. There were days that David thought that he might not make it out of the desert

alive, save for the fact that he was the Lords anointed and heir to the throne. There are

some Psalms written in those dark days. Theres also the time in Davids life after he wasking when he was pushed off his throne, out of his house, out of Jerusalem and was on the

run for his life again. This time, his own son Absalom was the hunter with Davids life in

danger as the hunted. Both Saul and Absalom fit the perpetrators profile in this Psalm.And theres a reference to homelessness away from brothers who were opposed to him

that might fit the description regarding Davids flight from Saul, since there are intimations

in Samuel that Davids brothers, like Joseph, were not all that fond of their young sibling.Regardless, we simply dont know the circumstances, other than its a Psalm of David.

A Psalm of ContrastThe second thing we notice as we come to Psalm 69 is the stark contrast in the Psalter

between Psalm 69 and the ending of Psalm 68. The contrast is so stark this cannot beaccidental:

O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, to him who rides in

the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold he sends out his voice his might voice.

Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the

skies. Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel he is the one whogives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God.

What lofty vision and declaration of God. Awesome is God from his sanctuary. Blessed be

God! Here is God in all of his heavenly glory, the occasion of which is to break forth in

song. The Grand and Exalted Ancient of Days in his heavenly dwelling is given praise forwho He is for his people giving them power and strength. Psalm 68 ends with the only

possible ending of this exalted vision of the God who keeps covenant with Israel: Blessed

be God! Blessed be God!

Save me O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire,where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps


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Text: Psalm 69

over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim

with waiting for my God.

Where is the praise? Where is the vision of God in all of his glory? Where is the

recognition of what God has done for his people? Where is the comfort of knowing God is

ruling and reigning from his heavenly dwelling place? Where is the pronouncement of

covenantal blessing on the ever faithful God where is Blessed be God!?

Save me O God! Where has God gone for David? Is Psalm 68 still true? No longer is there

the casting of a grand vision of God in his sanctuary. Instead, David, the Anointed One of

Israel, the recipient of the divine covenant, the king who sees God in all of his glory and

has heaped upon God praise for who he has been for his people in power and strength nowfind himself in hell on earth where God not only is seemingly absent, his hand seems to be

against him. This contrast between the ending and opening of these two Psalms is Davids

recognition that even those who are Gods covenantal people still find themselves verymuch affected by the curse.

Davids First Plea: Save me O God!

Save me O God! Becomes the overarching theme of this Psalm. All that follows in thisPsalm could be subsumed under that desperate cry. It is a cry of anguish. It is a cry ofterror. It is a blood-curdling cry meant to make the assemblys hair stand on end: Save me

O God! The Psalmist wastes no time in making an immediate appeal to the saving God of

Israel, the only one in whom there is any hope of salvation. Whatever it is that compelsDavid to cry out, it is apparent that David has no choice but to turn to the only One who

can save him.

Davids first statement of plight: Im drowningWhy is it that Save me O God contains such anguish and desperation? This first cry forhelp is followed by a description of his situation. I sink in deep mire where Im losing my

feet. I have come into deep waters and the floods sweep over me.

David is drowning. David is going under. David is so overwhelmed by his situation, he is

about to succumb with his very life. David is such a mess, his voice is nearly spent fromhis pleas of desperation, and the flicker of life in his eyes nearly out. He has been waiting

on Gods salvation that long. This, for David, is the dark night of the soul, in which all

light seems to be gone from the eyes. Life is out of control. There is a seeming inevitabilityof doom. Davids life is in upheaval to the point of catastrophic. There seems to be no way

out and God seems so distant. His cry for salvation rises to God, because he senses Gods

hand in the events of his life. But what used to be a calm and resolute waiting on God andthe vindication of his servant has now become a waiting for help that may seem like it will

never come.

Throughout the Old Testament, these waters and deep mire are symbolic of distress

that is brought on by judgment. This kind of catastrophic upheaval that is overwhelmingDavid is accentuated by alienation and darkness. The imagery here evokes the concept of

Sheol, the pit, the realm of the dead, and indeed the pit is mentioned later in this song.

Echoes of Jonah and Joseph and Jeremiah can be heard here. Even Gods people are not

immune to the effects of the curse in a fallen world. The pain is real, the suffering is real.

This suffering is exacerbated by the fact that it is an unjust suffering. Mighty are those

who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies.What I did not steal, must I now

restore? Theres no more severe mental anguish portrayed in the pages of scripture than


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Text: Psalm 69

that of unjust suffering at the hands of those who hate God and hate Gods people because

they hate God. These who hate God are many. The language in verse 4 mirrors verse 2.More in number and mighty describe enemies who threaten to overrun Davids life.

The sheer number of those out to destroy David are flooding Davids world to the point he

feels as if he is drowning.

This near hopelessness of the Psalmists situation isnt simply because God seems to haveGod missing, but along with God, truth and justice have also gone missing. There is a

longing for vindication, but vindication of the anointed one is elusive because justice is

AWOL. What gives rise to Davids sense of being overwhelmed by life in the darkest hourof his soul are lies being spread like wildfire about the Anointed One of Israel. And there is

nothing he can do about it.

The distress of the situation explains the impulse and desperation behind Save me O

God! And the magnitude of his helplessness forces David to confess his own sin. Theressense in which David recognizes his plight with fallen humanity. O God, you know my

folly. The wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Here we are clued in that this

great distress of Davids life wasnt simply physical. That becomes more apparent as we

move through the Psalm. In the clarifying moments of being pulled under the rushing tide,David acknowledges and confesses his falling short of the glory of a God who holiness is

so bright and intimate knowledge so vast nothing escapes his attention.

Mediation for his peopleDavid follows this confession with his second petition or plea. This petition is on behalf of

his people, and further clarifies the kind of flood that has put his life in danger. David

recognizes that the destiny of his people rests with his destiny. Whatever affects him,affects them. His shame is their shame. If Davids destiny comes to an end, so too the

destiny of his people. If all hope is lost with David, all hope is lost for his people. David,

the mediator, offers himself as a substitute for his people: let not those who hope in you

be put to shame through me; let not those who see you be brought to dishonor throughme. Shame me, but dont shame them. Allow me to be dishonored, but dont allow that

dishonor to fall on them.

Suffering for Gods SakeAnd this substitutionary mediator follows this plea with more clarification about his plight.

The second plea is followed by a second explanation or declaration of the nature of the

Psalmists adversity. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach. These flood

waters of life that are about to overwhelm David and extinguish the flicker of life in hiseye are the result of Davids identification with the Covenanting God of Israel. This

oppression is spiritual warfare. This oppression is persecution. David, as Gods choice to

lead Israel, suffers humiliation because he *is* Gods choice. David suffers reproachbecause he is the anointed one with whom God has made covenant. His opposition isnt

simply against David. It is against the one true God of Israel that has redeemed himself a

people out of Egypt and has made David a leader for the people.

The persecution of David for the sake of a covenanting God on behalf of his people hasresulted in his homelessness verse 8. Piled on top of this sense of anguish is a familial

alienation. False accusation and innuendo have taken their toll on family relationships. The

unjust attacks on David have cut him off from his family in dishonor and shame. Thescoffing of older brothers at a young teenager heading off to fight goliath have given way

to an outright disowning of David.


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Text: Psalm 69

No longer welcome in the family house, he runs to take refuge in Gods house. What a

contrast between verse 8 and verse 9. He trades the broken relationship of family in anearthly house for divine communion in the heavenly house, the place where God comes to

meet his people. But even that doesnt stem the floodwaters engulfing David.

Verse 9 - Not only is David suffering because of his identification with the one true God of

Israel, but also because of his identification with Gods glorious dwelling presence amonghis people. Zeal for your house has consumed me. Theres probably a double meaning

here. This is typically understood to be a description of Davids passion for worship and

the dwelling presence of God in the tabernacle. Such a passion is well chronicled. Butgiven the circumstances of Davids plight and his lament here, we must also see here that it

is precisely Davids passion for Gods house that is his undoing. Davids self-identification

with Gods dwelling presence with his people is such that David is being consumed to thepoint of losing his life and being cut off from the people of God. The reproaches of those

who reproach the covenanting God of Israel have fallen on David.

Davids zeal for Gods communion with his people in shekinah glory is consuming his life.

Falsehoods are being spread. He bears the reproach of unjust suffering because of Gods

name and Gods presence among his people, the ironic result of which is an alienationfrom Gods people. Even more ironic the shame and humiliation and alienation that

would so richly be deserved by those who hate God have fallen on the one who loves God

and his dwelling place.

This section ends in another ironic contrast. Such is Davids humiliation and infamy that

Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands is no longer playing in Jerusalems

Top 40. That hit song has been replaced the song of infamy. The humiliation of David

doesnt settle for the gossip chain. It goes viral in song. Reinforcing the overwhelmingsense of doom is the blasphemous melody borne by alcohol. Long after the lights have

gone down, and the streets have gone silent, stuck in Davids consciousness is the

blasphemous melody whose notes propagate the lies into the inner recesses of the soul.

Davids response is a classic response of the righteous to the wicked: But as for me, myprayer is to you, O Lord. If the rancor of a bartune is going to carry the tale of Davids

demise hither and yon, then his only response can be his own prayer song in appeal to the

only one who can save him. How ironic indeed. Davids appeal as the waters of life rise tohis neck and the tide threatens to drown him in humiliation and shame, is to the One whose

reproach he bears. Let that sink in. The destiny of Isarel rides with one whose last,

desperate appeal is to the very one who is the subject of his humiliation. These enemieshate David these enemies hate Israel these enemies hunt down David because they

hate God.

Thus, Davids appeal for salvation isnt simply for his own personal vengeance. Davids

appeal is for Gods vindication not only of those who love him, but for his own sake.Instead of running from God when life seems over, David runs right to God: Save me O

God. Im drowning. Im being shamed. Dont allow this shame to spread to your people.

Im bearing your reproach. Zeal for *your* house has consumed me. Vindicate me,vindicate your people, vindicate You! If God cannot vindicate, there will be no vindication.

If God cannot or will not save, there will be no salvation.

Salvation as an attribute of GodWhen we get to verse 13b, the desperate plea Save me O God is beginning a wonderfultransformation in the heart of the Psalmist. In fact, the centerpiece of this Psalm is verse


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Text: Psalm 69

13b. If we were going to write a thesis statement for this Psalm, this would be it! At an

acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me in your savingfaithfulness.

The salvation of the King and people is grounded in Gods personal and intimate covenant

with Israel. Sometime go through the Psalms and count all of the times that the Psalmist

highlights or praises God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. Steadfast love andfaithfulness are understood by the Psalmist to be at the heart of Gods promises to Israel as

Gods people. If there are two characteristics that set God as the unique God above all

others, the two characteristics that declare Gods unique relationship to Israel and identifythem as His people, it is a love for His people that never wavers and never quits and a

zealous loyalty that never, ever falters. And here the Psalmist notes that these two

characteristics that speak to Gods never ending covenant with his people are grounds forhope. Why? These arent simply nice, moral attributes. No. This steadfast love and

faithfulness are actually, and really *saving* His people. The Psalmist cries out Save me

O God because in the very being of God, the very *morality* of God isnt static, but is

active on behalf of His people. There is the hope when the King is drowning. When itlooks as though the destiny of the King and His people will disappear into the dustbin of

history, there is still a flicker of hope based not on what David can do for himself, but what

he knows God has done and is doing for His people. God is characterized by a love and*saving* faithfulness for his people so much so that He is not God if He fails to do so.

Answer meNot only has the initial appeal Save me O God laid hold of Gods covenantal love and

faithfulness, it has become resolute in its appeal. It does not give up. Notice here that theappeal is no longer save me, but answer me. In fact, answer me is repeated 3 times

in this section. Even as Gods covenant with Israel becomes the basis for the appeal, the

desperation in the plea has increased threefold. Hope begins to appear on the lips of the

Psalmist, but the initial cry for salvation has been met with silence. Answer me. Answerme. Answer me. All the Psalmist can hear is the mocking song of the drunkard.

The initial descriptions of Davids plight of drowning in water up to the neck and

sinking in the mire are now attached to the increasing intensity of Davids plea. Answerme. Deliver me from sinking in the mire. Let me be delivered from my enemies and from

the deep waters. Let not the flood sweep over me. The kings enemies threaten to overrun

him and extinguish him and with him his people. And at stake is Gods covenant with Kingand people.

And if God didnt hear the first time, or the second time, this plea is repeated, and again,

David in his desperation is appeal to the very covenant that was the basis of Israel

becoming a nation: Answer me for your steadfast love is good, according to your abundantmercy, turn to me. Answer me. Deliver me. Let me be delivered. Let not the flood sweep.

Answer me. Turn to me. Hide not your face. Make haste to answer me. Draw near.

Redeem me. Ransom me. O God, where are You? If anything, things are so desperate forthe Psalmist in the midst of great suffering and great pain, suffering that is unjust, suffering

that is because of who God is for His people, that he is now reminding himself and

reminding himself and reminding himself of Gods love and his mercy and his saving

faithfulness. When life is at its bleakest, David is preaching the gospel to himself and toHis people. Again and again. Over and over. Answer me because you are a saving God.

Answer me because you love us. Answer me because you are great in mercy.


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Text: Psalm 69

Answer me. Do not abandon us and oh, is that thought here. Mingled with hope that

begins to appear on the Psalmists lips is an appeal to not abandon. And if there is anythought that is darker than dark in a moment like this, Save Me O God, Im drowning.

Answer me. Answer me. Dont turn from me, Hide not your face, its the thought of a

faithful and loving covenanting God who saves his people turning from His king andpeople and hiding his face. If there is anything worse than bearing reproach for the sake of

Gods name and His presence among His people its the withdrawing of that presence fromHis people. If theres anything worse than the thought over being overrun by Godsenemies, its being abandoned by God himself.

These thoughts here are the barest of a soul hanging on by a thread in the face of death.

Turn to me suggests that the Psalmist has already begun to believe that the prospect is

there that God indeed has abandoned his anointed one, the chosen one of Israel. And ifGod has abandoned his anointed one he has abandoned his people. The fate of the people

rides on the fate of the king. Turn to me, hide not your face is the inner motivation

behind Save me O God. In fact, its simply amazing that Save me O God has been

uttered at all. Even though there is the prospect of abandonment, even though David arighteous sufferer, enduring the agony of reproach for Gods name and Gods people,

Davids faith and trust in Gods love and faithfulness is so resolute he makes the appeal

anyway. Answer me out of your love and your mercy and your faithfulness to your people.Deliver me from being overrun by your enemies. Turn to me, hide not your face. Do not

abandon me. I need your redemption.

You know my reproachThis third set of appeals is follow by a third set of explanation of Davids plight. Andagain, notice how there is an increase in the intensity of Davids plight. Reproach, shame,

dishonor, and reproaches reinforce Davids plight, but this time, David intimately ties this

plight to God himself. You know my reproach. My shame and dishonor are known to

you. This shame and humiliation isnt faceless. These are known enemies. Reproach andshame have names and addresses.

Davids plight is increasing personal. The metaphors of drowning and sinking are

being replaced with David looking for pity and finding no pity and no comfort. David islooking for relief from his plight and not finding any. The spiritual suffering and torment

are taking a very real physical toll. Davids life is in danger. The shame and reproach are

reinforced with physical discomfort and suffering. Its one thing to suffer shame andhumiliation in a posh palace or the comfort of home. But David is homeless. Davids

internal agony finds no relief in physical comfort. Theres nothing to alleviate the internal

disintegration.

In fact, not only did David find no pity and no comfort, he found the opposite. Instead ofpit, they gave him poison for food. Instead of comfort in the quenching of thirst, his

enemies gave him sour wine to drink. David isnt simply cut off from comfort, but cut off

from lifes sustenance in a way that simply adds to the mockery. In our language we talkabout pouring it on, kicking him while hes down, piling on, pouring salt in the

wounds. Davids fingers are on the ledge, he hangs by the fingernails, and his enemies are

stepping on them. Food and water run to the very essence of what it means to be human.

Life itself is carried on bread and water. David is not only being deprived of that whichwould give him life, but hes being given that which would drive life from him in a way

that makes a mockery of Davids plight. One can hear the mocking laughter of Davids


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Text: Psalm 69

enemies as the kings table is no longer a place that gives sustenance but is a table that

would actually kill you.

It is here that shame and the humiliation is complete. It is here that the drunkards song is

the loudest. It is here that Davids alienation has run its course into complete isolation. The

bread and the wine upon which David depends for his life are actually killing him. Save

me O God. Answer me. Answer me. Turn to me. Hide not your face from me. Man cannotlive by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from Gods mouth. And David has

neither. There is no bread, only poison. There is no water, only undrinkable wine. There is

no answer. Only silence.

Turn the tablesWhat happens next is uncharted territory for the Psalmist. With an outlook so bleak, even

the basic necessities of life are no longer providing the sustenance necessary to live, there

is a startling shift a jolt in Davids appeal. Davids last appeal is simply stunning.Having made his desperate plea, having appealed to Gods abundant love and faithfulness

and mercy, his appeal moves from the salvation that he desires from a loving a faithful

God to justice that he desires from a God who rights all wrongs. The focus shifts from thePsalmist to his enemies, those who are the cause of the suffering of the righteous. The

petition moves from what the Psalmist wants God to do for himself and His people to what

the Psalmist wants God to do *to* his enemies.

Verse 22 begins a series of the imprecatory appeals, appeals invoking Gods justice andjudgment on the enemies of king and people, covenant breakers who mock the very

presence of God in the shekinah glory of the tabernacle.

This Psalmist doesnt simply call down Gods judgment on his enemies. Note the dramatic

shift between verses 21 and 22. They poisoned my food. They gave me sour wine to drink.Let their own table before them become snares. Even within an inch of his life, about to be

overwhelmed, the Psalmists view of Gods holiness and justice are so acute his prayer isthat Gods justice will be meted in a manner loaded with the irony that to this point hasbeen all his. He appeals to a divine retribution whose chief characteristic is that we reap

what we sow. And it is an appeal for justice to right the ironic wrong. This is the righteous

suffer who suffers having done no wrong. This is the one who suffers the reproach of those

who reproach. This is David so passionate for Gods presence and people that he is aboutto lose his life because of that passion. Davids enemies mock him. His prayer is for God

to have the last laugh. There is, in Davids view of divine retribution, a sense that ones

actions become their own consequences.

This prayer for the table to become a snare is the first of five curses invoked on behalf ofthe Psalmist and Gods peopleand all five are the inverse of details that speak to Davids

plight:

They poison my food and give me sour wine to drink. Let their own idolatrous

table before them become a snare. My eyes grow dim waiting on God to save me.Let their eyes be darkened. Im drowning and I cannot keep my feet. Let their loins

be so shaky in the wake of Gods judgment they cant stand up. Zeal for your house

where your presence glows has consumed me. Rain down your righteous anger andlet your glowing and burning anger consume them. I am alienated from my family

and homeless. May their camp be a desolation and let no one dwell in their tents.

The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Add to thempunishment upon punishment. They defame me and recount my stories in the city


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Text: Psalm 69

gates and in song. Blot their names out of the book of the living and do not allow

them to be recounted among the righteous.

Save me O God and be my reverser of fortune. Save me O God and turn the tables on your

enemies. Answer me out of your steadfast love and saving faithfulness. We want your love

and mercy. Strike down your enemies with justice and holiness.

And as we make our way to the final section, it becomes quite evident that such is thePsalmists view of Gods majesty and glory, such is his confidence in Gods salvation of

his people that one must notice that the turning of the tables involves a trade of the

temporary for the eternal, a physical for the spiritual, an earthly for the heavenly. I desire

some comfort. I have looked for pity. Show your enemies your divine wrath in which therewill never be comfort. Im suffering humiliation and shame. In the halls of divine justice,

declare them guilty and eternally damned. My life is about to be extinguished. Banish them

from the Book of life.

As bleak as it looks, the Psalmist has not taken his eye off of the big picture. He is about tobe overwhelmed by those who hate Him and his God. Yet David knows that any suffering

in this life is temporary. The worst that can happen to him is that he dies. But his desire is

to see Gods justice satisfied and Gods name vindicated. He is afflicted and in pain, verse29, but he fully expects, even as hopeless as it seems for Gods salvation to exalt him in his

suffering. Let your salvation set me on high. David doesnt simply want saved from his

temporary predicament. David has higher purposes and aims. David is the Anointed One.Gods saving activity in history wont be content to simply pull David out of the flood.

Divine salvation doesnt simply restore. Salvation acting on behalf of people and king is

incomplete if all it does is save David from his enemies. Davids final appeal here shows

the full measure of his faith and trust in the God who acts on behalf of his people. Thisdivine salvation involves the rightful exaltation of the Anointed One. This isnt simply

restoration, but a new creation.

It is here that the transformation of Davids appeal is at its highest and fullest end. It beginswith Save Me O God, Im being overwhelmed. It ends with Let your Salvation set me onhigh. From the hellish pit to the glorious throne. This is Davids appeal that has been

transformed by seeing God in his love and mercy and justice and holiness. David fully

expects the Covenanting God of Israel to act in love and mercy toward His Anointed Oneand justice and retribution toward his enemies and as a result that very same salvation

will result in the exaltation of the righteous one.

I will praiseThe final section of this Psalm moves from the lament to an expression of praise and trustand assurance in the God who vindicates his people and his name. And notice the reversal

of fortunes continues. The drunkards are defaming my name with their blasphemous song.I will praise the name of God with a song. Let not those who seek God be brought todishonor. You who seek God let your hearts revive. Zeal for your house has consumed me.

God will save Zion. I am homeless. Gods people will dwell in Zion and possess it and

those who love his name shall dwell in it.

The anticipation of Davids exaltation gives way to the crescendo of a Psalm that began inthe blackest of nights. Save me O God has moved through an appeal for Israels

covenanting God to work on the Anointed Ones behalf and to the salvation of the

Anointed One in his exaltation. The appeal for exultation of the Anointed One places boththe vision and desire for the Psalmist squarely in the heavens. There has been a


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Text: Psalm 69

reorientation of perspective. That reminder of Gods love and faithfulness, working toward

Davids exaltation, orchestrates praise and thanksgiving in the Psalmist, a praise andthanksgiving that God values more than sacrifice. The danger is still present. God hasnt

yet answered. David, mind you, is still drowning. What has changed is his inner orientation

and disposition. God hasnt answered, but he has already answered in what he has done forHis people and what he will do. David has been reminded of the gospel in the promises of

the covenant. He cries Save Me O God because salvation promised will be salvationaccomplished both in Gods love and mercy and his justice. While the danger is stillpresent, God will indeed reward the wicked for their treatment of the righteous sufferer.

When all is said and done, the tables will be turned and those who reproach God and his

people will get theirs.

And when those who, like David, find themselves drowning in a sea of Gods enemies seethe pleasure of the Lord in the glory presence of the shekinah cloud of the tabernacle, they

like David will be glad. Those who are half-dead, seeing Gods pleasure at the praise

and thanksgiving of his people, will find themselves resurrected. Gods salvation brings to

life those who have been raised from the mire and the pit. The cry Save Me O God hasas its end the salvation of God in His dwelling with His people forever. Salvation cannot

and will not come from David. It must come from outside of himself and is found in the

all-loving, all-merciful, all-faithful saving God of Israels covenant promises.

Any feeling of Gods distance and abandonment, in light of Gods final salvation of hispeople, is short-lived and in the final analysis is simply the true mirage. God will exalt his

Anointed One and God will save His people and dwell with them forever such a thought

sustains David when he is drowning in a sea of Gods enemies and being consumedbecause of Gods house and Gods people.

The Voice of the MessiahBut is this passage simply about Davids misery and his personal mediation on behalf of

Israel? Not hardly. The New Testament writers see Messiah written all over this passage.New Testament writers do not allow us to read this Psalm without making the connection

between David and Messiah, the Messiah named Jesus. Some of these lines are oh so

familiar to us and we are reminded of them around this time of year. In fact, few Psalmsare quoted more in the New Testament. In the backdrop of Davids voice is the voice of

another who would come who is greater than David. And these Psalms of lament placed on

the lips of the Messiah became expressions of the inner thoughts and emotions of One whoendured unimaginable suffering on behalf of His people.

Ever wonder what Christ was thinking or feeling in those hours that led up to the cross?

Ever wonder what Christ was thinking as he hung on that cross for hours? We need not

wonder. Were looking at once such journey into his thoughts and emotions in those finalhours.

In the Upper Room on that final night when he gathered with his disciples and observed a

final Passover, he quotes from verse 4 here: they hate me without cause. There on this final

night, the Passover lamb looks at those for whom he will be reproach and says, More innumber than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause, mighty are those

who would destroy me.

When Christ drives out the money changers on another Passover occasion, John ties

Christs actions to verse nine, Zeal for your house will consume me. While the passionfor Gods presence among his people is noted by John, in the end, it was zeal for the


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Text: Psalm 69

anticipates exaltation in Gods salvation. But horror of horrors, Christs cry Save Me O

God really does go unanswered. Christ cries, answer me, for your steadfast love is goodand there is no answer. Christs desperation on the cross is evident as the Father abandons

the Son. Hide not your face from me has no response in the heavens. Turn to me is

met with stone cold silence.. The worst of all possible scenarios that God would cursethe innocent and abandon his people falls like a reproach on the One who had a zeal for

Gods presence and His people like no other. How could this be?

Christ will not be saved. The tables will not be turned. The curses will not be reversed. The

wicked will not get theirs in fact, they kick Christ when he is down. Christ is thereproach instead of those who reproach God. The swing point of this Psalm becomes the

climax of the suffering on the cross. John 19:28

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, "I

thirst." 29A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sourwine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the

sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

We often read this part of the crucifixion story as if the soldiers are finally feeling sorry for

Jesus. But thats not the context of Psalm 69:21 which is the allusion here. The context inPsalm 69 is mockery. Kicking the anointed one who is down. Stepping on the fingers of

Christ who is hanging on to the ledge by his fingers to save his life. They are singing the

drunkards song. Christ dies the death of one mocked. Instead of being exalted, theAnointed One dies the death of the shamed, the humiliated, the dishonored. The one who

was abandoned by his fathers, fills up the meaning of Psalm 69 to its fullest and drowns in

the sea of his enemies. The suffering of the righteous sufferer is complete. In the end the

Righteous Sufferer of Psalm 69 will die. The Righteous Sufferer will not be saved.Because it is Gods intent to save his people.Christ cries out it is finished. Not only is

the king dead, so is the destiny of the people whose fate is tied to his. Save me O God has

gone unanswered. All foreshadowed in the suffering the anointed one in Psalm 69 is

complete. The tables will not be turned. Or will they?

If those at the foot of the cross, or even the disciples on the road to Emmaus had bothered

to finish reading Psalm 69 they would have known that all was not lost. You see even as

Christs Save Me O God is going unanswered, Christ is saving Zion. Even as Christ isabandoned, he is securing intimate communion with His people forever. And yes, even as

Christ is dying with life quenching wine on his lips he is turning the tables on his enemies.

Oh what foolishness that kind of vindication seems to most of us. This is not thevindication that the world esteems. This is not a power play. What a weak fool to think that

dying makes everything right.

But thats just it. Adam sinned. Israel sinned. The whole world revolted in rebellion. The

seed of the serpent seeks to destroy the seed of the woman. This cosmic rebellion,encapsulated in Israels disobedience, is at the heart of the turning of the tables. The

covenant had been broken and Christ is dying as a covenant breaker. Even as Christ is

suffering the curses raining down from a jealous God whose covenant has been broken,Christ is becoming a New Covenant and providing the ratification of the New Covenant

with his blood. As Christ dies, Christ reverses the fortunes of His people and gives those

who are covenant breakers the New Covenantal blessings instead.

But then there is also this dire reality. Luke, in writing Acts, cites Psalm 69 in providingdetails of the death of Judas, the one who was an enemy of Christ, one who persecuted the

Anointed One. As the one most directly responsible for securing the death of the Messiah,


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Text: Psalm 69

Judas becomes representative of those who hate Jesus. Indeed the tables were turned on

Judas. In dying as if he hated God, Christ turns tables on those who hate Him and Hispeople. The covenant curses have fallen on Christ. Christ subjected himself to the curses as

a covenant-breaker, became Gods enemy and experienced the judgment of Gods

enemies. But in taking the curses and dying the death of the damned, Christ secured the thedamnation of those who are the enemies of his people. Even as Christs heel is being

bruised, the head of the serpent is being crushed in the ultimate turning of the tables.

The Righteous Sufferer dies. But before the Psalm is over, the Righteous Sufferer lives,

dwelling among his people. Hearts revive in the last part of the passage because the Kinghas been revived. Having turned the table on his enemies, having been consumed by his

passion for Gods dwelling presence with His people, having died in shame and

humiliation, having died the death due both his people and his enemies, the Anointed OneHimself has been revived and exalted to Save His people and become their dwelling place.

Yes, there was a death, but in the end, there is a resurrection. In the resurrection, the

turning of the tables is complete. Having eaten of the poisoned food and drunk of the bitter

wine, Christ is raised from the dead in vindication of Gods name and the purchase of apeople. The Righteous Sufferer of Psalm 69 dies in order to be set on high.

And what joy awaits the Righteous Sufferer and his people. Save Me O God has become

Christ has saved Zion. He Himself is the peoples house, the new temple of God. He

himself becomes the peoples possession. He himself becomes His peoples inheritance.The salvation of the Righteous sufferer was lost so that in the end salvation would be

found for those who love Jesus name.

Conclusion:What are your thoughts when life is its darkest? When your life is narrowed in focus down

to a single yet cataclysmic crisis, what is it that governs your thoughts about the

circumstances in which you find yourself? What are your thoughts about Jesus? What do

you believe to be true about the One who died for you? When we as a body are faced withdisappointment or even attack, what governs our thoughts? What do we believe to be true

about the One who died for us, regenerated us, and gathered us together? We will be

tempted to blame God. We will be tempted to question God. We will be tempted towonder, where is the justice? When we have false accusations thrown our way, when we

suffer because we are Christians, we will be tempted to wonder, where is our

vindication? When the world is in catastrophic upheaval, we will be tempted to wonder,where is the hope? O Jesus, Save Us! Our hope must be in the One who already has

saved for himself a people by becoming a reproach for those people. This morning Mark

made this comment: it often takes a moment of crisis to bring us to our lowest pointbefore we will seek out Christ. When we have those moments of crisis, our hope, our

faith, and our belief is in the one who had the ultimate moment of crisis and redeemed forhimself a people.

Are we looking for vindication in all of the wrong places? Are we looking to turn thetables on those we dont like never mind if they arent necessarily Gods enemies? Are

we always looking to gain the upper hand, hoping to turn the tables ourselves? Are we

drowning in a sea of doubt? Does all seem lost? Do we feel abandoned? Ashamed?

Humiliated? Are our lives in crisis? Even if we were to never say it do we as a peopleget a smug satisfaction when someone we dont like gets theirs? Worse, do we wring our

hands in anxiousness wondering why those who hate God and oppose us and make life

miserable because we are Christians are *not* getting theirs?


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Text: Psalm 69

We need to come to the pages of Psalm 69. Even as life like a flood threatens to carry us

away, let us come gaze at the One who died as a Righteous Sufferer on our behalf. Even aswe long for vindication, let us come gaze at the one who will some day fully and

completely turn the tables on his enemies and exalt and vindicate his people. Even as we

feel shame and humiliation, let us come gaze at a Savior who suffered the shame andhumiliation we so richly deserved, dying the death as if he had been blotted out of the

Book of Life, in order to secure for us a place that very volume. Even as we feel as thoughwe are drowning in sorrows, let us come to Psalm 69 and gaze at the Man of Sorrows whofed on poisoned food and drank the bitter wine so that we could taste of the Bread of Life

and drink of the Living Water. In the midst of our mess, Save Us, O Turner of tables!

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Beale, G., & Carson, D. (2007). Commentary on the New Testament Use of the OldTestament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Bonar, A. (1978). Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms: 150 Inspirational Studies.

Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel.

Brueggemann, W. (1985). The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary.Minneapolis: Augsburg.

Daly-Denton, M. (2004). The Psalms in John's Gospel. In S. Moyise, & M. Menken, The

Psalms in the New Testament(pp. 119-137). London - New York: T&T Clark.

Goldingay, J. (2007). Psalms. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Groenewald, A. (2003). Psalm 69: Its structure, redaction, and composition. Munster: LitVerlag.

Lindars, B. (1961). New Testament Apologetic. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.

Ryken, L., & Ryken, P. G. (2007). The Literary Study Bible: ESV. Wheaton, Illinois:

Crossway.

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Vos, G. (1994). Eschatology of the Psalter. In G. Vos, The Pauline Eschatology (pp. 323-365). Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing.

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Psalm 69 - Save Us O Turner of Tables