There is a sudden shift from the joy of the previous psalm to deep misery. Whoever arranged these two psalms together understood the power of contrast. Perhaps he thought that ecstatic joy can last too long and needs some correction. For the Hebrew, this must be quite surprising; for the Christian, it is especially meaningful. In Psalm 68, the psalmist sees Christ’s triumph; in Psalm 69, he recognizes the struggle that had to come before it: Christ needed to suffer in order to enter his glory. We can’t attribute all these words directly to Jesus, as there was no ‘sinful folly’ (v. 6) in him, and he would never have uttered the curses of verses 23 to 29—instead, he cried, ‘Father, forgive them.’ However, the evangelist John encourages us to think of Jesus as we recite this psalm (Jn 2:17; cf. also Mt 27:34), and it would be wise to heed his suggestion.
With the suffering of our brothers and sisters, we can envision the broken face of Christ. United with them, we can pray: ‘Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck’ (v. 2).
In distress, the psalmist calls out to God for salvation. This genuine plea, combined with his faith and trust in God, will bring salvation. Yet, his request for God to punish those who have wronged him contrasts with Jesus’ teachings, as recorded in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Therefore, if we follow Christ’s teachings, we won’t fall into such depths of despair; instead, we will rise with him into eternal salvation.