SAVE ME, O GOD!

Psalm 69:6   Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.

 

I came across Psalm 69 in my devotional reading recently and this verse has stuck in my head ever since.  The Hebrew psalter attributes the psalm to David.  There were a number of times in David’s life when he felt overwhelmed by his enemies.  The first four verses of the psalm describe a sense of almost desperation on his part.  He is overwhelmed.  He is weary.  He is surrounded by people who hate him and who do not serve God.  He does not depend on himself but waits for God even though he feels his strength fading.

Have we ever felt like this?  We probably all have to some degree.  I know people whose families cause them so much spiritual pain that they feel crushed by the opposition.  Others are swamped by difficulties and trials because of circumstances.  Ours are lives of struggle and troubles.

Then the psalmist confesses his own sin in verse five, “O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.”  He does not think he is blameless.  He does not take a high position and act like he has done nothing wrong.  He is very aware of his sin and his failure and he knows it does no good to try to hide them from God because he sees everything.  It is good for us to have a realistic and honest view of our own sin and we cannot have an honest relationship with God unless we are willing to confess it.

Then we come to verse six and this is the one that really struck me.  The psalmist is aware that his life has an effect on the people of God around him.  It seems like he is aware that they are watching him.  Perhaps he sees himself as a leader who is setting the course for God’s people.  Aware of his own sinful failures, he cries out to God to hold him up lest ongoing failures drag down the people who look to him.  Maybe he knows that if he continues to fall short then his own failures will be thrown into the face of other believers and they will suffer shame and dishonor.

We know that the sins of all believers contribute to the burden of the body of Christ.  All of our sins hinder the work we have been called to do together.  But pastors and church leaders must recognize that they bear great responsibility because they are the ones from whom much is expected by the people of the world.  We must keep in mind that not only are the people in our fellowship looking to us for leadership but the critics of the church will gleefully celebrate our failures and use them to bring shame and dishonor against our brothers and sisters.  May we humbly stay before the face of God and live our lives transparently and authentically as witnesses to God’s truth!