Psalm 69 is about suffering unjustly and God’s purpose in it. In such suffering, God magnifies the worth of His majesty, works for our good, and advances the gospel globally. Suffering injustice is common to all humanity, both to God’s people and everybody else. The quest for justice is also a common human experience. Many cultures around the world give witness to this quest by some depiction of Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice, commonly known as Lady Justice. Since the 15th century, she has primarily been seen blindfolded, carrying a sword and a set of scales (two pan beam balance). She wears a blindfold to demonstrate the impartiality of justice. We all know she is peeking from under her blindfold. Color, class, colleagues, and cash tilt her scales and sheath her sword.
Psalm 69 is not about injustice to all humanity. We as Christians must never settle for injustice done to anybody. Yet, in this world we will never arrive at perfect justice. It will take God to hand down justice. Justice is so foreign to this world that the very idea of it is depicted in a mythological goddess. Justice is difficult a difficult concept because it is pursued as a substance when it is a Person. To pursue justice is to pursue God. Justice is not some standard that determines what God does. Who God is and what God does determines what justice is.
Why did God allow injustice to come in the world? God has a purpose in injustice and evil. He does no injustice or evil, but both will serve the purpose of glorifying His Son. Psalm 69 shows this.
The greatest act if injustice in the history of the world was the murder of the Son of God. The world should look at the cross and mourn. Yet, at the same time, the death of the Jesus Christ was the greatest act of justice. God did not pass over our sin, but poured out His wrath due to sinners on Christ who became sin for us. God showed Himself to be just and justifier of those who believe in Christ. In the cross of Christ, all injustice, suffering, sorrow, and sin are ultimately answered. In the same event, while evil men did the most unspeakable crime of history, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Do you see then in the cross how evil and injustice serve to glorify the Son of God?
This psalm is about a particular kind of injustice—injustice done to God’s people simply because of their relationship to God. The NT recognizes that some people bring suffering on themselves, but others suffer the reproach of Christ. Peter exhorted the church, Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name (1 Pet 4:15-16). When God’s people experience injustice for His Name, the Son of God is glorified. Do you see then how God’s missionary purpose is advanced?
The psalm also contains one the longest sections of imprecation of any psalm in the Psalter. To imprecate is to curse, that is, to call on God to judge your enemy. Imprecations in the psalms raise the question, Are these psalms proper for Christian use? Imprecations are not strange the NT. NT writers, and more especially Jesus, made use of the imprecations, even those in this psalm. Imprecations are cries not for revenge, but for concern for God’s glory. Between every imprecation of Scripture and unmitigated judgment stands the cross of Christ. He became a curse for us. Either He bears the curse that rightfully belongs to you or you will bear it. It one thing to read the imprecations of Scripture. It is another thing altogether to have Christ look at you and say, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:41).
Psalm 69 is a psalm that Jesus saw as pointing to Himself. He lived this psalm out—cleansing the temple, understanding His rejection, enduring the cross and anticipating His resurrection. The NT writers loved this Psalm as well. I want us to look at the Psalm from the perspective of the psalmist, Jesus, the NT writers, and our lives as God’s people and see the missionary purpose of God in suffering with Christ.
The psalmist is type of Christ. Lament psalms like the entire Psalter move from plea to praise. So did the life of Christ, and so will our lives. The structure of laments is fairly consistent. Psalms of lament begin with a plea related to a dire situation that leads to death. From that certain death, God brings new life that leads to praise. In all but one lament psalm, this dramatic turn of events takes place. God always turns things around for His people. What is at stake in the lament psalms and in this psalm is the glory of God.
The difference in the Israelites murmuring when they came out of Egypt and the psalmist lamenting is the Israelites murmured in outright unbelief, defiance, and rejection of God. This unbelief continued until they all died in the wilderness. The lament, however, is the cry of faith. It is the real stuff of living in covenant relation with God. It sees God as the ultimate and decisive actor in all of life.
The only reason the devil or our enemies can do anything to us is because God allows them. The psalmist saw his suffering as ultimately from God and secondarily from His enemies. This is where sovereignty and responsibility meet. His enemies were responsible, but God was sovereign. God then was his only hope. An attack on God’s people is an attack on God. Thererfore, it can never ultimately prosper. The lament is the cry of faith that sees ultimately God’s glory at stake.
The Plea vv1-28
The psalmist calls on God because he is suffering unjustly. In this plea section, the psalmist alternates between addressing his complaints and his petitions to God. As he prays, the intensity of his complaints and petitions increase. He becomes more descriptive and articulate as his prayer continues. At last, he calls on God to judge His enemies.
Vv1-5 The First Round of Prayer
The psalmist begins with a plea and registers his complaint. Notice how he expresses himself to God. “Save me, O God!” This sounds like the disciples on the stormy sea, Save us, Lord! (Mt. 8:25) or Peter sinking in the waves, Lord, save me! (Mt 14:30). The psalmist is sinking to his death while he is waiting on God (v3).
The enemy does not seem to be an enemy from without, but those who should be expected to love and support the psalmist. This is not the enemy knocking at the gate. This is the enemy inside the gate. The psalmist complains that he is hated by more people than he has hairs on his head. Their demands are as ridiculous and manufactured as having to restore what you did not take. God knows the psalmist’s sin, and what he is accused of is not one of them. You will notice that the psalmist makes no claim of sinlessness. He just claims to be suffering unjustly. (vv4-5)
Vv 6-12 The Second Round of Prayer
In this section, the psalmist is concerned that those who hope in God might experience shame or dishonor because of him (v 6). He recognizes the insurmountable power of God and His Lordship over the universe (God of hosts). As such, He is God of Israel. He is in covenant with His people. He rules the world for their good.
The psalmist offers two reasons why he is concerned that his situation may bring shame to God’s people. First, it is on account of God that the Psalmist is in such dire straits (vv7-8). What is at stake is God’s glory. Second, on account of passion for God’s house, those who hate God hate him (v9). In the one case, he was estranged from his family, and, in the other case, he was the topic of the “topix” forum.
Vv 13-18 The Third Round of Prayer
In the third round of prayer, the psalmist picks up the themes of his prior praying and expands them. He sets himself in contrast to his opponents (v13 “but”). They are maligning the psalmist, but he is crying out to God for mercy on the basis of God’s faithfulness to His covenant. God himself, all that He is, is the foundation of the covenant. God determined the stipulations of the covenant—His own steadfast love and faithfulness. The psalmist is, as it were, getting the covenant out and reading it to God. This, O Lord, is what you have promised. He prays for justice for himself and wrath for his enemies.
Vv19-28 The Fourth Round of Prayer
Again the psalmist, expands on prior themes of prayer. He pleads God’s own knowledge of the situation (v19). The reproach of God has ultimately brought into his life has left no one to pity Him. Not only would no one comfort him, they sought his harm (v21).
The psalmist prayed that those who hope in God would not be put to shame because of God’s work in His life. If they viewed the psalmist harshly, they would set themselves against God. They would incur God’s judgment.
The psalmist then prayed for the perfect, poetic curse of God on his enemies. They gave the psalmist poison for food (v21). Their table would become a trap (v22). The psalmist’s eyes grew dim waiting on God (v3). The eyes of his enemies would be darkened (23). The psalmist’s was a stranger to his own family for his zeal for God’s house (8-9). His enemies’ houses would be desolate. (25)
In verse 26, the psalmist offers a reason for God to curse his enemies. They pounced on the psalmist because he was under the discipline of God. In so doing, they sought to thwart God’s purpose in discipline. In setting themselves against the psalmist, they set themselves against God. Don’t fight God’s work of discipline in your brother’s life.
There is no remedy for opposing God. If you oppose God, to whom will you turn for salvation? Their names would be blotted out of the book if the living. (vv27-28).
Praise vv29-36
Here the psalm takes a turn. There is a reversal. The psalmist has cried out to God and realizes God’s saving purpose in his suffering. Verse 29 is the transitional verse from plea to praise.
The psalmist will praise God. Because of God’s redemptive work in the psalmist’s life others will hope in God. The foundation of redemptive hope is God. If He redeemed the psalmist, the needy and the prisoners have reason to hope (v33).
This is the first time in the Psalter that heaven and earth are called on to praise (Goldingay, p. 354). Heaven and earth will praise God because of His saving work in Zion (vv35-36).
The missionary purpose of God in the psalmist’s suffering is that He might bring glory to Himself throughout the universe due to His saving work in Zion.
If David was the type, Christ is the anti-type. The anti-type is greater than the type. The danger in seeing Christ in the psalms is to try to make every detail of a psalm fit into the life of Christ. This is not necessary because the anti-type is greater than the type. I want to point to three references where Jesus lived in this psalm.
The Jews rejected both the words and works of Christ and because of that their guilt was established. As the psalmist was reproached because of God’s work in Him, Christ was rejected. To reject Him is to reject God. To reject Him is to reject God’s redemptive purpose.
If the world hated Him, the world will hate His church. There can be no neutral listeners to the gospel. The message of the cross is life to you or death, but there is no neutrality.
In the incomprehensible, unjust rejection of Christ, hatred that ultimately led to His murder, the greatest act of justice and mercy took place. God did not pass over our sin, but counted His Own Son to be sin for us.
As Lee pointed out last week, this business venture in the Court of the Gentiles totally missed God’s redemptive purpose and work in the world. The Savior of the nations was deeply offended by this. God’s purpose was not that they buy a pigeon, but that they might know Him. Don’t put up unnecessary barriers to the gospel. It is offensive enough already.
You have to ask yourself what is the purpose of this account in John’s gospel of the thirst of Jesus and the sour wine he was given to drink? When it is read in light of Psalm 69:21, we see God’s redemptive purpose fulfilled in the cross. This was not an act of mercy at the cross. This is an act of mockery. It’s not like you crucify someone and then do something nice for him. He cried, I thirst. You can hear his enemies laughing, Here drink this.
Jesus saw his life and death and resurrection in this psalm.
Acts 1:20 picks up Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8, both strong imprecations, to show that Judas betrayal of Christ and his tragic end was rooted in Scripture. The pouring out of the bowls of wrath in Revelation 16:1 reflect Ps 69:24. Pour out your indignation upon them and let your burning anger overtake them. The blotting out of one’s name from the book of the living is reflected in Revelation 21: 27 where only those whose names are in the book will be in the New Jerusalem.
Beyond those references to Psalm 69 in the NT, I want to look at two more a bit closer. In Romans 11:9-10, Paul quotes from Psalm 69:22-23 to show God’s redemptive purpose in hardening unbelieving Israel. Their rejection of Christ led to the crucifixion. Their rejection of the apostolic gospel, led to the gospel going out to the nations. Paul argues that if their rejection led to the gospel going to the nations, what will their salvation mean for the nations?
You can’t hear the gospel without consequence.
A second quote from Psalm 69:9 is found in Romans 15:3 in relation to Paul’s discussion of how we are to relate to one another in the church. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me (Rom. 15:3). Jesus did not please himself, but bore the reproaches of God all the way to the cross. Paul goes on to describe how Jesus became a servant to the Jews to show God’s truthfulness and to cause the gentiles to glorify God for His mercy (Rom. 15:8-9).
If David was a type and Christ is the anti-type, the church is a type. The church is a reflection of the life of Christ in the world. The anti-type is greater than the type. We are to live out the life of Christ in the world. We are to walk the Calvary road with Jesus. The church is called to take up the cross and follow Christ. Psalm 69 helps us see what that will be like, because we need to be prepared. I could make many points of application, but I am going to limit myself to just a few that I think are of singular importance to us. In your small groups, you can explore more avenues of application.
Jesus told us, “They hated me; they are going to hate you.” They hated Him without a cause (Jn. 15:18-25 cf. Ps. 69:4). They will hate you because of him (Ps 69:7 and 9). That we have lived so long in this country in relative freedom is a strange providence. We think it is normal, and not having freedom is odd. Really the odd thing in the world is us.
As a result strange teaching occurs. For years I heard preached that the church would be taken out of the world before persecution began. Then I became a missionary and discovered that because of such teaching, we had no solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the globe in their unjust sufferings.
Sometime in reading I see the phrase “the persecuted church.” I think as opposed to what, “the un-persecuted church?” I guess we will next have “the church militant” and “the church triumphant.” Which one are you going to join? A college advertised needing someone to teach the “History of the Black Church.” I applied with the caveat that there is no black church. There is no white one either. I would love to get back to the African roots of the church in Augustine and Athanasius. Words need to be weighed. They become doctrines.
We will have to wrestle with the senselessness of suffering because of Christ. Christians are law-abiding, working, tax paying people, yet authorities feel they have to stamp out home Bible studies. Somebody may pray. That the streets of Chicago are more dangerous than the streets of Afghanistan, however, is not a problem.
Some say that Christian giving will fall off when churches are denied non-profit status. I am going to give more on that day, even if I have to forego creature comforts. Don’t be offended in Him. Jesus sent to John, The blind receive their sight and lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
God has a powerful missionary purpose in the unjust suffering of His church. Saul held the clothes of those who stoned Stephen. Then he testified, Formerly, I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy…(1Tim 1:13). Suffering unjustly gave Paul the platform to witness before kings and emperors. It was suffering that thrust the Jerusalem church into the center of Great Commission endeavor. God always has a missionary purpose in our suffering with Christ. Josef Tson told the Romanian secret police something equivalent to this, “Killing me is your greatest weapon and dying is mine. If you use yours, I’ll be forced to use mine.” Remember they can’t die like you.
Teach your children to suffer hardship for the sake of Christ.
The psalmist rightly sees his suffering as ultimately from God. That’s why he cries out to God. The psalmist could point to people who were directly causing his trouble. Yet he saw his suffering was on account of God, and God could turn it around at any moment. Evil, unjust men are responsible, but God is sovereign.
Evil, unjust men crucified the Son of God. They were responsible, yet God is sovereign. The greatest reversal that has ever taken place, took place in the events surrounding the crucifixion. Evil men did their worst act in history. God, however, in that event was taking our sin and enduring the suffering and wrath we deserve. Then on the third day, Christ arose. Because of this, heaven and earth will praise Him (Ps 69:34).
Pray that those who hope in God will not be brought to shame and dishonor when the reproach of Christ is to be borne. Like Christ don’t please yourselves, but bear His reproach so that the body may persevere and not be ashamed, showing themselves aligned against God. What is at stake is the glory God in Christ. If the nations are to praise Him, we must bear His reproach, even in the Church. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another and you will be healed.
Our prayer for the Kingdom has a negative consequence. It is also a prayer that God will put down our enemies. No fault is in the psalmist for praying for mercy for himself and judgment for his enemies. We can’t be saved if there is no putting down, no judgment, of those who oppose us. We must never be on the killing end of the sword, but we know two unshakable truths—our suffering will further His Kingdom and He will right every wrong. There is a positive and negative side to the cross. To the believing it is the savor of life. To the perishing it is the savor of death. We don’t pray for God to delay the consummation, but to hasten it. Even, so come Lord Jesus.