Prayer, Praise and Promises 6/25/10

Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Prayer, Praise and Promises
Scripture Reference: Psalm 69:1-12

The Worst Death

Read Psalm 69:1-12

I was chatting about death with a neighbor once, using it as an opportunity to witness to him. We were discussing what the most difficult way to die would be. I finally said, "Perhaps the most difficult way to die would be to be smothered--to be sinking in quicksand and be smothered."

David had that kind of experience spiritually. "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me" (vv. 1, 2). It's bad enough to be sinking in quicksand, but David also had the floods coming over him. What did he do? He did what every Christian should do.

First, he waited. "My throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God" (v. 3). "Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed" (v. 6). David knew the situation was in God's control. Yes, he did cry out to God for rescue. Nothing is wrong with that. But he also waited.

Second, he wept. "When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach" (v. 10). Reproach is used again and again in Psalm 69. (This is a messianic psalm that talks about the reproach Jesus endured for us.) Nothing is wrong with weeping. Pain hurts, and some situations can break your heart. David waited and wept, and he knew that God was going to see him through.

Third, he watched. "Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel" (v. 6). In other words David says, "It's not important what happens to me. But I don't want to create any problems for anybody else." Throughout this psalm David becomes more and more like the Lord. When you find yourself sinking, wait, weep, watch and let God work.

* * *

When you find yourself sinking in the quicksand, there is little else you can do but cry to the Lord. Sometimes He allows the "quicksand" experiences to turn you to Him. Wait for God. Acknowledge that He is in control. Give Him the pieces of your broken heart and watch Him work for you. You can depend on His faithfulness.

Psalm 69:1-12 (New International Version)

For the director of music. To the tune of "Lilies." Of David.

¹ Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.

² I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.

³ I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.

⁴ Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.

⁵ You know my folly, O God;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ May those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me,
O Lord, the LORD Almighty;
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me,
O God of Israel.

⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.

⁸ I am a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my own mother's sons;

⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

¹⁰ When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;

¹¹ when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.

¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.