Psalms 69

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Lilies.” By David.

Save me, 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, where the floods overflow me.

I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail looking for my God.

Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore what I didn’t take away.

God, you know my foolishness. My sins aren’t hidden from you.

Don’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord GOD of Armies. Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel.

Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.

I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children.

For the zeal of your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

When I wept and I fasted, that was to my reproach.

When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.

Those who sit in the gate talk about me. I am the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer is to you, LORD, in an acceptable time. God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.

Deliver me out of the mire, and don’t let me sink. Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.

Answer me, LORD, for your loving kindness is good. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.

Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily!

Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies.

You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you.

Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none.

They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap.

Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent.

Pour out your indignation on them. Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.

Let their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents.

For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt.

Charge them with crime upon crime. Don’t let them come into your righteousness.

Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous.

But I am in pain and distress. Let your salvation, God, protect me.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

It will please the LORD better than an ox, or a bull that has horns and hoofs.

The humble have seen it, and are glad. You who seek after God, let your heart live.

For the LORD hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moves therein!

For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it.

The children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter is a lament of intense personal suffering and unjust persecution, yet it rises to confident hope in God’s salvation and worship. The psalmist cries out from deep distress—physical, emotional, and spiritual—feeling overwhelmed by enemies and burdened by shame, yet trusting that God sees and will deliver. It moves from agony and a plea for rescue to assurance that God will act for His people, culminating in praise and the hope of Zion’s restoration.

Flow.

Begins with vivid imagery of drowning in overwhelming waters, expressing desperate need for divine rescue.
Describes the depth of personal anguish: weariness from weeping, unjust hatred, and shame borne for God’s sake (vv. 1–12).
Turns to urgent prayer for deliverance, grounded in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (vv. 13–18).
Includes imprecations against enemies who oppose God’s afflicted one (vv. 19–28), then returns to trust, praise, and the promise of God’s salvation for Zion (vv. 29–36).

Connections.
Following chapter 68, which celebrates God’s triumphant ascension and care for the vulnerable, chapter 69 presents the suffering servant whose affliction precedes glory—a necessary descent after the ascent. The shift from corporate triumph to individual lament reflects the pattern of godly suffering within redemptive history. The themes of unjust reproach and zeal for God’s house (v. 9) are taken up by the gospel writers and applied to Christ’s passion (; ), which chapter 70 continues in a shorter plea for swift deliverance from pressing danger.

What it teaches.
The psalm reveals the depth of messianic suffering, where the righteous sufferer bears reproach for God’s sake, yet maintains hope in divine justice and salvation (WCF 8.5; LC 45). His zeal for God’s house leads to rejection—even by family—and scorn from society, prefiguring Christ’s passion (HC LD 15, Q&A 37–38). The prayer for vindication and the call for God’s mercy align with the biblical truth that salvation belongs to the Lord (WCF 7.3), and that God hears the cry of the afflicted (WCF 10.1). The imprecations reflect the covenantal curse on those who oppose God and His anointed, consistent with divine justice (; cf. ), while the closing hope of Zion’s restoration points to God’s unfailing covenant love (WCF 7.6; LC 70).

Apply.
When forsaken and overwhelmed, cry to God who sees your distress and will not despise the broken.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.