Today’s devotion comes from Psalm 69:16-21. Due to the length of this devotion and the importance of the knowledge of Christ’s suffering and death and what it accomplished for God’s elect, we will pause a few days to meditate on today’s devotion. The next devotion, God willing, will be on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
“16 Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick.
And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.“
Psalm 69:16-21.
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The Psalmist, David, felt anguish and being forsaken. The words of David, in today’s Scripture reminds us and points us to Christ and his suffering and death on the cross Who bore our sins and our punishment in order to “obtain for us the favour of God, righteousness and eternal life” as stated later in this devotion from the Heidelberg Catechism.
Verse 17, highlighted above, reminds us of the following Scripture.
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” Matthew 27:46.
Verse 21, highlighted above, reminds us of the following Scriptures.
“they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.” Matthew 27:34.
“Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.” Matthew 27:48.
“4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.” Isaiah 53:4-6.
Consider the following from the Heidelberg Catechism in Question and Answer 37.
Q. 37. What dost thou understand by the words, “He suffered”?
A. That he, all the time that he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and soul, the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind: that so by his passion, as the only propitiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and obtain for us the favour of God, righteousness and eternal life.
Consider the following from the Canons of Dordt from the section titled SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby.
Article 8. For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.
But, there was hope for David and there is hope for us!
Despite such feelings of anguish and being forsaken, David had hope. And, there is also hope for us through David’s words in today’s Scripture.
“Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,” Verse 16.
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:6-10.
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31.
“For if by the transgression of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17.
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” 1 John 5:11-12.
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Hebrew 10:10-14.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.
“He (Christ) who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:25.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 