Psalms in Poetic Form: Psalm 69

Click here to read PSALM 69 in poetic form.

Background

Psalms 61-72 complete the Exodus book in Psalms and show the Messiah’s great atoning work. Psalm 69 is filled with scriptures that are quoted in the gospels about Christ’s final hours, death upon the cross, and events following.

Under the Law of Moses, God set up sacrifices so that people could express their desire for forgiveness. This was merely a shadow of the full sacrifice that would be accomplished by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:12).

The Perfect Sacrifice

Leviticus 5:7 speaks of three offerings: “And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the Lord; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.” These same three offerings are mentioned in Leviticus 7:37, Leviticus 14:13 and Ezekiel 40:39.

Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 7:27: “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” Hebrews 9:26-28: “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” I Peter 1:18,19: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

The Complete Offering and Atonement for Sin

Sin Offering—Psalm 22: As we saw in Psalms in Poetic Form: Psalm 22, Jesus Christ’s final hours are prophesied of in Psalm 22. For example, Psalms 22:1 is similar to what Jesus Christ said from the cross; Psalms 22:8 is what bystanders said about Jesus as he was crucified; Psalms 22:18 prophesies of those who would part his garments at the cross. Jesus Christ was the complete offering and atonement for sin.

Burnt Offering—Psalm 40: As we saw in Psalms in Poetic Form: Psalm 40, Jesus Christ was the perfect whole burnt offering. Psalms 40:6-8 speaks of “burnt offering and sin offering” and is quoted in Hebrews 10:5-7 about Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:12 concludes with: “But this man [Jesus Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”

Trespass Offering—Psalm 69: This Psalm is full of references where Jesus fulfilled the scriptures regarding the sacrifice of his life for the trespasses of all men. Verse 4 speaks of Jesus being hated “without a cause,” which he quoted to his disciples shortly before his death, as recorded in John 15:25. Verses 14-20 speak of his time in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-45) where “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” Verse 21 speaks of Jesus’ time on the cross (Matthew 27:34,48; John 19:29) where “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Verses 22 and 23 are quoted in Romans 11:9,10  where “the spirit of slumber” blinded those who saw Jesus Christ crucified openly before them. And Verse 25 refers to Judas Iscariot, whose habitation was “desolate,” as recorded in Acts 1:20.

Structure

(Verse 1) Plea for God’s salvation

(Verses 1-4) Attacks: sink in the mire; deep waters; overflowing floods

(Verses 5,6) God knows man’s sin and reproach

(Verse 7-12) The Messiah reproached and ill-treated by men

(Verse 13) Plea for God’s salvation

(Verses 14,15) Attacks: sink in the mire; deep waters; overflowing floods

(Verses 16-19) God knows man’s sin and reproach

(Verse 20-21) The Messiah reproached and ill-treated by men

 

(Verse 22) Let their table

(Verse 23) Let their eyes

(Verse 24) Let thy wrathful anger

(Verse 25,26) Let their habitation…and let none dwell

(Verses 27) Let them not come

(Verses 28) Let them be blotted out

(Verses 29) Let thy salvation

 

(Verse 30,31) Praising God

(Verse 32) God’s people are glad

(Verse 33) The Lord hears the humble

(Verse 34) Praising God

(Verse 35) God saves His people

(Verse 36) The Lord gives an inheritance to the seed of His servants

Key Scriptures

Verse 4—“ They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head.” Jesus was hated by religious leaders and evil men. Jesus Christ only did good and went about healing those oppressed by the Devil (Acts 10:38). He memorized much of God’s Word, and was able to quote Psalms 69:4 in his final teaching to his disciples before his death (John 15:25).

Verse 9—“For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” This was fulfilled in John 2:17. See Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #11 Passover for more details.

Verse 9—“the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” This is quoted in Romans 15:3 specifically about Jesus Christ: “For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” 

Verse 21—“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”  These prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus was upon the cross (Matthew 27:34,48; John 19:29)

Verses 22,23—“Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.” These verses are quoted in Romans 11:9,10, which begins: “And David saith, Let their table….” This proves that David wrote Psalm 69 about David’s son, the Messiah.

Verse 25—“Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.” This is quoted in Acts 1:20, which says: “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate….” This shows that the Psalms were a collection of writings in Luke’s time. This verse was applied to Judas Iscariot, whose habitation became “desolate” when he refused to accept forgiveness after betraying his master, Jesus Christ.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader. Also available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. Enjoy!

The entire blog series is now available in the publication The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.