Psalms 69:13 - Meaning and Application

David had already spoken about the bitter insults his enemies hurled at him. Here he adds, “But as for me, my prayer is to you.” They mocked him for fasting and praying, and he became the song of drunkards. Yet he still chooses to keep praying. We should note this well, because even if people mock us for doing what is right, we must not let them shame us out of obedience.

Some people can only stand a little suffering for God, and they can only bear to confess his name for a short time. They cannot endure a sneer or a harsh word if it means they must keep their duty. David’s enemies treated him badly, but he took comfort in this, he had a God to go to, and he would lay his case before him. Others may try to win their case through insults and lies, but David uses a different path. Whatever they do, he says, “As for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.”

This prayer was made at a fitting time, and it was no less fitting because it was a time of suffering. God does not push us away when trouble drives us to him. In fact, our misery often makes us the more fitting objects of his pity. It is right for him to help when all other help fails, and when we are ruined and know we are ruined unless he helps us. We see this same phrase used about Christ in Isaiah 49:8, “In an acceptable time I have heard you.”

Now notice David’s requests. First, he asks for a gracious hearing for his complaints, the cry of his distress, and the desire of his heart. “Hear me,” he says in Psalm 69:13, and again, “Hear me, O Lord,” in Psalm 69:16, and “Hear me speedily” in Psalm 69:17. He does not merely want God to hear the sound of his words, but to grant what he asks. Christ knew that the Father always heard him (John 11:42).

Second, David asks to be rescued from his troubles. He wants to be saved from sinking under grief, from being swallowed up by his enemies, and from being trapped in the mire. He asks that he may not stick in the mud, but be brought out and set on solid ground, as in Psalm 40:2. He also asks not to be swallowed by those who hate him, like a lamb from a lion’s paw (Psalm 69:14). Though he has come into deep waters (Psalm 69:2), where he feels the floods will sweep over him, he asks that his fears be stopped. Let the flood come, if it must, but let it not overflow him (Psalm 69:15). Let him not fall into despair, as if a deep pit were to swallow him and close over him forever. At the start of the psalm he seemed ready to give himself up for lost, but now his head is still above water, and he is not so worn out with crying as he thought he was.

Third, he asks God to turn toward him, to smile on him, and not hide his face from him (Psalm 69:16, 17). The signs of God’s favor, and the light of his face shining on us, are enough to keep our spirits from sinking even in the deepest trouble. We do not need more than that to be safe and at peace. “Draw near to my soul,” he says, “show yourself to it, and that will rescue it.”

David also gives reasons to press these requests. He pleads God’s mercy and truth in Psalm 69:13. “In the greatness of your mercy, hear me.” There is mercy in God, many mercies, every kind of mercy, and mercy that never runs out. There is enough for all, and enough for each person. This should encourage us when we pray. He also appeals to the truth of God’s salvation, that is, the truth of all the promises God has made to those who trust him. He repeats the same plea from God’s lovingkindness. It is rich and full in itself, and precious to all the saints. It is their life, their joy, and their all. So he says, “Let me share in it. Turn to me, according to the greatness of your tender mercies” (Psalm 69:16).

See how highly he speaks of God’s goodness. In God there are mercies, tender mercies, and a great many of them. If we think well of God, and keep doing so even in the hardest trials, we need not fear that God will fail to do well for us. He takes pleasure in those who hope in his mercy (Psalm 147:11).

David also pleads his own trouble and suffering: “Hide not your face from me, for I am in trouble” (Psalm 69:17). Because he is in distress, he needs God’s favor. That favor will come at the right time, and he will know how to value it. He also points to the shame and dishonor he has suffered: “You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor” (Psalm 69:19). This matters greatly in the sufferings of Christ for us. The shame and reproach he bore were part of the satisfaction he made for sin, which had dishonored God. God took notice of that shame and accepted it as more than enough for the everlasting shame and contempt our sins deserved. Therefore we must repent by taking shame to ourselves and bearing the reproach of our youth.

If we are ever called to suffer shame and dishonor for Christ’s sake, this can comfort us. He knows it. As he went before us in it, so he will not fall behind us in rewarding us. The psalmist speaks honestly when he says, “Reproach has broken my heart; I am full of heaviness” (Psalm 69:20). That is understandable, because it weighs heavily on anyone who knows the value of a good name to be given a bad one. Yet when we remember what an honor it is to be dishonored for God, and what a privilege it is to be counted worthy to suffer shame for his name, as the apostles did (Acts 5:41), we see that such shame should not break our hearts in the same way.

He also pleads the cruelty and boldness of his enemies in Psalm 69:18. “Deliver me because of my enemies.” These are the same kinds of men he described earlier in Psalm 69:4. “My adversaries are all before you” (Psalm 69:19). David means that God knows what kind of men they are, what danger he is in from them, and how much God himself is dishonored by what they plan and do against him. One clear example of their cruelty is given in Psalm 69:21: “They gave me gall for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” This was fulfilled literally in Christ, and it points so directly to him that he would not say, “It is finished,” until it had been fulfilled. To make sure his enemies had the chance to do it, he said, “I thirst” (John 19:28, 29). Some think the hyssop they lifted to his mouth with the vinegar was the bitter herb mentioned here.

See how carefully the sufferings of Christ were foretold. This shows that Scripture is God’s word. See also how exactly those predictions were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This shows that he is the true Messiah. This is the one who was to come, and we should look for no other.

He pleads the unkindness of his friends and his disappointment in them (Psalm 69:20): “I looked for someone to show pity, but there was no one.” They all failed him, like streams that dry up in summer. This came true in Christ, because in his suffering all his disciples left him and ran away.

We should not expect too much from people, because they are poor comforters. But we can never expect too much from God, because he is the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort and encouragement.