13 And I—my prayer 'is' to Thee, O Jehovah, A time of good pleasure, O God, In the abundance of Thy kindness, Answer me in the truth of Thy salvation. 14 Deliver me from the mire, and let me not sink, Let me be delivered from those hating me, And from deep places of waters. 15 Let not a flood of waters overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up, Nor let the pit shut her mouth upon me. 16 Answer me, O Jehovah, for good 'is' Thy kindness, According to the abundance Of Thy mercies turn Thou unto me, 17 And hide not Thy face from Thy servant, For I am in distress—haste, answer me. 18 Be near unto my soul—redeem it, Because of mine enemies ransom me. 19 Thou—Thou hast known my reproach, And my shame, and my blushing, Before Thee 'are' all mine adversaries. 20 Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am sick, And I look for a bemoaner, and there is none, And for comforters, and I have found none. 21 And they give for my food gall, And for my thirst cause me to drink vinegar.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 69:13-21
Commentary on Psalm 69:13-21
(Read Psalm 69:13-21)
Whatever deep waters of affliction or temptation we sink into, whatever floods of trouble or ungodly men seem ready to overwhelm us, let us persevere in prayer to our Lord to save us. The tokens of God's favour to us are enough to keep our spirits from sinking in the deepest outward troubles. If we think well of God, and continue to do so under the greatest hardships, we need not fear but he will do well for us. And if at any time we are called on to suffer reproach and shame, for Christ's sake, this may be our comfort, that he knows it. It bears hard on one that knows the worth of a good name, to be oppressed with a bad one; but when we consider what a favour it is to be accounted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus, we shall see that there is no reason why it should be heart-breaking to us. The sufferings of Christ were here particularly foretold, which proves the Scripture to be the word of God; and how exactly these predictions were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, which proves him to be the true Messiah. The vinegar and the gall given to him, were a faint emblem of that bitter cup which he drank up, that we might drink the cup of salvation. We cannot expect too little from men, miserable comforters are they all; nor can we expect too much from the God of all comfort and consolation.