The Treasury of David

Posted on December 18, 2022 by brucesbiblepage

Psalm 69

Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher

TITLE.To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim. Thus for the second time, we have a Psalm entitled “upon the lilies.” In the forty-first they were golden lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh, and blooming in the fair gardens which skirt the ivory palaces: in this, we have the lily among thorns, the lily of the valley, fair and beautiful, blooming in the garden of Gethsemane. A Psalm of David. If any enquire, “of whom speaketh the psalmist this? of himself, or of some other man?” we would reply, “of himself, and of some other man.” Who that other is, we need not be long in discovering; it is the Crucified alone who can say, “in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” His footprints throughout this sorrowful song have been pointed out by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, and therefore we believe and are sure, that the Son of Man is here. Yet it seems to be the intention of the Spirit, while he gives us unique types, and so shows the likeness to the firstborn which exists in the heirs of salvation, to set forth the disparities between the best of the sons of men, and the Son of God, for there are verses here which we dare not apply to our Lord; we almost shudder when we see our brethren attempting to do so, as for instance Ps 69:5. Especially do we note the difference between David and the Son of David in the imprecations of the one against his enemies, and the prayers of the other for them. We commence our exposition of this Psalm with much trembling, for we feel that we are entering with our Great High Priest into the holiest place.

DIVISION. This Psalm consists of two portions of 18 verses each. These again may each be subdivided into three parts. Under the first head, from Ps 69:1-4, the sufferer spreads his complaint before God; then he pleads that his zeal for God is the cause of his sufferings, in Ps 69:5-12: and this encourages him to plead for help and deliverance, from Ps 69:13-18. In the second half of the Psalm he details the injurious conduct of his adversaries, from Ps 69:19-21; calls for their punishment, Ps 69:22-28, and then returns to prayer, and to a joyful anticipation of divine interposition and its results, Ps 69:29-36.

Verse 17. And hide not thy face from thy servant. A good servant desires the light of his master’s countenance; that servus servorum, who was also rex regium, could not bear to lose the presence of his God. The more he loved his Father, the more severely he felt the hiding of his face. For I am in trouble. Stay thy rough wind in the day of thine east wind; do not add sorrow upon sorrow. If ever a man needs the comforting presence of God it is when he is in distress; and, being in distress, is a reason to be pleaded with a merciful God why he should not desert us. We may pray that our flight is not in the winter and that God will not add spiritual desertion to all our other tribulations. Hear me speedily. The case was urgent, and delay was dangerous, nay deadly. Our Lord was the perfection of patience, yet he cried urgently for speedy mercy; and therein he gives us the psaliberty to do the same, so long as we add, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

Singing Psalms 69