Will faith be choked to death? Will hope wither on the vine? Will love fail to produce fruit? “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful,” Jesus told his disciples. (Matthew 13:22)
“I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw,” Solomon told his son. (Proverbs 24:30-32)
Psalm 69 begins with a call for God’s salvation that seems to fall on deaf ears. Will David’s faith, hope, and love for God remain? Will his heart prove pure?
Similar to Job on the trash heap and Jonah in the belly of the beast, many of life’s miseries have befallen David. Every possible hope for deliverance fails him. He poetically describes being in the middle of a vast, lonely swamp.
The waters have come up to his neck. His body is weak. He tires of swimming, and he can no longer float. The mirk slowly pulls his body under. The grave is hungry. His feet find nothing to keep him high enough to bring in air. Death desires its prey. Will I be crushed by despair?
David looks for God. His eyes go dim from trying so long and not finding. Every day, we struggle to push away the waters of despair that try to engulf us. We ask, “Where is my God?” just as David did. Will faith be choked to death? Will hope wither on the vine? Will love fail to produce fruit? Let’s look at the rest of Psalm 69.
