Psalm 69:19-28 - The Coming Day of God's Wrath

Psalm 69 is both an imprecatory Psalm and a Messianic Psalm. As an imprecatory Psalm, David is praying for God to take vengeance upon his enemies. David knows that the people of Israel are God’s covenant people. God especially chose them (Genesis 12) and called them to make Himself known to the nations, and to be a blessing to all people everywhere through producing a Messiah. A Savior who alone could bring salvation to all mankind from the curse of sin. In the first 21 verses of Psalm 69, we clearly see a picture of the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see His rejection by His own people and the shame and reproach that He bore. In these verses we take our stand on a skull-shaped hill outside the walls of Jerusalem. They are nailing our Lord to the tree. There He hangs in agony and blood. We hear a cry, a tearful cry, the cry of a tragic victim. The pronouns in these first 21 verses are all the first person singular—I, me, my. When we come to verses 22-28 there is a sudden, startling change. These verses record some of the most terrible imprecations in the Bible. Curse after curse falls from the lips of the Lord. We go from Calvary to the Tribulation period where we see a blood-soaked battlefield. The armies of the earth have been drawn to Armageddon. The curse of God is upon them. We hear a blood-chilling, terrible cry, the cry of titanic vengeance. On earth our Lord never cursed anyone, He only blessed; but this is the day of God's wrath and a world which rejected His blessing must now face His curse. The pronouns in verses 22-28 are in the third person plural—they, them, and their. Today, “the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). But the New Testament writers often prophesied and wrote about the fact that a day was coming when God would pour out His wrath on the wicked who continue to reject Him. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…”  Paul wrote in detail to the Thessalonian church about the end time events concerning the coming of the Lord, the “man of sin”, and the day of God wrath. He said “that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). Psalm 69:22-23, prophesies that their prosperity becomes a trap. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 is clear about God’s coming judgement: “Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”  We also read in the book of Revelation that the wicked will refuse to repent, but continue to blaspheme and curse God. God gives them ample time to repent now and, in the Tribulation, but instead they choose God’s wrath. (Rev. 6:17). Today, we can repent and believe, and we need to warn people “of the wrath to come”. (Luke 3:7) God bless!