Psalm 69 for Good Friday

Reading Psalm 69 today I was picking up on a couple of hints that this psalm was messianic--such as "I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me" and "They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst."

Checking into the commentaries it turns out the entire psalm is messianic, written as if coming from Jesus' own mouth. It's really a fitting complement to our Good Friday contemplation of everything Jesus did for us. Here are some things to note as you read through it:

• In verse 4 again you see the "they hate me without reason" line I talked about yesterday which Jesus quotes in John 15:25.
• If the psalm is written in the words of Jesus, then verse 5 trips up some people: "You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you." Jesus was obviously guiltless, so this is a reference to him carrying the burden of our sins.
• Verses 22-28 bother some people because Jesus is basically praying for the damnation of his enemies. The People's Bible says, "Our prayers must be in harmony with this revealed will of God . . . The God who does not want anyone to perish is the same God who will cast those who reject his will into hell."
• Another interesting point by the People's Bible as you think about the psalms and how they are more than just worshipful poems (here the author is referring to the section quoted earlier about the gall and vinegar): "We look in vain for a literal fulfillment of these words in the life of David. David was a type of Christ, but some of the statements of the messianic psalms exceed any experiences of David's life, and the psalms containing such statements are direct prophecies of Christ."