Commentary - Psalm 69:13-18

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 69 is one of the great Messianic psalms of suffering. Along with Psalm 22, it is quoted frequently in the New Testament in reference to the passion of our Lord Jesus. The psalmist, David, is in deep distress, sinking in a metaphorical mire of trouble and overwhelmed by floodwaters of opposition. His enemies hate him without cause, and his zeal for God's house has brought him nothing but reproach. In the midst of this profound anguish, which is a clear foreshadowing of the cross, the psalmist turns to God in prayer. This section, verses 13-18, forms the heart of his petition. It is a desperate, yet faith-filled plea for deliverance, grounded not in his own merit, but in the character of God, specifically, His abundant lovingkindness (hesed), compassion, and faithfulness. This is not just a cry for help; it is a structured appeal to the covenant-keeping God to act according to His own nature and for the sake of His own name.

The prayer moves from a general plea for a hearing to specific requests for rescue from the "mire" and "deep waters," vivid images of being completely overwhelmed and near death. The psalmist then appeals directly to God's good lovingkindness and abundant compassion, asking God to turn His face toward him and answer quickly. The climax of the petition is a cry for intimate fellowship and redemption, "draw near to my soul and redeem it." This is the prayer of a man at the end of his rope, whose only hope is the swift and powerful intervention of a merciful God. And because it is a Messianic psalm, it is ultimately the prayer of Christ in His dereliction, teaching us how to pray when the floodwaters rise in our own lives.

Outline

Context In The Psalms

Psalm 69 is a lament, one of the most intense in the Psalter. It follows the pattern of many laments: a cry of distress, a description of the trouble, a confession of trust, a petition for deliverance, and often a vow of praise. This psalm is particularly notable for its vivid imagery of sinking in mire and deep waters (vv. 1-2, 14-15) and for its strong imprecations against the wicked (vv. 22-28). The New Testament writers saw a profound connection between the suffering of the psalmist here and the suffering of Christ. For example, verse 4 ("Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head") is applied to Jesus in John 15:25. Verse 9 ("For zeal for Your house has consumed me") is quoted in John 2:17, and the second half of that verse ("the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me") is quoted by Paul in Romans 15:3. The offer of vinegar for thirst in verse 21 is a direct parallel to the crucifixion scene in all four Gospels. This dense concentration of New Testament citations establishes Psalm 69 as a crucial text for understanding the substitutionary nature of Christ's passion. He is the ultimate righteous sufferer, crying out to His Father from the depths.

Key Issues

The Logic of Covenantal Prayer

When a modern Christian finds himself in deep trouble, his prayers can sometimes become a frantic and formless cry for help. While God certainly hears such prayers, the Psalms teach us a more robust way to approach the throne of grace. The prayer in this section of Psalm 69 is not a wild shot in the dark; it is a carefully constructed argument. The psalmist, and by extension the Lord Jesus, is not simply begging for mercy. He is appealing to God on the basis of God's own declared character and promises. The prayer is saturated with covenantal language: "acceptable time," "lovingkindness," "truth of Your salvation," "compassion," "Your slave."

This is how a son speaks to his father. He is not approaching a stranger or a tyrant who might be moved by sheer pity. He is approaching the God who has bound Himself by an oath and a promise. The logic is this: "You are a God of abundant lovingkindness; therefore, answer me. Your compassion is great; therefore, turn to me. Your salvation is true; therefore, deliver me." This is not an attempt to manipulate God, but rather an expression of profound faith. It is taking God at His word and asking Him to act consistently with who He has revealed Himself to be. This is the kind of argument God loves to hear, because it brings glory to His name and demonstrates the believer's utter reliance upon His covenant faithfulness.

Verse by Verse Commentary

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Yahweh, at an acceptable time; O God, in the abundance of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with the truth of Your salvation.

The psalmist pivots from describing his misery to the act of prayer itself. While his enemies mock and persecute, his response is to turn to Yahweh. He prays at an "acceptable time," or a time of favor. This does not mean he waited until he felt like it, but rather that he is appealing for God to make this a time of favor, to receive this prayer graciously. He throws himself upon God's sovereign timing. The foundation of his plea is twofold. First, the abundance of Your lovingkindness. The Hebrew word is hesed, that loyal, covenant love of God that is steadfast and unending. He is not appealing to a trickle of mercy, but to an ocean of it. Second, he asks to be answered with the truth of Your salvation. God's salvation is not a flimsy hope; it is rooted in His faithfulness and truth. It is a sure thing. So the prayer begins with a profound statement of trust in the character of God, even before the specific requests are made.

14 Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.

Here we have the first specific petition, using the imagery introduced at the beginning of the psalm. The "mire" is a picture of a situation where there is no solid footing, a sucking, clinging trouble that threatens to pull him under. To sink in mire is to be slowly and inexorably overcome. He then identifies the source of this mire: his "foes." The trouble is personal and malicious. He equates these foes with "the deep waters," a common Old Testament metaphor for chaos, overwhelming trouble, and death itself. He is asking for a rescue, a pulling out. He cannot get out on his own; he needs a divine hand to reach down and deliver him. This is the cry of a man who knows he is going down for the third time.

15 May the flood of water not overflow me Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.

He elaborates on the water imagery with three parallel phrases, each intensifying the sense of impending doom. First, the "flood of water," a rushing torrent that would sweep him away. Second, "the deep," personified as a great sea monster ready to swallow him. Third, "the pit," which is Sheol, or the grave itself, imagined as a well that closes its mouth over its victim, sealing him in darkness forever. These are all images of final, irreversible death and destruction. The psalmist is praying against the finality of his circumstances. He is asking God to intervene before it is too late, before the enemy has the last word, before the grave can claim a victory.

16 Answer me, O Yahweh, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the abundance of Your compassion, turn to me,

He returns to the basis of his appeal: God's character. "Answer me... for Your lovingkindness is good." The goodness is not in the psalmist or his circumstances, but in God's hesed. It is intrinsically, objectively good. Therefore, an answer consistent with that lovingkindness would also be good. He then appeals to the abundance of Your compassion. Like God's lovingkindness, His compassion is not meager or rationed. It is a multitude of mercies. Based on this abundant compassion, he asks God to "turn to me." This implies that he feels God has turned away, that God's face is hidden. The prayer is for the restoration of fellowship, for God to look upon His servant with favor once more.

17 And do not hide Your face from Your slave, For I am in distress; answer me quickly.

This verse makes explicit what was implied in the last. For a servant of God, the greatest terror is not the mire or the flood, but the hidden face of his Master. To have God hide His face is to be cut off from the source of life, blessing, and salvation. It is the very definition of dereliction, which Christ would experience in its fullness on the cross when He cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The psalmist identifies himself as God's "slave" or servant, which in this covenantal context is a position of honor and privilege. He belongs to God, and therefore has a right to appeal for his Master's protection. The reason for the plea is his distress, and the urgency is plain: "answer me quickly." When you are sinking, you do not need a theological treatise on buoyancy; you need a rope, and you need it now.

18 Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies!

The prayer reaches its climax with a plea for the deepest kind of salvation. "Draw near to my soul" is a cry for the immediate, personal presence of God. The problem is not just external circumstances; it is a soul-deep affliction, and only the nearness of God can heal it. And what should God do when He draws near? "Redeem it." This is the language of the kinsman-redeemer, the one who pays a price to buy back a relative from slavery or debt. He asks God to "ransom me," which is a parallel concept. The price must be paid to deliver him from the power of his enemies. Of course, the ultimate fulfillment of this is found in Christ, our great Kinsman-Redeemer, who drew near to us in the incarnation and paid the ransom for our souls with His own blood, delivering us from our ultimate enemies of sin, death, and the devil.

Application

This passage is a master class in how to pray when you are in the mire. And make no mistake, every Christian will find himself in the mire at some point. The world, the flesh, and the devil ensure it. When the waters rise, our first lesson is to pray. But our second lesson is to pray like this, with bold, covenantal confidence in the character of God.

Our prayers should not be whiny complaints, but rather faith-filled arguments. We should learn to load our prayers with the ammunition of God's own promises. We can say, "Father, answer me, for Your lovingkindness in Christ is good. Turn to me, according to the abundance of compassion You showed me at the cross. Do not hide Your face, for You have promised never to leave me nor forsake me. Draw near and redeem me from this trouble, because You have already paid the ultimate ransom for my soul." Praying this way does two things. First, it honors God by taking Him at His word. Second, it strengthens our own faith by forcing us to rehearse the glorious truths of the gospel in the very teeth of our troubles.

And finally, we must always remember that we never pray alone. Because Jesus prayed this prayer for us in His passion, we are now free to pray it with Him. He has already sunk into the deepest mire of God's wrath against sin so that we would never have to. He was overwhelmed by the flood so that we could be brought safely to shore. He was ransomed from the grave so that He could be our redeemer forever. Therefore, when we find ourselves sinking, we can cry out with confidence, knowing that the one who hears us has been in deeper waters and has already conquered them all.