Psalm 69 is not necessarily known as a "Messianic" psalm, and yet it is one of the top five quoted psalms in the New Testament.
In it, we see a quote concerning the giving of gall for his food, and vinegar for his drink.
It also talks about him being shamed for no known reason, and being hated for the zeal he has for his father's house.
In the book of Acts chapter 1, Peter quotes this chapter and talks about Judas being removed from his place — becoming desolate — and another taking his place.
Knowing that this psalm is written by David, and seeing how much attention was paid to a "non-Messianic" passage leaves me with a thought: Looking at all the misery that is included in here, could it not be a psalm written under influence of the Holy Spirit to allow us to peer into the hardships that our Savior faced daily?
These are the thoughts of a man deep in torment, even questioning whether what he was doing in obedience to the Father was perhaps his own foolishness.
And yet, at the end of this psalm, we see Him rejoicing at the joy of the eventual, absolute victory that will be had for Mount Zion and all of God's obedient people.
Read it from this point of view: Christ through David, penning words that show the difficulty He endured while in this earthly body.
You will realize that you, too, have been stuck in the mire and it seemed like there was no way out.
Dear friend, perhaps you too have been searching for someone to give you a little sympathy, and find no one there.
You are not alone, for Christ, above all, understands.
Take comfort in the words of this psalm, knowing that Jesus too went through hardships.
Take joy in knowing that He overcame, and so can you.
One day, we will meet Him and be with Him for eternity. He was raised up with the salvation He offered, and we can be raised up by taking up His offer of salvation.
The Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., in Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: Analyzing David’s divinely inspired psalm