My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.

As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.

Let’s read the last three verses of this revealing psalm.

Psalm 69:34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
Psalm 69:35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it;
Psalm 69:36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

It’s been over three months since we started this psalm of distress, weariness, fear and anger. It contained some of the harshest judgments wished upon the enemies of David in the Psalms. Not the harshest in my opinion, but we will wait until Psalm 137 to consider that passage.

Throughout the passage the psalmist begged for deliverance, referring to the steadfast love of God, of His faithfulness, and of his enemies pursuing him, poisoning him, and providing him sour wine to drink (vs 21). Does this not hint at not only an exterior enemy, but an enemy within the camp?

He had suffered every angle of treachery, was on the edge of destruction, spoke of the flood sweeping over him, of the pit closing up on him. He was a death’s door, and with no one in sight to assist, no one that he could trust.

All alone.

Of course he wasn’t all alone, for he had the God of Israel, and he sought His help.

There was One was was completely, utterly all alone, and whom was saved after death took Him.

For David, he was rescued from death, and due to his rescue, Israel would become a world power. As we think of Jesus, we know that through His death, all heaven and earth shall praise Him, literally all of creation. This praise will be the direct result of the Lord having erupted out of the grave, for all of creation has been groaning in agony.

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

He goes on the declare that God will save Zion, and build up the cities of Judah. Of course this has been accomplished in the reign of David, as he took control of Judah, at least the first 7 years of his reign.

For the completion of the saving of Zion, we need to look to the Son of David, as…

He is the One who comes to Zion for salvation

Matthew 21:5  “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

He is the One who is salvation.

1 Peter 2:6 For it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

He is the One who builds the True Zion, the church

Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,

And He is the One who delivers Zion

Romans 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

Yes Jesus is the complete fulfillment of the salvation of Zion, the building of the cities of Judah (praise), and of the character of those resident in Zion. Note that those that inherit this salvation are the offspring of His servants, those who are of service.

Did not Jesus echo this truth in the beatitudes?

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Even as He echoed this truth, He expanded it to include the earth, and not just the single hill of Zion near Jerusalem. No – the entire earth will be the inheritance of the meek, lowly Man named Jesus, and with Him His servants.

His salvation was hinted at in the Old Testament, but the realization of what is now, and what is about to be, is far more than we can think or imagine!

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