Psalms 69:2

"For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Lilies.” By David. Save me, God, for the waters have come up to my neck!"

Key Reflection

In the first century AD, when this psalm was likely performed, the phrase "the waters have come up to my neck" would have evoked vivid imagery of someone struggling in deep water, possibly a life-threatening situation. The original audience would have understood it as a metaphor for overwhelming adversity or oppression, perhaps reflecting David's experiences as a fugitive from Saul or his personal struggles with sin and betrayal. This phrase underscores the intensity of David's plea to God for deliverance, highlighting the desperate nature of his circumstances.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

I sink in deep mire -Margin, as in Hebrew, “the mire of the depth.” This would denote either mire which was itself so deep that one could not extricate himself from it; or, mire found in a deep place, as at the bottom of a pit. Compare the notes atPsalms 40:2. An illustration of this might be drawn from the case of Joseph, cast by his brethren into a deep pitGenesis 37:24; or from the case of Jeremiah, thrown into a deep dungeon: “And they let down Jeremiah with cords; and in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire,”Jeremiah 38:6. Where there is no standing -No solid ground; nothing for the foot to rest on.

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