Psalm 69: 3, 4a, 9a, 21-23, 25 (NKJV)
I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause; Because zeal for your house has eaten me up; They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, and their well-being a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; Let their dwelling place be desolate;
If this selection of verses seems a bit dis-jointed, you are right to notice. They have not been chosen due to the context of the psalm itself, but rather for a different and broader reason: All of them are quoted in the New Testament, and three of them by Jesus himself. In fact, Jesus quotes from the Book of Psalms more than any other book in the Old Testament, which is an interesting fact given that the most popular book in the entire bible, according to the website BibleGateway.com, is the Book of Psalms. And while that may be a cool little fact given this Daily Dose series, it is not the main point today. The main point today is that our Savior knew and used the Word of God regularly in his daily life…and so should we.
In John 15:25, Jesus related his rejection by the Jews to fulfilment of the Jewish law: “This happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’.” (Psalm 69:4). In John 2:17, when Jesus had expelled the money changers from the Temple, his disciples remembered the words of verse 9a: “zeal for Your house has eaten me up”. Paul quotes verse 9b in Romans 15:3 – “Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me’.” Jesus was given gall or vinegar to drink when he was crucified, recalling Psalm 69:3 (“my throat is dry”) and Psalm 69:21: “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Paul quotes verses 22-23 in Romans 11:9-10: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.” In Acts 1:20, referring to the Field of Blood where Judas Iscariot committed suicide: “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it’”. (Psalm 69:25 NKJV)
Jesus quoted the Word of God because it has power and authority and prophetic application…and also because He and the Word are indeed One (John 1:1). Most Christians, if not all, want to hear from God…but do they know His language well enough to hear Him when he calls? Do you think biblically? Do you filter your decisions and reactions through a biblical lens? Does bible truth permeate your words? Do you use bible verses in everyday life, or is your vocabulary lacking the power and authority of the very words of God?
Most of us – including myself – know the words to a myriad of our favorite songs far better than we know the words of the Book to which we profess our ultimate allegiance to it’s Author. We know the words to those songs because they are catchy…they have a hook…and we have chosen to listen to them time and time again so that we might sing along out of our joy and enthusiasm. Oh, how it should be so when it comes to the Bible! Almost nine out of 10 households (87 percent) own a Bible, according to the American Bible Society, and the average household has three. Sadly, it the vast majority of cases, it remains largely unused, and the resulting ignorance is easy enough to observe in our culture.
Jesus knew and used it. The Disciples knew and used it. The heroes of the faith on this side of the New Testament knew and used it. We should, too.
