Psalm 69-71 The Way David Might Have Seen It

Most commentaries say that chapter 69 is a Messianic psalm, describing Jesus’ agony on the cross and His thoughts during death.  Yet I thought about David writing it, not having full knowledge about an event hundreds of years in his future, and what he might have been thinking as he wrote it.  Was he struggling with sin and its effect on his life?  The images of mud and flooding certainly fit what it feels like to be in the grip of sin:

“God, save me, because the water has risen to my neck.  I’m sinking down into the mud, and there is nothing to stand on.  I am in deep water and the flood covers me.  I am tired from calling for help; my throat is sore.  My eyes are tired from waiting for God to help me.”

At youth last night I was discussing with a group of middle school boys about how it feels when we keep crying out to God to remove a sin from our lives and yet we still find ourselves struggling with it.  I asked them why it wasn’t going away.  After all, God is all-powerful.  He certainly can do it.  They came up with a great answer – because deep down inside we want to hold on to that sin, and we haven’t given God permission in our hearts to remove it.  He wants to purify us of that sin more than anything, but His gift of free will to us limits Him to only what we allow Him to do.

The psalm continues:

“Pull me from the mud, and do not let me sink.  Save me from those who hate me and from the deep water.  Do not let the flood drown me or the deep water swallow me or the grave close its mouth over me.  Lord, answer me because Your love is so good.  Because of Your great kindness, turn to me.  Do not hide from me, Your servant.  I am in trouble.  Hurry to help me!  Come near me and save me; rescue me from my enemies.”

We have to want to be rescued.  We have to love Him more than we love our sin.  If we’re in deep water, He throws a lifeline to us, and we have to let go of our baggage so He can haul us in.

Father, how sin-crazed we are when we expect You to rescue us and let us keep our sin with us.  We can’t have it both ways.  We have to love You more than our sin.  Otherwise, we’re trading away an unimaginable fortune for a carnival trinket.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford