I regularly thank God for family and friends. These are people who love me and to whom I can turn in times of need. But imagine having no one to turn to in your distress. How would you feel? Where would you go if everyone who once supported you now rejected you? The only person you can turn to is God. That is what David expresses in Psalm 69.

Why is David suffering? Once again, we are not given the details of David's situation. This is deliberate because the psalms have been written and collated to provide a model for believers on how to relate with God.

How is David feeling? He is overwhelmed. He feels like a man who is drowning and can barely keep his head above water. His troubles are like ″floods that engulf me″ (Psalm 69:2; see also vv. 14-15).

What does David do? David brings his complaint to God. There are two parts to his complaint. First, he has been hated ″without reason″ (v. 4) and ″endured scorn for [God's] sake″ (v. 7; see also vv. 19-20). Throughout history, the church has faced intense persecution for no other reason than her devotion to Jesus. Similarly, in schools, universities, and workplaces across the world today, Christians face prejudice and abuse simply because they love the Lord Jesus.

The second part of his complaint is that he has been rejected by those closest to him (vv. 8, 20). He turned to people who were his friends for support, but received mockery instead. David parallels this to asking for food and drink, but being given ″gall″ and ″vinegar″ (v. 21). Gall is a kind of poison; vinegar intensifies your thirst rather than quench it.

Faced with abuse from enemies and cold-hearted rejection by friends and family, it's not surprising that David is ″worn out calling for help″ (v. 3). He is emotionally exhausted. David pled with the Lord to ″answer me quickly″ (v. 17).

Psalm 69 tells the story of a righteous man unjustly persecuted and rejected by the people he loved. It's not surprising that this is one of the most oft-quoted psalms in the New Testament because it points forward to Christ:

• Jesus quoted verse 4 when He spoke about the hatred the world has towards himself and His disciples (John 15:18-25).
• John quoted verse 9 to show that Jesus fulfilled the verse when He cleansed the temple (John 2:17).
• Luke quoted verse 25 to show that the apostles saw the death of Judas as fulfilment of that verse (Acts 1:20).
• Paul applied verses 22-23 to Jews who hardened their hearts and didn't respond to God through Jesus (Romans 11:9-10).
• Paul quoted verse 9 to encourage us to follow the example of Jesus who pleased others and not himself (Romans 15:3).