For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
The Lord hears the poor in their affliction and does not despise those held captive, with captivity meaning the grave and His prisoners meaning the dead lying in it. He saves the sorrowing poor, revives the fainting, restores the sinking soul and gives life to the contrite who call upon Him to answer and save. The psalm is prophetic of the experience through which the Saviour passed when the sins of the world rested upon Him, sharing human suffering through betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion even unto death. It relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Him, though not every verse applies to Christ alone and the verse itself is also taught to be a simple record of David's experience to be applied wherever history runs parallel to his. Its prayers and its assurance that God hears the poor may be taken up by God's children in times of need, and the Saviour's triumph becomes theirs.
Words and Setting
The word for prison does not mean a place where the wicked are tormented forever, but means the grave. His prisoners are the dead lying in graves, and the Lord hears the poor and does not despise those prisoners in the grave. The verse belongs to a prayer in which the afflicted speaker trusts that God hears the poor and does not reject those held captive, and the surrounding plea for God to answer and save expresses that trust.
The verse promises that the Lord saves the sorrowing poor, revives the fainting, restores the sinking soul, and gives life to the contrite. It stands in one of the psalms 69, 109, and 137 pre-eminently called the cursing psalms. The prayers against enemies in those psalms are not vindictive revenge but are typical of tribulation upon the enemies of the church and predictive, declaring the retributive providence and justice of a sin-hating God against sinners.
Prophecy of Christ
Psalm 69 is prophetic of the experience through which the Saviour passed when the sins of the world rested upon Him for humanity's sake. It is to be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion. In that connection it shows that He shared human suffering, including sickness, and poured out His life unto death.
In this psalm David foresaw and felt something of Christ's inner experience and struggles. Its revelation of Christ's suffering gives a fuller view of Him as one able to help those who are tempted. The psalm relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ, though not every verse in the psalm applies to Christ. It has a literal application to Christ stated expressly in the New Testament, yet the whole psalm cannot be forced to describe Him alone, since that would make Christ a sinner. A prophecy may apply partly to what is immediately before the reader and partly to what is remote.
On a differing understanding, the verse is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience. On that understanding it applies to Jesus no more than to anyone else in the present day whose history touches David's in certain points, such as being hated without a cause.
Promise for Believers
The psalm foretells the path the Saviour walked in bearing the sins of the world for humanity's sake. Its prayers belong also to God's children in their own times of need, to be offered with assurance that God hears them. The triumph won by the Saviour becomes theirs as they pray.
The declaration that the Lord hears the poor and does not despise His prisoners is not confined to David but may be taken up by Christians as well. This holds when their history runs parallel to his in its points of experience. Such taking up is appropriated quotation rather than fulfillment of prediction in the strict sense, though both uses may be called fulfillment of Scripture in different senses.
The Lord hears the poor in their affliction and does not despise those held captive, with captivity meaning the grave and His prisoners meaning the dead lying in it. He saves the sorrowing poor, revives the fainting, restores the sinking soul and gives life to the contrite who call upon Him to answer and save. The psalm is prophetic of the experience through which the Saviour passed when the sins of the world rested upon Him, sharing human suffering through betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion even unto death. It relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Him, though not every verse applies to Christ alone and the verse itself is also taught to be a simple record of David's experience to be applied wherever history runs parallel to his. Its prayers and its assurance that God hears the poor may be taken up by God's children in times of need, and the Saviour's triumph becomes theirs.
Words and Setting
The word for prison does not mean a place where the wicked are tormented forever, but means the grave. His prisoners are the dead lying in graves, and the Lord hears the poor and does not despise those prisoners in the grave. The verse belongs to a prayer in which the afflicted speaker trusts that God hears the poor and does not reject those held captive, and the surrounding plea for God to answer and save expresses that trust.
The verse promises that the Lord saves the sorrowing poor, revives the fainting, restores the sinking soul, and gives life to the contrite. It stands in one of the psalms 69, 109, and 137 pre-eminently called the cursing psalms. The prayers against enemies in those psalms are not vindictive revenge but are typical of tribulation upon the enemies of the church and predictive, declaring the retributive providence and justice of a sin-hating God against sinners.
Prophecy of Christ
Psalm 69 is prophetic of the experience through which the Saviour passed when the sins of the world rested upon Him for humanity's sake. It is to be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion. In that connection it shows that He shared human suffering, including sickness, and poured out His life unto death.
In this psalm David foresaw and felt something of Christ's inner experience and struggles. Its revelation of Christ's suffering gives a fuller view of Him as one able to help those who are tempted. The psalm relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ, though not every verse in the psalm applies to Christ. It has a literal application to Christ stated expressly in the New Testament, yet the whole psalm cannot be forced to describe Him alone, since that would make Christ a sinner. A prophecy may apply partly to what is immediately before the reader and partly to what is remote.
On a differing understanding, the verse is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience. On that understanding it applies to Jesus no more than to anyone else in the present day whose history touches David's in certain points, such as being hated without a cause.
Promise for Believers
The psalm foretells the path the Saviour walked in bearing the sins of the world for humanity's sake. Its prayers belong also to God's children in their own times of need, to be offered with assurance that God hears them. The triumph won by the Saviour becomes theirs as they pray.
The declaration that the Lord hears the poor and does not despise His prisoners is not confined to David but may be taken up by Christians as well. This holds when their history runs parallel to his in its points of experience. Such taking up is appropriated quotation rather than fulfillment of prediction in the strict sense, though both uses may be called fulfillment of Scripture in different senses.