Today, Sunday June 25
The Tender Mercies of the LORD
Psalm 69:13-18
“But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.”
When you read Psalm 69 you immediately get the idea of a man who is in tremendous distress. A man who is overwhelmed with despair and one who feels like everyone has turned against him. We know that David wrote this Psalm, and he is expressing the emotions that he is experiencing at this particular time in his life. Have you ever felt this way. “I sink in deep mire…I have come into deep waters… the floods overflow me…” (v. 2).
It appears that he had so many enemies he couldn’t even count them. “Those who hate me… are more than the hairs of my head… they are mighty…” (v. 4). People are mocking him, casting insults at him, and falsely accusing him. First, David cries out to God and appeals for help because he can’t handle it anymore (vv. 1-5). Next, he appeals and reasons with God to give him deliverance for the sake of God’s reputation (vv. 6-12).
When you feel this way, this would be a good Psalm to read out loud as your own prayer and plea!
Now, in verses 13-18, David makes an appeal for deliverance based on the character of God! David believed that God was a “covenant God” who always keeps His promises! This was based on his knowledge of the Scriptures that he had available in his day, the Torah, the first five books of our Bible today. No doubt David called to mind what the Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 34:5-7: “Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…”
One of the most afflicted people in history was Job. God allowed Satan to personally attack him. In one day, Job’s ten children were killed in windstorm and all his wealth was stolen. (Job 1). Then Satan got permission from God to attack Job’s health and afflicted him with terrible, painful boils all over his body (Job 2:7-8). His wife turns against him (Job 2:9), and even his four friends show up and tell him he deserves what he is getting.
Job feels like even God is against him along with his family and friends (Job 19:1-22). But Job doesn’t lose his faith in God’s character, which is one of truth, compassion, and mercy. In the middle of this terrible trial, Job says: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26). And he look ahead and believed: “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
I am also reminded of what Jeremiah said, as he prophesied of the terrible punishment that was about to fall on Jerusalem in Lamentations 3:14-26. You would almost think that he was reading Psalm 69, which he would have had available in his day. “I have become the ridicule of all my people-- Their taunting song all the day. He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes. You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity. And I said, "My strength and my hope Have perished from the LORD." Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers And sinks within me….” (vv. 14-20).
But then Jeremiah remembered: “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. (vv. 21-26).
Today, we can remember that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He never changes!!!! We can always trust in His compassion and mercy because of the proof of His love that we find at the Cross!
God bless!