Save Me

June 5

2 Samuel 18-19

Psalm 69:1-4

Proverbs 15:8-9

Acts 4:1-22

Save Me

“Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life.  I have sunk in deep clay, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.  I am weary with my calling out; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.” 

Psalm 69:1-3 LSB

Do you ever feel this way?  Do you ever feel like you are drowning and you can’t keep your head above the water?  Or like you are trying to dig out of a deep pit but every time you think you are making progress, you lose your footing and slip back down into the mud.  Are you weary and tired from the struggle?  David penned this psalm during a time of great distress and sorrow.  We aren’t told the specifics of his circumstances at the time perhaps because God wanted all of us to be able to relate to David and turn to this psalm for comfort and hope.  The exact reason for David’s lament doesn’t matter as much as the emotions he was feeling and that in his grief and sorrow, he turned to God.  He was feeling abandoned and alone as he hid from his enemies.  Psalm 69 is one of the imprecatory psalms in which David called on God to punish and judge his enemies.  He begged God to hold them accountable for their mistreatment of him and to destroy them.  Later in the psalm, we also see that David was feeling the weight of his own sins.  He was experiencing shame, guilt and dishonor as a result of the recognition of some sin he had committed.  This psalm is a perfect example of why David was called “a man after God’s own heart.”  He was humble and repentant.  Instead of becoming defensive and denying guilt for sin, he confessed and sought forgiveness.  He begged God, “May those who hope for You not be ashamed through me…may those who seek You not be dishonored through me.”  (Psalm 69:6 LSB)  He did not want anyone seeking God to be dishonored or ashamed because of him and turn away from God.  Instead of running from God in shame, he turned to God in humility begging for mercy and salvation. 

David knew that God was the only source of hope for him.  He had come to the end of himself.  He recognized that he was weak and he could not save himself.  He knew that there was no one else that he could turn to for help.  God, and God alone, was the only One who could save him.  This Psalm is evidence that David had an intimate relationship with God.  He could have run from Him in his shame, but he chose to run to God for forgiveness, cleansing and restoration.  David trusted God not to reject him.  He knew God loved him and was able to bring about justice and righteousness.  Where do you turn when you are overwhelmed with grief and sorrow?  Do you run away from God or do you run to Him?  Do you trust Him to provide forgiveness, restoration and justice to your situation.  He is faithful.  He is the only One who can pull us out of the pit of despair so that we can experience wholeness.