Help!

In Psalm 69 David is in trouble. He is in deep trouble. Here is how he begins this psalm: “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2  I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. 3  I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.” That sounds like trouble to me. This psalm is a plea for God to help David. Portions of this psalm are also seen as Messianic prophecy, Old Testament words about the suffering of Jesus. There is much to say about a psalm of this length but for the purpose of this little blog post I will focus on the section where David begins to ask for help. This is what he writes: “But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation. 14  Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters.” What struck me this morning were the phrases “in the acceptable time”, “in the multitude of your mercy” and “in the truth of Your salvation”. I’d like to talk about those phrases briefly.

“In the acceptable time” means that David knows that God has a purpose for his suffering. David is waiting for God’s timing for deliverance. David desperately needs help but he is willing to submit to the sovereignty of God’s timing for the deliverance. This is a good lesson for all of us. We never suffer for the sake of suffering. There is always a reason and a purpose. May we be willing to let God guide the deliverance process and give us help WHEN it is best for His glory. “In the multitude of Your mercy” means that David doesn’t even deserve to be helped out of his mess. Rather, David sees God’s deliverance flowing from God’s mercy. You and I don’t deserve to be delivered from sin and from our mess. God’s mercy provides a way for us to be delivered. Finally, “in the truth of Your salvation” strikes me as David seeing his suffering as part of a much bigger picture. David doesn’t doubt that God has his back but there is a bigger and more significant truth in play. The most important thing is not deliverance from an enemy. Rather, the most important thing is God’s salvation. Therein lies the real truth of the matter. David may be neck deep in the mire but God’s salvation is still real and true to Him and for Him. I hope that you have experienced God’s salvation and can utter these same three phrases as you ask God to deliver you.