Jesus Suffered Our Tragedy for Us
Psalm 69
To
the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.
1Save me, O God! For the waters
have come up to my neck.
2I sink in deep mire, where there
is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3I am weary with my crying out; my
throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4More in number than the hairs of
my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy
me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?
5O God, you know my folly; the
wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6Let not those who hope in you be
put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be
brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.
7For it is for your sake that I
have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.
8I have become a stranger to my
brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.
9For zeal for your house has
consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10When I wept and humbled my soul
with fasting, it became my reproach.
11When I made sackcloth my
clothing, I became a byword to them.
12I am the talk of those who sit
in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13But as for me, my prayer is to
you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast
love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14Deliver me from sinking in the
mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15Let not the flood sweep over
me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
16Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast
love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17Hide not your face from your
servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18Draw near to my soul, redeem
me; ransom me because of my enemies!
19You know my reproach, and my shame
and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
20Reproaches have broken my
heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for
comforters, but I found none.
21They gave me poison for food, and
for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
22Let their own table before them
become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23Let their eyes be darkened, so
that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
24Pour out your indignation upon
them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
25May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26For they persecute him whom you
have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27Add to them punishment upon
punishment; may they have no acquittal from you.
28Let them be blotted out of the
book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
30I will praise the name of God
with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31This will please the Lord more
than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32When the humble see it they
will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33For the Lord hears the needy and
does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
34Let heaven and earth praise
him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
35For God will save Zion and
build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36the offspring of his servants
shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
One of the tragedies that can strike us without warning is
injustice. Perhaps we are wrongly accused of something we didn’t do. Or
something is taken from us without retribution. Maybe we are the victim of a
crime and the perpetrator is never brought justice. Perhaps we pay the price
for something someone else has done. This Psalm addresses the feeling of
injustice that goes with senseless and answerless tragedy. That is what the
Lord Jesus faced on the Cross. But He was not a victim. He was the Victor, for
there was indeed a crime that demanded punishment – our sin. In His innocence,
He was paid the price for those sins. But, and this is important; Jesus was
True Man. Yes, He was True God. But in that time of tragic suffering, He was
True Man, in pain and sorrow because of our sin.
When read this psalm through the lens of the Lord Jesus on
the cross, we gain a much deeper appreciation for His mental state at the time
of His suffering. He even mentions this psalm as He walks with and teaches His
disciples.
John 15:25
But the word that is written in their Law must be
fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
Jesus went around doing
good—preaching the gospel of forgiveness, comforting the afflicted, healing the
sick, feeding the hungry, and even raising the dead. In spite of this, yes,
even because of this, the leaders of Israel hated him. The more good he did,
the more they were determined to put him to death. Though Pilate admitted he
found no fault with Jesus, he caved in to the demands that Christ be crucified.
Christ was forced to pay for crimes he had not committed.
Brug,
J. F. ©1989. Psalms 1–72 (2nd ed., p. 271). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern
Pub. House.
I am tempted so many times to simply skip over these types
of psalms and that is a mistake. Psalm 69 brings my suffering Savior into even
sharper focus and reading these words draws me into a deeper understanding of
the horrifying price He had to pay for my sin. These words are harsh and difficult.
So was His crucifixion. But in meditation upon this psalm, we find that the
frightened soul grows calm. Praise for anticipated deliverance replaces frenzy
and despair. The suffering of Jesus brings peace out of the tragedy of our sin.
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