Psalm 69

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.

1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. [Or waters threaten my life]

2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.

David begins this lament with a cry for help. He is drowning in trouble and is about to go under. First he says that the waters have come up to his neck. Usually the word translated “neck” here is translated “soul” or “life”. It is the Hebrew word nephesh, which has the word “throat” at its root. In practical terms, they are the same: throat = life. Without breath in the throat there is no life. On top of the rising waters, David also is sinking in deep mud where there is no foothold, nothing solid to keep him from getting in deeper. This sounds much like quicksand where your struggling only serves to pull you further under. The third image is that of deep waters (think a lake or ocean where there’s no finding the bottom and walking out. I also imagine that most people in the ancient world could not swim (although there were certainly sailors, divers, and fishermen who could), thus making the deep waters even more terrifying. The deep waters in the Bible have always represented death and chaos, an environment not suited for land-dwelling creatures like humans. The fourth image is that of a flood sweeping over the psalmist, something that was somewhat common given that people tended to live near water and flooding happened, then and now. The southern desert has numerous wadis, dry river beds that become raging floods in a storm because the water doesn’t soak into the ground. So the message is clear, David is on the verse of death, and the first words out of his mouth are “Hosanna” -- well, actually a variant of this word -- not “save us”, but “save me!”. This is particularly poignant because this is a psalm that Jesus prayed, perhaps on the cross itself, and the words “Hosanna” had just rung out in Jerusalem as he made his triumphal entry on Sunday. Now it is Friday and Jesus himself is calling out for God to save him. The irony is that the one we are praying to for rescue put himself in a place where he needed to be rescued, and yet no help for him was found. He drowned for us. The waters came up to his neck and down his throat. The sucking mud pulled him under and there was no place for him to stand in the deep waters. The rescuer became the victim -- willingly. This is the truth that is woven through this psalm. Jesus is the answer to every prayer of lament, and he is the perfect savior because he himself experienced our lament first. He knows what it feels like to panic in the face of imminent death. He knows what it feels like where your legs collapse under you. He knows what it feels like to be drowning in sorrow and grief. He was a man of sorrow and familiar with grief. Your prayers can be answered because his were not (at least not in the way we might think -- God did save Jesus, not from death, but through death). Note this language of drowning is similar to that of Psalm 18:4-6, 16 and Jonah 2. 

3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

4 More 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?

The first two verses of the psalm are from the perspective of a drowning man. The next two from one who is overwhelmed by enemies and injustice. Verse three draws a strong contrast with the previous two verses, moving from the destructive presence of water in verses 1 and 2 to the absence of water in verse 3 -- a throat that this parched from endlessly calling out to God without answer. Then eyes that are growing dim with waiting for God, suggesting that the psalmist is about to give up, to close his eyes and acknowledge that it is over. His patience is exhausted and this is reflected in his body. Moving upward from throat to eyes to hair, he begins to count the number of his enemies and they are greater than the number of his hairs (about 100,000 according to Google). This is hyperbole of course because there are no more than 5,000 people in the city of Jerusalem itself at this time. It just feels like he is incredibly outnumbered, perhaps the way that Elijah felt, as if he were the only one who was still faithful to God. He is unjustly expected to provide restitution for things that he never did. In other words, he is wrongfully accused but has to act as if he is rightfully accused, paying back that which he does not owe. It’s not too difficult to see Jesus praying this from the cross, his throat parched from thirst, calling out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”, his eyes closing with fatigue and the hateful enemies taunting him as he hangs naked before them. The experience of David is amplified a million times over by this Son of David on the cross. Jesus is forced to pay a debt that he did not owe. However, the difference between him and David is that Jesus chose to pay the debt; chose to endure the injustice. David’s suffering served to give us a picture of the suffering of this “Son of David”, this messiah who bore the suffering of all of humanity. 

5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6 Let 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.

David connects his current trial with his own folly. The word “folly” in the Bible always has a moral component to it. It doesn’t just indicate “stupid”, but morally deficient. It is a frequent word in the proverbs with this connotation. The parallel word is “wrong-doing” or “guiltiness” which has a similar connotation. Given the belief that God has absolutely just, it’s not surprising that David believed his suffering was the result of his sin. God was punishing him rightfully with the consequences of his behavior. David’s hope is that his failure would not impact others of faith negatively, that the innocent would get caught up in his moral failing, that those who have not failed as he would not share in his shame. There is an interesting term of address in verse 6. It is literally “adonai YHWH sabbaoth” -- lord YHWH of hosts. This triple name of God draws a sharp contrast to the now powerless David, up to his neck in trouble and wearing of crying for help. David’s sin has left him flat on his back, dependent on God alone to raise him up. This is a desperate cry for mercy from a man who is now completely powerless to get out of his drowning, quicksand-like situation. This is the place that each of us needs to come to in order to appreciate all that God has done for us. We must acknowledge our folly and our secret sins because they are not hidden from God and they are standing in the way of an honest relationship with Him. While most of this psalm could be quoted by Jesus in his suffering on the cross, this verse cannot. Jesus was without sin and his actions brought shame on no one. Yet he who knew no sin became sin for us. Even though Jesus never sinned, he did suffer the punishment for our sins, as if he himself had sinned.   

7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.

8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons.

9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

David changes his tune a bit here after acknowledging his own folly. Now he claims that he is suffering because he has been faithful to God. He has been ostracized by his family and dishonor covers his face because he has allied himself with God. He is now an outsider because he has been zealous for the house of God, presumably this refers to temple worship. He has thrown his energy into honoring God publicly and this has resulted in criticism. Perhaps they are calling him a religious fanatic, accusing him of taking his religion too far, being too serious about his faith. The disciples see Jesus’ cleansing the temple of the money changers and they think of this psalm (John 2:17). In Jesus we have a picture of what zeal for the house of God looks like. At the end of his ministry Jesus will do the same thing again, this time adding, “my house will be a house of prayer for the nations” (Mark 11:17). Zeal for prayer and worship, enthusiasm for all nations experiencing God’s presence -- this is what drove Jesus to be a fanatic so that even members of his own family at one time thought he was crazy and needed to step back. Are you so consumed with prayer and worship that others think you’re a little touched? Are you crazy about Jesus or just comfortable with him? For example, David gave significant resources (time and money) to the construction of the temple. This may have been what this verse was specifically about, and members of his family may have thought he was going too far -- after all they could have used some of those resources. Are you giving to kingdom causes in a way that makes others go, “that’s a little excessive!” Are you willing to receive criticism and even mockery for taking your faith too seriously? What is it that consumes your time and money? These things may be your gods. Let passion for prayer and worship, and not just your prayer and worship, be the thing that consumes you. Like Jesus, be animated by the desire to see the nations know God and worship him. 

10 When I wept and humbled [Hebrew lacks and humbled] my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.

11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.

12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.

David dealt with his folly and now outcast status by humbling himself with fasting. He put on sackcloth and wept and wailed in prayer. This only resulted in more mockery. He was the subject of all the gossip at the gate (essentially the public square and the place of judgment). It was the place where everyone came and went so you knew everyone’s business if you were positioned at the gate. You knew everyone who came into town and everyone who left. And everyone had an opinion about the king. The modern equivalent would be Twitter I suppose -- the prime location for opinion sharing. David’s name, far from being respected, is now used as a byword, a mocking taunt. The word is “mashal”, usually translated as “proverb or parable”, but in this case, David’s life itself has become a proverb, a cautionary tale perhaps. Drinkers who drink (that’s the literal Hebrew syntax) make up songs about him. In other words, people that typically get little respect are now the center of attention as they create mocking songs. The modern equivalent would be memes or Tik Tok videos. In America, mocking leaders is a time-honored tradition, although I feel like it has reached new lows as technology has enabled the songs of drunkards to spread far wider than the city gate. In David’s case, those songs may have been deserved. After all, he was an adulterer, murderer and conspiracist. But David was demonstrating repentance and perhaps his experience shows that we will receive forgiveness from God before we’ll receive forgiveness from others. Public humiliation has got to be one of the worst experiences ever because your reputation will never be fully restored. I think of men I know who have fallen in some way, and even as the return to leadership there is always that asterisk by their name that will forever follow them and be in the minds of everyone who knows the rest of the story. That itself serves as a warning to avoid the traps of sin. 

13 But 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.

14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.

15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.

These veres express humble contrition as David asks for relief “an an acceptable time”, the time of God’s choosing it would seem. He appeals to God on the basis of his steadfast love and saving faithfulness, not his own merit. There is nothing in these verses that suggests that David is bargaining his way back to God’s favor with good behavior. He’s straight up asking to be delivered from things that are beyond his control -- the sinking mire, the deep waters, the flood seeping over him and the pit that is the grave. These are four forces that are beyond his power to contain and so he appeals to the only one who can. These forces are still with us today. Obviously the literal forces of weather keep us humbled in every season (winter storms, spring tornadoes and floods, summer drought, and fall hurricanes) and our ever decaying bodies make the pit of death inevitable. There is also plenty of trouble of our own making, the poor choices that we make that thrust us and others (often innocently) into chaos, mental and emotional anguish, proper guilt and shame. This is more likely what David is experiencing, and frankly, more like what we experience. Yes, natural disasters happen, but individuals are impacted disproportionally. Everyone is impacted by sin and its consequences. This is a universal experience and thus a universal prayer. Poetically speaking, these verses all contain three lines, extending the parallelism beyond the norms of two lines, giving these petitions even greater punch. 

16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

17 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.

18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!

David utters a series of seven petitions in these three verses. His petitions are based on the character of God and so he appeals on that basis. The LORD’s steadfast love is good. His mercy is abundant. David is not appealing to his own goodness or claiming innocence (he does that in other psalms where he feels he has been treated unfairly). He is simply asking for mercy and specifically for deliverance from the situation he finds himself in. “Hide not your face” is a way of saying, look at me and let me be blessed by your smile, your favor, by the light of your face. May your glory be reflected on my face. Don’t ignore me. Don’t walk away, but come toward me and help me. Someone has said that compassion is “God smiling at you.” David may feel that God has abandoned him because of his circumstance, so he also asks that God “draw near to his soul.” It is a prayer for presence -- that someone David would see signs of hope and evidence that this is not the end, that he would feel God’s favor and blessing once again. The prayer to “redeem” and “ransom” me are rooted in the sacrificial system where an innocent animal was sacrificed to atone for the sin of the worshiper. There is no reference to an animal here, just a request for the unilateral action of God to reset the relationship. Of course these metaphors will be actualized by Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus will provide the means of salvation, fulfilling the will of God to forgive David here along with everyone else. When we pray this prayer today we are doing so in the confidence that our sins have been fully atoned, that justice has been satisfied, that God is indeed smiling at us. 

19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.

20 Reproaches 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.

Following his desperate prayer, David once again acknowledges his moral failings. His reproach, shame and dishonor are well known by God and by his community. God knows his enemies as well -- internal and external. These reproaches have broken his heart so that he is in despair. This confession is sounding much like a prayer after his great transgressions of adultery and murder. Everyone thought David was someone special and then he turns out to be worse than anyone ever thought possible. He’s just like us after all only with seemingly unlimited power as the king. David’s sins are known by God, but they are also known by everyone else and because of the despicable nature of what he has done, no one is showing him pity or comfort. No one is on his side in this. He is universally held in dishonor because he acted so dishonorably. HIs credibility is forever questioned because of his short-sighted and selfish actions, one sin leading to another in a futile attempt to cover things up. Let David’s despair here be a strong lesson to avoid rationalizing and pasting over your sin. You cannot avoid its consequences. Be sure that your sin will be found out and your reputation will suffer in the eyes of everyone. It will become the first thing that people think of when they hear your name. I’m writing this at the time when the moral failing and abuse of Ravi Zacharias has been made known. For all the good that he has done, this is how he will be remembered. Guard your heart and your actions so that you never find yourself in such a position as David or Ravi. Someone for each of those men, the unthinkable became reality, and while they may find forgiveness from God, they will ever be held in dishonor for their abuse of authority. 

21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. [Hebrew; a slight revocalization yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome) a snare, and retribution and a trap]

Not only is David lacking in friends and comforters there are people who are actively trying to kill him and make his life miserable. I suppose this was true of every king who’s ever lived. There’s always someone who would like to take their place. Power is an intoxicating thing and there are those that lust for it like nothing else. That in itself puts David at risk, but add to that his own folly, and there are even more people who think his reign should come to an end. It wasn’t like they could wait until the next election and vote him out. He reigned for 40 years and there certainly plenty of people who thought it was time for change. As a result, kings had cupbearers, men who were designated to eat and drink the king’s food before him to ensure that he wasn’t being poisoned. Thus the role of cupbearer must be filled with someone who is absolutely trustworthy. Is David doubting even his own cupbearer here? They gave him poison for food and vinegar for drink. The poison to kill him and the vinegar to make for an unpleasant drinking experience. Following this attempt on his life, David utters his first curse -- may the tables be turned on my enemies. Just as they have attempted to kill me and make me suffer at my own dinner table, may their own table become the means of their demise. It is the familiar refrain in the psalms where the punishment fits the crime, where evil actions wind up trapping the one performing them. The writers of the New Testament saw this psalm fulfilled in Jesus when he was offered wine vinegar on the cross as well as in the way that he was betrayed by Judas. Jesus had a David-like experience when he was betrayed by one of his trusted associates. He was a king whom rivals were trying to kill. The difference from David is that Jesus drank the poison, he tasted death for everyone willingly. He wasn’t tricked or deceived by his cupbearer. He drank the poisonous cup of the father’s will and Judas was ensnared in a noose of his own making. Jesus suffered for me. He drank the poisonous brew that my sin concocted. He tasted death for me so that when my expiration date comes around I’ll walk peacefully into his presence to say thank you in person. 

23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.

24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.

The curses for David’s betrayers continue, these men who would slip him poison at his own table. May they be struck with blindness and may their loins tremble continually. The curse of blindness would most likely relegate them to becoming beggars and it would be understood as a sign of God’s judgment for their sin (see John 9). The trembling of the loins suggests a condition of weakness and instability, a specific condition that causes tremors or general weakness in one’s core. In this case as well, the condition would be understood as punishment from God for their treachery. For this reason the following verse asks God to pour out his indignation on them and allow his wrath to overtake them. However, these metaphors may not be meant to be taken so literally. The phrase “darkened eyes” is used elsewhere in the Bible to suggest a lack of understanding (Isaiah 6 for example). And the psalmist will speak of the righteous person as “unshakable (Psalms 15 and 16). The psalmist on other occasions speaks of the animal-like behavior of his enemies (Psalms 10 and 22 among others), suggesting a dimming of moral understanding. Animals act on instinct and training, not right and wrong, and this is what David’s enemies have become. As a result, David prays that they would be treated like the animals that they have become. The question remains, how do we pray such curses today? Paul comes close to answering these questions in Romans 9-11 where he suggests that Israel is darkened in their understanding so that they may ultimately see the light. The Jewish rejection of their messiah (led initially by Paul himself) led them to persecute the early Christians. Paul knew what it felt like to have the eyes of his heart darkened in this way. He was animal-like in his pursuit of heretics to the Jewish faith. He thought he was defending God’s honor from blaspheming members of this new Christian cult by seeking out and destroying them. Yet is was the depth of his darkness that made the brightness of his vision of Jesus that much greater. One of the ways that we can pray prayers like this today is to intercede for those who are in darkness. They may actually be the ones that are closest to the light. You better believe that the early Christians were praying for Saul as he made his way through their towns and villages. God answered not by pouring out his wrath but rather his love and grace. Paul experienced grace in abundance and would become one of the greatest forces for sharing the gospel in all of history. Jesus described the darkness of understanding in his day -- this is why he told parables, so that people would make an effort to find illumination. Lord, open the eyes of my heart so that I may see your brilliance like never before. 

25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.

26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.

David prays another prayer of vengeance, asking for the tents of his enemies to be emptied, their camps abandoned. In other words, may there be an immediate cessation of their activities, may they disappear. The reason for such a strong reaction seems to be that they are piling on. From David’s perspective he is already suffering under God’s discipline, and then his detractors are compiling his pain by gossipping about it. David has been “struck down” by God, the victim of his own folly, and as awful as that is, because he is a public figure and a spiritual leader, he and his sin are the talk of the town. He cannot escape the thought that his name and reputation are being dragged through the mud constantly. He cannot go anywhere without whispers of his infidelity and hypocrisy. This is what it’s like as a public figure who falls from grace -- whether you are a leader in the church or in society. Your pain is amplified by the knowledge that everyone is judging you critically, and you just want it to stop. David just wants it to stop, for the camp and tents to be emptied immediately. The threat of public humiliation should be a strong deterrent for committing sin, but it isn’t always because we deceive ourselves in thinking, “no one will ever know.” That phrase always seems to come into play at some point when we’re tempted. What is striking about David’s language is that he speaks of God’s striking him down and wounding him. He is not denying his culpability -- he has admitted his folly -- but he understands that a just God must discipline fairly. He can’t escape the consequences of his actions just because he is sorry for them. He made his bed and now he has to lie in it. As we think of how this psalm is reflected by Jesus on the cross, the words of Isaiah 53 come to mind, “He was wounded for our transgressions, disciplined for our sins, the wrath of God was on him.” Jesus didn’t deserve punishment as we do, and yet “the LORD laid on him the iniquity of us all”, satisfying his justice and demonstrating his love in one action. 

27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. [Hebrew may they not come into your righteousness]

28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

David asks God to do some accounting work, adding and removing items from the ledger. First, he literally asks that his enemies have “iniquity upon iniquity” added to them and that they not “come into your righteousness.” This request is variously translated as add “punishment upon punishment”, “heap punishment upon them”, and “pile up their sins”, but we get the point. If David is being judged by God for his folly and his enemies are piling accusations upon him, he desires that they experience the same. His enemies are asking for no mercy from God for David, so David asks the same for them -- no acquittal, declare them guilty, may they not be declared righteous. It seems quite harsh, but in the context of justice, it seems fair  -- you get what you deserve, you receive what you have given. David’s second request is also related to an accounting -- “let them be blotted out of the book of the living”. This metaphor is an elaborate way of wishing them dead, praying that their wagging tongues would be finally silenced by the grave. Add to that his request that they not be enrolled among the righteous and you have another accounting metaphor -- exclude them from those who are righteous, justified, declared not-guilty. I can understand David’s frustration at people who would essentially kick him while he is down. These are low blows and he wishes that they would have to experience what he is experiencing so they might have a little more empathy. Still David is not taking matters into his own hands but demanding justice from God. Of course God doesn’t have to do what he says. There are things that I have prayed for but haven’t received -- that doesn’t make God the bad guy, just wiser than me. These words again draw us to the cross where God placed iniquity upon iniquity on Jesus and the suffering messiah found no acquittal from him. His name was blotted out from the book of the living and he was declared guilty. The punishment that David prays for others was meted out on Jesus. David’s prayer was indeed answered, just not as he expected. Remember that with every curse that the psalmist prayed, God answered by taking the curse. Every curse that is prayed today, every unjust blow, falls upon the back of Jesus for our sake. So for his sake, let go of the anger and bitterness, forgive one another, and learn the way of the cross.

29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

David summarizes his situation with two words -- I am afflicted and in pain. “Afflicted” here suggests poor and humbled. He has been brought low by his folly and the public consequences of it. He is in pain, probably not physically, but certainly emotionally and has all the attendant effects of that -- anxiety, stress, fear, isolation, guilt, shame, anger -- you name it. Things are definitely out of kilter in his life. In response to this he prays that God’s salvation would lift him beyond accessibility -- that’s the meaning of this unique Hebrew word. He wants to escape his situation and be above it all. He expresses confidence that this will happen in the following verse by declaring that he will sing praises to God and make him great with thanksgiving. It is the anticipation of worship that turns David from despair to joy. David may be looking to the future, when all of this is over, memories have faded, and people have moved on to gossip about other things. But what if this is still in the present? What if David immediately, in the midst of his pain and affliction chooses to sing and give thanks? That is the force of this verse -- not a future prediction but a present action. This is how salvation comes -- by praising God in the midst of pain, by giving him thanks and resetting to heart to stand on the reality of the good that God has done. Singing has that power to affect the emotions and engage the mind, pulling us back from the brink of despair. David is seeing the end of this season of affliction as he begins to worship once more. There is a cycle of grief, and David has moved through its stages, and now he is coming out the other side by willing himself to worship, by forcing himself to see all the things that he has to be thankful for, by moving forward through the pain rather than wallowing in it. 

31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

David uses the divine name once more in referencing God again in these final verses as joy is returning. Having described his public worship in the previous verses as praising and singing, he says that this will please the LORD more than ritual sacrifice. This is stated elsewhere in the Psalms, most notably Psalms 50 and 51. The LORD desires heartfelt worship rather than religious duty (here in the form of animal sacrifice). Seeing David rise from his despair and worship once more is pleasing to God, another truth that is threaded through scripture -- the LORD delights in us. We know that he suffers with us, collecting our tears in jars and accounting for all of our wanderings (Psalm 58:6). And so he also celebrates with us. The triune, creator of the universe God, is connected with each of us in a deeply intimate way. We make it our goal to please Him, and in doing so, we are pleased as well. When others see this -- David’s vindication and restoration, they will be glad as well, and those that seek God, well, their hearts will live (again). This sad psalm has a very happy ending. David is restored and the community gets to see genuine repentance and restoration in action. They get to see justice done.

33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

David’s worship is rooted in the actions of YHWH. The Lord hears the needy (and David certainly includes himself in that category in this psalm), and he does not despise his very own people who are prisoners. David is describing members of society who have very little in the way of possessions. They have just enough to get by, and in the case of prisoners, they have even less because they are bound to another. Their labor is for another’s benefit. I assume here that David is talking about indentured servants, men who were trading their labor to pay off their debt. That David, the wealthiest of men in the kingdom, would identify with the poorest of the poor suggests that he has been thoroughly humbled, realizing that his wealth cannot buy him peace. When Jesus came he preached good news to the poor and release from captivity for the prisoner. It is the role of the church to preach that message as well and to embody Christ in this way, showing special concern for the poor and the captive. He alone is their salvation. He alone is the salvation for those who are rich and free as well. David then invites every realm of creation to join him in praising God. The heavens, the earth, the seas and everything that moves in them. These are all things that have no voice. They cannot articulate the words of praise, but their very existence testifies to God’s power and goodness. The marvelous things he has made and the harmony with which they co-exist is testament to his wisdom and grace. The mind and power of God that created all things is working for you, wherever you are in life -- rich, poor, in-between, independent or dependent -- God hears your prayer and has compassion for you. This is good news. 

35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it;

36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

David concludes this psalm like many others, with a prayer of blessing for the community. To this point, the psalm has largely been about him and his suffering. As he finds resolution to his crisis, he looks at the community differently as well and now things of their well-being. Focused on ourselves and our struggles, it’s almost impossible to think about anyone else, the pain demands our attention. When that subsides, we can open our eyes and see that others are suffering as well and our hearts are moved with empathy toward them in a way that it might not otherwise have been. Perhaps David is more empathetic now than before. Perhaps he will be more careful with his tongue because he has been wounded by the words of others. He will now identify with the plight of the sick and the poor because he has experienced the powerlessness they feel. And so David looks to his community and anticipates blessing -- God will save Zion (Jerusalem) and build up the cities of Judah. The people will possess the land (a reference to private ownership of property) and they will pass it on to their children, suggesting a time of peace and security. That kind of thing doesn’t happen when foreign nations invade or corrupt kings sit on thrones. As goes the king, so goes the country. The plight of the nation is linked to the character of the king, owing to the influence of a leader. King David has experienced a collapse of character and so the rebuilding that is taking place in his life needs to be replicated in the nation. This is very similar to the ending of Psalm 51, where David prays a rebuilding prayer for himself and then asks for the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt as well. Genuine repentance will result in greater empathy and action on behalf of others as the process moves us from self-focus to self-sacrifice on behalf of others.