Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
It is a cry for God to come close to the weary and sorrowing soul in mercy, to rescue and revive the sinking and fainting, and to set the contrite free from darkness. Its plea for deliverance because of enemies belongs to the stern prayers against sin, which call for just retribution upon evil and for the triumph of the church over its foes, not for personal revenge. As part of Psalm 69 it foreshadows the sufferings of Jesus in his betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion, opening a window into his inner anguish as he wrestled with the enemy and pleaded for nearness, redemption and deliverance. The psalm speaks first of David and finally and fully of Christ, though not every line passes to him in the same way, while those who held otherwise taught that it is simply David's own experience which touches Christ no more than it touches any hated sufferer today. Believers whose path runs parallel to David's may therefore take up the same words, not as a strict prediction fulfilled, but as their own prayer offered with confidence that God hears and gives the same triumph Christ won.
Meaning of the Plea
The plea asks God to draw near to the weary, sorrowing soul with loving kindness and mercy. It asks Him to hasten to relief and bid darkness flee while the sufferer waits for His word. It asks Him to redeem the soul and save the sorrowing poor. It asks Him to revive the fainting, restore the sinking soul, and make the contrite live. It asks for deliverance because of enemies.
The cry against enemies belongs to one of the cursing psalms that present a sin-hating God who punishes sin with retributive providence and justice. Its words against enemies are not vindictive revenge. They are typical of tribulation upon the enemies of the church and are predictive. They ask that enemies not be allowed to rejoice, but that their chosen pathway be darkened and their joy turned to grief.
Prophecy and Application
Psalm 69 as a whole prefigures the experiences of Jesus, and is prophetic of his betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion. It is prophetic of his experience when the sins of the world rested upon him, when he experienced human infirmity and poured out his soul unto death. Recognizing that reference to Christ is necessary to understand its meaning, and the plea for rescue from enemies belongs to the petitions that become significant in his life. As part of that psalm, the prayer to draw near to the sufferer, redeem him, and deliver him from his enemies reflects suffering Christ passed through.
In that prophetic setting the verse gives a glimpse of Christ's inner experience in a dark hour, crying for God to draw near, redeem him, and deliver him from his enemies. It belongs to the picture of Christ enduring a life-and-death struggle with the enemy. The psalm speaks first about David and finally and antitypically about Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ. It applies partly to what was immediately before the reader and partly to what is remote, and has a literal application to Christ as the New Testament expressly states.
Not every verse of the psalm transfers to Christ, for Psalm 69:5 applied to Christ would make him a sinner, while verses 9, 21 and others were fulfilled in him. The same psalm therefore contains language about sin that cannot describe Christ, who was not a sinner. Hence the prayer to draw near, redeem the soul, and deliver because of enemies cannot be judged by the rule that if one text of a prophecy is used in an accommodated sense the whole must be, or if one part is literal the whole must be. By a different position held by fewer, the verse is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience. It does not point specially to Jesus, but applies to Jesus no more than to anyone in the present day who is hated without a cause and whose history touches David's history at certain points.
Christians as well as David can take up and apply the verse when their history runs parallel to his. Such use is an appropriated quotation, not a fulfillment of prediction in the strict prophetic sense, though both kinds of use may be called fulfillment of Scripture. Because the suffering it reflects is one Christ passed through and triumphed over, the prayer can be prayed with assurance that God hears those who pray in comparable circumstances. The triumph he won is for his children, and is given to them in the same circumstances.
It is a cry for God to come close to the weary and sorrowing soul in mercy, to rescue and revive the sinking and fainting, and to set the contrite free from darkness. Its plea for deliverance because of enemies belongs to the stern prayers against sin, which call for just retribution upon evil and for the triumph of the church over its foes, not for personal revenge. As part of Psalm 69 it foreshadows the sufferings of Jesus in his betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion, opening a window into his inner anguish as he wrestled with the enemy and pleaded for nearness, redemption and deliverance. The psalm speaks first of David and finally and fully of Christ, though not every line passes to him in the same way, while those who held otherwise taught that it is simply David's own experience which touches Christ no more than it touches any hated sufferer today. Believers whose path runs parallel to David's may therefore take up the same words, not as a strict prediction fulfilled, but as their own prayer offered with confidence that God hears and gives the same triumph Christ won.
Meaning of the Plea
The plea asks God to draw near to the weary, sorrowing soul with loving kindness and mercy. It asks Him to hasten to relief and bid darkness flee while the sufferer waits for His word. It asks Him to redeem the soul and save the sorrowing poor. It asks Him to revive the fainting, restore the sinking soul, and make the contrite live. It asks for deliverance because of enemies.
The cry against enemies belongs to one of the cursing psalms that present a sin-hating God who punishes sin with retributive providence and justice. Its words against enemies are not vindictive revenge. They are typical of tribulation upon the enemies of the church and are predictive. They ask that enemies not be allowed to rejoice, but that their chosen pathway be darkened and their joy turned to grief.
Prophecy and Application
Psalm 69 as a whole prefigures the experiences of Jesus, and is prophetic of his betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion. It is prophetic of his experience when the sins of the world rested upon him, when he experienced human infirmity and poured out his soul unto death. Recognizing that reference to Christ is necessary to understand its meaning, and the plea for rescue from enemies belongs to the petitions that become significant in his life. As part of that psalm, the prayer to draw near to the sufferer, redeem him, and deliver him from his enemies reflects suffering Christ passed through.
In that prophetic setting the verse gives a glimpse of Christ's inner experience in a dark hour, crying for God to draw near, redeem him, and deliver him from his enemies. It belongs to the picture of Christ enduring a life-and-death struggle with the enemy. The psalm speaks first about David and finally and antitypically about Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ. It applies partly to what was immediately before the reader and partly to what is remote, and has a literal application to Christ as the New Testament expressly states.
Not every verse of the psalm transfers to Christ, for Psalm 69:5 applied to Christ would make him a sinner, while verses 9, 21 and others were fulfilled in him. The same psalm therefore contains language about sin that cannot describe Christ, who was not a sinner. Hence the prayer to draw near, redeem the soul, and deliver because of enemies cannot be judged by the rule that if one text of a prophecy is used in an accommodated sense the whole must be, or if one part is literal the whole must be. By a different position held by fewer, the verse is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience. It does not point specially to Jesus, but applies to Jesus no more than to anyone in the present day who is hated without a cause and whose history touches David's history at certain points.
Christians as well as David can take up and apply the verse when their history runs parallel to his. Such use is an appropriated quotation, not a fulfillment of prediction in the strict prophetic sense, though both kinds of use may be called fulfillment of Scripture. Because the suffering it reflects is one Christ passed through and triumphed over, the prayer can be prayed with assurance that God hears those who pray in comparable circumstances. The triumph he won is for his children, and is given to them in the same circumstances.