When I Was Sinking Down, Sinking Down!

Psalm 69
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1 Save me, O God,
    for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
    looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
    those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

There are many times David felt extreme sorrow, and felt abandoned by everyone including his friends.  Even when he did something he felt was for God, he was unjustly treated and unfairly persecuted.  David compares the despair he felt to slow rising of the waters up to his neck.  And like sinking into mud like quicksand, with no firm footing.  And finally, the sudden flood which comes suddenly and creates instant fear and leaves David crying out for help. 

In addition, we see his physical symptoms.  His throat is parched from crying out, and his eyes are weary for looking for God.  David is crying out in the depth of his being.  If you read the rest of the psalm, there are things that David cries out that we hear in Jesus’ own betrayal and suffering before he died on the cross.  For example, in verse 21, “They put gall in my food, and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”  Since David was the greatest king in Israel, he was a forerunner of the King of kings. Finally, we see the deep trust David has in the Lord when he states,

29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
    may your salvation, God, protect me.
30 I will praise God’s name in song
    and glorify him with thanksgiving.

There are times when we feel we are being engulfed by turmoil and racked with anxiety and fear.  Or, flooded with grief and tears.  There are times when even those who we trust seem absent, or worse yet have turned on us.  But the fact is in times like this we can cry out to God to deliver us.  It gives me a great sense of strength when I am in a crisis big or small to know that I can cry out to God and he will deliver me.  Not always in the way I think he should, but he is always there to be my rock.  When we seem to be sinking, we can reach up to the Rock that is above us.  He will never move.  Then, like David we can praise and thank God for never leaving or forsaking us!




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