When I read Psalm 69, I can really feel and identify with David's pain. We have all reached a point of complete, overwhelming remorse regarding sin in our lives. This is where David was when he wrote this psalm. He is so disgusted with his sin and the disease of his heart that he even implores the Lord to save his nation and descendants despite his wrongdoing, as Psalm 69:6 reads:
May those hope in You
not be disgraced because of me,
O Lord, the Lord Almighty;
may those who seek You
not be put to shame because of me,
O God of Israel
David could not even begin to understand salvation through grace because the Messiah had not yet come. However, what amazes me is that throughout the beginning of his psalm he is asking God to save humanity, but by the end of the psalm he prophesies the coming of Christ and the end of days. Psalm 69:34-36 reads:
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and all that move in them,
for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
the children of His servant will inherit it,
and those who love His name will dwell there.
Despite our sin and shortcomings, the Lord is always there to pick us up and offer a way out. The band Waterdeep wrote a song after Psalm 69 called Save Me. My favorite lines of the song explain David's conclusion of his psalm with a modern perspective: "No one has ever loved me like the way You love me ... Only you have come to save me ... Only you have come to wrap your arms around me." It's funny how David, this man who did so many terrible things (adultery, murder, etc.), could be a "man after God's own heart." My condemning flesh says, "That's not fair - that shouldn't be possible!" Then I remember that God glorified Himself through this wretched man, bringing us Jesus Christ ... fulfilling David's prophesy. It makes me wonder what God can do through me, a wretched sinner saved by grace.
Quick Note: At a Bible study I attended earlier this week, a friend suggested reading the Psalms everyday. She suggested reading the Psalm for the day (i.e. read Psalm 9 on June 9th) and then read every thirty Psalms ... to break it down, today I read Psalm 9, 39, 69, 99 and 129. You don't have to read them all, but even if you are able to read one it can really change the course of your day.
