Those
who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore what I didn’t take away.
Psalm 69:4
Psalm 68 [30.] Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds,
the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples.
Being humbled, may it bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
Princes shall come out of Egypt.
Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth!
Sing praises to the Lord!
Selah.
To him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old;
behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God!
His excellency is over Israel,
his strength is in the skies.
You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people.
Praise be to God!
For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Lilies.” By David.
Psalm 69 [1.] Save me, God,
for the waters have come up to my neck!
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold.
I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
I am weary with my crying.
My throat is dry.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty.
I have to restore what I didn’t take away.
God, you know my foolishness.
My sins aren’t hidden from you.
Don’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord Yahweh of Armies.
Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel.
Because for your sake, I have borne reproach.
Shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother’s children.
For the zeal of your house consumes me.
The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
Psalm 69 [10.] When I wept and I fasted,
that was to my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
Those who sit in the gate talk about me.
I am the song of the drunkards.
But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, in an acceptable time.
God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.
Deliver me out of the mire, and don’t let me sink.
Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.
Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me,
neither let the deep swallow me up.
Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.
Answer me, Yahweh, for your loving kindness is good.
According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.
Don’t hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress.
Answer me speedily!
Draw near to my soul, and redeem it.
Ransom me because of my enemies.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor.
My adversaries are all before you.
Meaning:
In Psalm 69 David cries to God from deep distress, sinking in deep waters and worn out with waiting (see the Context above). In verse 4 he names the cause: enemies who hate him for no good reason.
- “Those who hate me without a cause”
David felt surrounded by enemies as many as the hairs of his head, mighty and eager to destroy him. Worse than their number was the injustice: they hated him “without a cause” and were his enemies “wrongfully.”
- “I have to restore what I didn’t take away”
He was treated like a thief forced to repay what he never stole. In the next line he admits that God knows his foolishness and sins, so he does not claim to be perfect, but in this conflict he was innocent.
- Fulfilled in Jesus
Jesus said that his enemies’ hatred fulfilled the Scripture, “They hated me without a cause” (John 15:25). He is the perfectly innocent sufferer, and unlike David he had no sin to confess. Other lines of this psalm are also applied to him: “For the zeal of your house consumes me” (Psalm 69:9; John 2:17), and “In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21), fulfilled at the cross (John 19:28-29).
The Significance of Psalm 69:4
- God sees unjust suffering
Believers hated without cause can bring their complaint to God, as David did, and leave judgment to him.
- Following the innocent sufferer
Jesus understands unjust suffering. When he “was cursed, didn’t curse back” (1 Peter 2:23), he set the pattern for his followers.
Cross-References:
John 15:25: "They hated me without a cause." Jesus applies the psalm to himself.
Psalm 69:21: "In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink." Fulfilled at the cross.
1 Peter 2:23: "Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back." The innocent sufferer's response.
Conclusion: David cried out to God because powerful enemies hated him without cause and treated him as guilty though he was innocent. Jesus applied these words to himself, for he suffered the world’s hatred though he had done no wrong.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible