Psalms: The Zeal of Christ

The right to the covenant only come though sacrifice and that sacrifice was bloody, it was horrendous, as one, the best, bore the wrath deserved by all.

Let’s read

Psalm 69:1–36 ESV

1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 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? 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. 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. 10 When I wept 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. 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. 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! 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. 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. 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. 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. 27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 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. 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. 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. 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.

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy and Infallible Word

Lets Pray

Transition

You might ask, is this text about David, or Jesus. I would answer, yes. It is most surely about David, however, its ultimate fulfillment is only in Christ.

Verses 1-12 are the first section for this evening.

Body

The Psalmist and the Subject

Psalm 69:1–12 ESV

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

These words are what David is saying, but they are more fully Christs.

This is common in the scriptures as God uses people like David as a type of Christ, as foreshadowing of the coming King.

Remember how Samuel was only a shadow and the Lord promised a priest like Samuel who line would not end.

Samuel could not fulfill the role of priest for ever, but there is one who can.

We have trouble thinking this way because we experience time linearly, for us the thing that come first is the type and every thing that come after is the shadow. This is clearly seen is in a lot of Greek platonic philosophical thought, however, though David came first in time, he was type, he was a shadow.

The Type is Christ, and righteousness David has is only a reflection of the true type of righteous

Think about verse 4 for a moment “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?”

Here there those that lie about David, who hated him without cause

Yes, Saul is a great example.

But David gave many cause to hate him, Christ gave none.

Only one can say I gave no one cause to hate me ever.

Look at verse 8 and 9 “8I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. 9For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.”

Again what we see applies to David applies even more so to Christ

Did David’s brother become strangers to him, yes

Did David have a zeal for God’s house, yes

But Christ more so in every way and that is why this statement is directly applied to Jesus in John 2:17

David held a candle flame of zeal Christ was a raging inferno

Ever more so with the revelation fully consummated we should understand the implication of this

Calvin add a thought here, “When we reflect that David has spoken, as it were, out of the mouth of Christ, and, as it were, out of the mouth of all true saints who are the members of Christ, we ought not to think that any strange thing happens to us, if at any time we are so overwhelmed with death, as to be unable to discern the slightest hope of life.” [1]

Brothers and sisters the point of seeing Christ in the text is so that we will be more like him in every way including being, austerized even by family because we will not compromise on God’s word, and this may mean persecution, and death.

This is the point of this series is to be conformed to the image of Christ. Anything else is ultimately useless.

Transition

Speaking of seeing Christ in the text, verse 21 is on of those direct references to him. look at verse 21 through 28.

Direct Prophecy about Christs

Psalm 69:21–28 ESV

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. 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. 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. 27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

Verse 21 is metaphorically applied to David, but actually applied to Christ.

Verse 26 Those you have wounded, those you have struck down.

As Job said, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10, ESV)

To be very clear here, the evil ob speak of is not like the evil that a human does. The word Job used could be understood as moral evil but more correctly understood as calamity.

Charging God with moral evil would be a sin.

“In all this Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2:10, ESV).

“I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity” (Is 45:7, ESV).

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

The book of life, “and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” (Rev 13:8, ESV)

“22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.” (Heb 12:22–25, ESV)

The consistent proclamation of the sculpture is that this one that warns from Heaven is non other then Christ himself.

Do not neglect to listen to him and the only place the is speak is in the scriptures. As the author of Hebrews tells us,

“ Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken (Past tense) to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Heb 1:1–2, ESV)

Transition

The ones written in the book of life are the sheep who hear his voice, the ones that will not bow to the beast which is the world system, the ones the have been freed from the bondage of sin and death.

Verse 29-33 is our last section for tonight the prisoners have been freed.

The Prisoners are Free

Psalm 69:29–33 ESV

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

Again, something that is only fully fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus has been set on high

The psalmist says, “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

Not without Christ you wont, who it the perfecter or our worship?

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

Why are they glad, when they see the salvation of the Lord they rejoice because he has triumphed over death.

Why the humble, why are the humble glad? Daivd said in Psalm 51,

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17, ESV).

God is near to the broken hearted, the ones the come to him with no pretext of having anything to offer him. Just asking for mercy.

To them God says, not only will i have mercy I will free you.

Conclusion

In conclusion verse 33

“For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.”

He who the Son set free is free indeed.

They are free of death because he is risen and they have life through him

They are Free of sin because they have his align righteousness as their own

They are free of fear because they in him they are more than conquerors.

They are free of doubt because they have His perfect unassailable word and a guide each step of the day.

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

References

[1] John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 3 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 48.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and James Anderson. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.

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