Psalm 69: Lessons Regarding What Jesus Offers You When You Feel Sad, Depressed, or Alone During Your Trials
Introduction: Psalm 69 is such an important Psalm that Jesus quoted from it as He suffered at the cross. Paul also quoted from it. Here, David felt intense sadness because he was all alone in the face of his enemy’s attacks against him. The sorrows and anguish that David experienced all foreshadowed Jesus. Jesus experienced our sorrow at the cross. Because He suffered without cause, you can rest assured that He understands when you experience sorrow. From David’s suffering, the Bible reveals seven things that Jesus offers you when you suffer. These include: (1) comfort, (2) love, (3) mercy, (4) restoration, (5) deliverance, (6) joy and (7) faithfulness.
First, when David felt forsaken, he cried out to God. At the cross, Jesus was forsaken when He took our sins upon Himself. He then cried out to God the Father. He also understands when you suffer. When you feel sad, alone, or depressed, you can turn to Jesus for comfort. Second, David cried out to God because everyone had rejected him. At the crucifixion, even Jesus’ disciples turn on Him. When you feel rejected, turn to Jesus. He offers you His love when others reject you. Third, David cried out for God’s mercy because of his sins. When you repent, Jesus offers you mercy and forgiveness. He therefore deserves your praise. Fourth, David cried out because he felt shame and humiliation. When you feel shame, Jesus offers to restore You. Thus, He again deserves your praise. Fifth, David cried out for deliverance from His enemies. When you are attacked, Jesus also offers to deliver you. Sixth, David praised God for offering him joy when he felt brokenhearted. When you feel sad, you can also praise Jesus for offering you joy. Finally, even though David’s trial had not ended, David praised God for being faithful to keep His promises. During your trials, you can also praise Jesus for being faithful to you.
1. Comfort: When You Feel Depressed, Turn to Jesus for Comfort. Ps. 69:1-3.
David cried out to God to save him from his intense sorrows. During an intense trial when David felt as if he was drowning in his sorrows, he cried out to God for His help: “For the music director; according to Shoshannim. A Psalm of David. 1 Save me, God, for the waters have threatened my life. 2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. 3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God.” (Ps. 69:1-3). David’s suffering pointed to Jesus’ suffering at the cross as He took everyone’s sins.
Turn to God when you feel hopelessness or despair. David stated: “the waters have threatened my life.” (Ps. 69:1). He likely quoted from Eliphaz in the book of Job: “Or darkness, so that you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.” (Job 22:11). David also stated: “I have sunk in deep mud,” (Ps. 69:2). Here, he likely quoted Job, but without blaming God: “He has thrown me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.” (Job 30:19). David cried out whenever he experienced feelings of hopelessness or despair: “The ropes of death encompassed me, and the torrents of destruction terrified me.” (Ps. 18:4). “The snares of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.” (Ps. 116:3). Isaiah also turned to God when he felt overwhelmed: “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; my eyes look wistfully to the heights; Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.” (Is. 38:14). God also wants you to turn to Him when you experience feelings of hopeless or despair.
Call upon Jesus when you feel hopelessness, despair, or depression1
Jesus felt our despair at the cross. In his sorrow, David cried out “my throat is parched.” (Ps. 69:3). Jesus quoted from David in His final moments at the cross: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, ‘I am thirsty.”’ (John 19:28). At the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the pain and feelings of despair that we would otherwise feel because of our sins: “However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated.” (Is. 53:4). “and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24).
Jesus offers you comfort when you turn to Him. Before He was led to the cross, Jesus “began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.” (Matt. 26:37). Thus, He knows your pain when you suffer. When you suffer, Jesus also offers comfort when you turn to Him: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (1 Cor. 1:3-4). When others are in pain, Jesus also wants you to share with them the same “comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (1 Cor. 1:4).
2. Love: When You Are Rejected, Turn to Jesus for His Love. Ps. 69:4-12.
David lamented that many people hated him, including his own family and friends. Although David was a sinner, he complained that everyone hated him without a cause. David’s pain was only amplified when his own family members turned against him: “4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me are powerful, those who oppose me with lies; what I did not steal, I then have to restore. 5 God, You know my foolishness, and my guilt is not hidden from You. 6 May those who wait for You not be ashamed because of me, Lord God of armies; may those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel, 7 because for Your sake I have endured disgrace; dishonor has covered my face. 8 I have become estranged from my brothers, and a stranger to my mother’s sons. 9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me. 10 When I wept in my soul with fasting, it became my disgrace. 11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a proverb to them. 12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me, and songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.” (Ps. 69:4-12). Although David was a sinner, the general public and his own family members hated him for following God’s will: “David follows up his complaint by a confession of sin (ver. 5), which shows that his sufferings are, at any rate, in some measure, deserved; but, at the same time, he pleads that, as his enemies are really persecuting him for his righteous deeds and his adherence to God (vers. 74 11),” (Pulpit Commentary on Ps. 69).2
David turned to God when people close to him rejected him. David complained that even his family had turned against him: “ I have become estranged from my brothers, and a stranger to my mother’s sons.” (Ps. 69:8). As a man of sorrows, David had many occasions when friends, family, or others turned against him. But he always responded the same by turning to God to find comfort: “But I am a worm and not a person, a disgrace of mankind and despised by the people. All who see me deride me; they sneer, they shake their heads, saying,” (Ps. 22:6-7). “Because of all my adversaries, I have become a disgrace, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.” (Ps. 31:11). “They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and have fought against me without cause. . . I also have become a disgrace to them; when they see me, they shake their head.” (Ps. 109:3, 25). When friends and family turn on you, Jesus wants you to turn to Him.
When you do God’s will, friends and family members may turn against you. While David was a sinner and would have offended many because of his sins, Job had friends, family, and acquaintances turn on him only because God allowed Satan to test him: “My friends are my scoffers; my eye weeps to God,” (Job 16:20). “He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances have completely turned away from me.” (Job 19:13). As a believer, you may also have family members turn against you merely for doing God’s will: “For I came to turn a man against his father, daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;” (Matt. 10:35). Even Jesus’ disciples turned on Him. Just before His crucifixion, Peter denied Him three times (Lk. 22:54-62). Thus, Jesus understands when your loved ones reject you and betray you.
David knew that he needed God’s mercy and grace when his sin led to his rejection. David’s sins, like adultery and murder, led others to rightly object to his actions: “God, You know my foolishness, and my guilt is not hidden from You.” (Ps. 69:5). “My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness.” (Ps. 38:5). But when he repented of his sins, people around him still mocked him and refused to forgive him (Ps. 69:10-12).
Give thanks for Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness3
When you are hated for doing God’s will, Jesus understands your pain and sorrow. David said: “For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.” (Ps. 69:9). Jesus later fulfilled the prophecy: “His disciples remembered that it was written: ‘zeal for your house will consume me.”’ (John 2:17). Even though He never sinned, Jesus also experienced repeated rejection from everyone around Him: “And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads,” (Matt. 27:39). “Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,”’ (Mk. 15:29; Matt. 15:29). “But this has happened so that the word that is written in their Law will be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me for no reason.’” (John 15:25, Ps. 109:3).
The religious leaders hated Jesus for exposing their corruption4
Jesus offers you His love when others reject you. Out of love, God planned before time began to send Jesus to die on the cross to allow all who believe to have eternal life: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,’” (Jo. 11:25-26; 14:19). If Jesus was willing to die at the cross for your sins, you never need to question His love for you. When you turn to Him in your sorrow, you will find His love for you.
3. Mercy: When You Sin, Jesus Offers Mercy and Forgiveness. Ps. 69:13-18.
David prayed for God’s mercy and grace and to deliver him from his many enemies. Because David had sinned, he prayed for God to show him mercy and forgiveness: “13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, at an acceptable time; God, in the greatness of Your mercy, answer me with Your saving truth. 14 Rescue me from the mud and do not let me sink; may I be rescued from those who hate me, and from the depths of water. 15 May the flood of water not overflow me nor the deep swallow me up, nor the pit close its mouth on me. 16 Answer me, Lord, for Your mercy is good; according to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me, 17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress; answer me quickly. 18 Come near to my soul and redeem it; ransom me because of my enemies!” (Ps. 69:13-18). In Old Testament times, atonement required animal sacrifices. But Jesus came to offer a permanent path for mercy and forgiveness.
David regularly sought out God’s mercy and forgiveness. David said: “at an acceptable time; God, in the greatness of Your mercy, answer me with Your saving truth.” (Ps. 69:13). Even though he committed terrible sins, he had the faith to know that he could turn to God for forgiveness: “Acquit me of hidden faults.” (Ps. 19:12b). “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” (Ps. 25:16). “I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my guilt; I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah” (Ps. 32:5). “For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin.” (Ps. 38:18). “Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings. Wash me thoroughly from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.” (Ps. 51:1-2). God also wants you to seek out Jesus’ mercy.
David received mercy because he was merciful. David received God’s mercy because he was merciful to those in need. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Matt. 5:7). “With the faithful You show Yourself faithful; with the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;” (Ps. 18:25; same, 2 Sam. 22:26). These blessings are available to you as well. God is merciful when you show mercy to others.
Give thanks that God is merciful and long suffering. God did not immediately judge David when he sinned. He instead allowed David to experience tribulation to bring him back to Him. You can give thanks that God is also slow to anger and quick to forgive you: “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;” (Ex. 34:6). “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” (Dt. 4:31). He gives you mercy each time you repent and return to Him: “The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23). “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” (Is. 54:7). “Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, LORD; for although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.” (Is. 12:1). For these reasons, God deserves your praise for being slow to anger and quick to forgive.
Jesus’ mercy is available through faith and the confession of sin. David would have had to follow God’s Law to receive mercy and forgiveness. This would have required blood sacrifices (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). Jesus became the final one-time sacrifice to fulfill the Old Testament sacrificial laws (Heb. 10:12). The only act of obedience required to receive this blessing today is to believe that He died for your sins, to confess your sins, and make Him both your Lord and Savior (Ro. 10:13; Acts 2:21; Jo. 3:16; 1 Jo. 1:9). “[B]ut if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin . . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jo. 1:7, 9). Are there any sins that you need to confess to Jesus?
Give thanks when God answers your prayers. David prayed for God to show him mercy by answering his prayers “Answer me, Lord, for Your mercy is good; according to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,” (Ps. 69:16). “A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” (Ps. 4:1). “Reach out with Your hand from on high; rescue me and save me from great waters, from the hand of foreigners” (Ps. 144:7). David was faithful to then thank God when He answered his prayers. “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.” (Ps. 18:6). “As for me, I said in my alarm, ‘I am cut off from Your eyes’; nevertheless You heard the sound of my pleadings when I called to You for help.” (Ps. 31:22). When Jesus answers your prayers, be thankful to thank Him. Your testimony can also encourage others to turn to Jesus.
4. Restoration: When You Feel Shame, Jesus Offers Restoration. Ps. 69:19-21.
David cried out because he felt shame and dishonor. In addition to seeking God’s forgiveness, David also prayed for God to restore the shame he felt in front of others: “19 You know my disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor; all my enemies are known to You. 20 Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am so sick. And I waited for sympathy, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They also gave me a bitter herb in my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” (Ps. 69:19-21). David’s humiliation also pointed to Jesus: “Here, at any rate, the psalmist is inspired to be Messianic, i.e. to use words which, while they can only be applied to himself metaphorically and loosely, are in the strictest and most literal sense applicable to Christ.” (Pulpit Commentary on Ps. 69).5 But Jesus can do more than merely understand your shame and humiliation. He can also restore your honor and broken relationships.
David’s suffering foreshadowed Jesus’ suffering on the cross. In agony, David cried out: “for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” (Ps. 69:21). Jesus later fulfilled David’s Psalm 69 just before He died at the cross: “they gave Him wine mixed with bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it. . . . And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.” (Matt. 27:34, 48). “And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, ‘Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.’” (Mk. 15:36). “The soldiers also ridiculed Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,” (Lk. 23:36; John 19:28-29). Thus, He understands when you suffer.
Angel Bearing a Sponge (1668-69) Antonio Giorgetti (1635-69) Ponte Sant’Angelo, Rome6
Jesus being offered a sponge at the cross7
Pouring out your feelings to God is a sign of your faith. David felt comfortable crying to God: “I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God . . . Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am so sick.” (Ps. 69:3, 20). On many other occasions, David also cried to God: “My eye has wasted away with grief; it has grown old because of all my enemies.” (Ps. 6:7). “My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me.” (Ps. 38:10). “My eyes fail with longing for Your word, While I say, “When will You comfort me? . . . My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation, and for Your righteous word.” (Ps. 119:82, 123). During his trials, Job also felt comfortable crying to God: “My face is flushed from weeping, and deep darkness is on my eyelids,” (Job 16:16). “My eye has also become inexpressive because of grief, and all my body parts are like a shadow.” (Job 17:7).
When others reject you, Jesus offers you restoration. When you feel humiliated or shame, you can turn to Jesus for restoration: “But You, LORD, are a shield around me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” (Ps. 3:3). “A Psalm of David. I will exalt You, LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.” (Ps. 30:1). Jesus will restore the good things that you have lost because of sin: “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lk. 21:28). When you are born again, Jesus makes you a “new creation”: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor. 5:17). Among other things, He can restore your broken relationships and your honor among others.
Give thanks when Jesus removes your feelings of despair. David also thanked God for saving him from death: “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; and He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.” (Ps. 40:2). “the waters would have flooded over us, the stream would have swept over our souls;” (Ps. 124:4). David also expressed confidence that God would save him in the future the next time he felt hopeless: “For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; He will hide me in the secret place of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock.” (Ps. 27:5). When God delivers you from a circumstance of hopelessness or despair, show Him your gratitude.
5. Deliverance: When You Are Attacked, Jesus Offers Deliverance. Ps. 69:22-28.
David cried out for deliverance from those who sought to hurt him. David also prayed for God’s help in the face of enemies who wanted to see him killed: “22 May their table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, may it become a trap. 23 May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, and make their hips shake continually. 24 Pour out Your indignation on them, and may Your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be desolated; may there be none living in their tents. 26 For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself struck, and they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded. 27 Add guilt to their guilt, and may they not come into Your righteousness. 28 May they be wiped out of the book of life, and may they not be recorded with the righteous.” (Ps. 69:22-28). “These are prophecies of the destruction of Christ’s persecutors. Verses 22,23 are applied to the judgments of God upon the unbelieving Jews, in Ro 11:9,10. When the supports of life and delights of sense, through the corruption of our nature, are made the food and fuel of sin, then our table is a snare. Their sin was, that they would not see, but shut their eyes against the light, loving darkness rather; their punishment was, that they should not see, but should be given up to their own hearts’ lusts which hardened them.” (Matthew Henry on Ps. 69).8
Turn to Jesus for your deliverance. As an example to you, many of David’s psalms contain tributes to God for His deliverance: “A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David. I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.” (Ps. 30:1). “A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” (Ps. 27:1). “My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.” (Ps. 144:2). “The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble;” (Ps. 9:9). If you feel under attack, seek out God’s deliverance and then thank Him when He answers you.
David’s words pointed to the sorrow of those who reject Jesus. David prophetically wrote: “25 May their camp be desolated; may there be none living in their tents.” (Ps. 69:25). Jesus quoted this verse when He lamented over Jerusalem: “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!” (Matt. 23:38). These verses pointed to the place where Judas hung himself after betraying Jesus: “And it became known to all the residents of Jerusalem; as a result that field was called Hakeldama in their own language, that is, Field of Blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘may his residence be made desolate, and my there be none living in it’; and, ‘may another take his office.’” (Acts 1:19-20). Those who reject Jesus will one day feel sorrow and regret for their actions.
Out of love, God disciplines those who reject Him. David also said: “22 May their table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, may it become a trap.” (Ps. 69:22). Paul later quoted from David to point to the Jews who rejected Jesus. But Paul pointed out that God’s discipline did not mean that He had rejected the Jews. And God would use this for His greater good: “And David says, ‘May their table become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling block and retribution to them. May their eyes be darkened to not see, and bend their backs continually.’ I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Far from it! But by their wrongdoing salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.” (Ro. 11:9-11). People make bad choices out of free will. But God will always use His sovereignty to cause things to work together for good (Ro. 8:28).
6. Joy: When You Feel Sad, Praise Jesus For Offering You Joy. Ps. 69:29-33.
David praised God for hearing the cries of the humble and brokenhearted. Despite feeling intense pain, David gave thanks that God could hear him and bring him joy: “29 But I am afflicted and in pain; may Your salvation, God, set me safely on high. 30 I will praise the name of God with song, and exalt Him with thanksgiving. 31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox or bull with horns and hoofs. 32 The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive. 33 For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise those of His who are prisoners.” (Ps. 69:29-33). These verses again point to Jesus. In your time of sorrow, He offers you peace and joy.
God hears the cries the cries of the humble and brokenhearted9
Give thanks for God’s mercy and grace in your life10
Before knowing the outcome of his trial, David turned to God in praise and worship. Even while his trials were ongoing, David praised God with gratitude and joy: “But as for me, I will sing of Your strength; yes, I will joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the morning, for You have been my refuge and a place of refuge on the day of my distress. My strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my refuge, the God who shows me favor.” (Ps. 59:16-17). “A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, ‘I love You, LORD, my strength.”’ (Ps. 18:1). Even in your darkest hour, you can find His peace by giving Him praise.
Sing joyful songs of praise to Jesus. When you are feeling sad, alone, or depressed, take your eyes off yourself and give Jesus joyful praise. One day, all the nations will bow before Him and sing His praises: “All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; they will sing praises to Your name.” Selah” (Ps. 66:4). “All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord, and they will glorify Your name.” (Ps. 86:9). “Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev. 15:4). Is your gratitude evident through your songs of joy?
7. Faithfulness: During a Trial, Praise Jesus for Being Faithful. Ps. 69:34-36.
David praised God for His faithfulness in keeping His promises to His people. Even though his trials continued, David praised God because He would be faithful to His people: “34 Heaven and earth shall praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, so that they may live there and possess it. 36 The descendants of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His name will live in it.” (Ps. 69:34-36) “As low as this psalm began, it soars to the highest praise in the end. Heaven and earth are not big enough to give God the praise He is due. The seas and everything that moves in them will also bring Him praise. . . Scorned by his enemies, David knew that he and others who love His name would inherit the land and dwell in it.” (David Guzik on Ps. 69) (emphasis original).11
David had faith in God’s promises to deliver him from his many enemies. Even though David faced enemies who sought to destroy him, he wrote about God’s faithfulness in the past tense because he knew that God would be faithful. Because God was faithful to keep His promises to David, He prevented his enemies from destroying him: “He also brought me out into an open place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.” (Ps. 18:19). “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” (Ps. 20:6). “But You, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.” (Ps. 3:3).
God is faithful to keep all His promises. Also as our example, Moses celebrated God’s faithfulness: “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;” (Dt. 7:9). “ . . . I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, . . . showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Ex. 20:5-6). “and I will remember My covenant, . . .” (Gen. 9:15). Jesus is also faithful to keep His promises to you: “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9). He is faithful, even when we are not: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13). This means that you can trust His many promises to you. But you cannot have faith in His many promises if you don’t know them.
Don’t give up on following God’s Word and His will when you face opposition. Psalm 69 is a reminder to persevere when you face opposition for following God’s Word or doing His will: “The LORD wants His people to be zealous, defending the faith, preserving worship, and proclaiming the truth to the world. But biblical and Church history tells us that zeal will bring bitter opposition that will often be characterized by personal attacks and accusations. This is because zeal will confront those who are destroying the institutions and teachings of the faith . . .” (Allen Ross, A Commentary of the Psalms: Volume 2 (42-89), Kregel Academic (2013) p. 508). Thus, you should never give up on defending God’s Word from those who reject it. Nevertheless, give an “account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect;” (1 Pet. 3:15).
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