Ps. 69.14-15 (the address)

Rescue me / from the mire / do not let me sink
let me be delivered / from those who hate me
even from watery depths
Let not / the flood of waters / engulf me
let not / the depths / swallow me up
let not / the pit / close its mouth over me. 

This is the cry of a victim, an innocent sufferer who is seeking a public announcing-act of deliverance from God. These verses largely mirror the opening verses, especially in language: mire (vs. 1); sink (vs. 1); those who hate me (vs. 4); watery depths (vs. 2); engulf me (vs. 2); depths (vs. 2); water (generally the opening). However, with all of the resemblances there is an important difference. The opening line of the psalm was a plea. It then, however, turned into a description of the victim’s plight. IT is not until verse 5 where the psalmist again turns to God directly. However, here, the petition remains throughout: “Rescue me…; let me be delivered…; Let not…; let not…; let not…”. This petitionary stance remains, almost uninterrupted, until the end of the psalm. This is not to say that the opening was not trying to accomplish something. It was. Rather, the emphasis is different. The opening attempted to display rhetorically the psalmist’s clear, visible and public victimization in order to arouse God’s justice and come to his aid; it was not mere description. Even when he speaks about his prayer to God, it is not actually a petition but a description and he speaks of God, not to God (“my eyes are failing for waiting for God”; vs. 3).   We might say the first section makes the case, whereas the second pleads the case. Here, the petition incorporates the opening language but turns it into prayer and address. While incorporating the visual/public aspect it focuses on the auditory force of the address. As to the change in imagery, it is interesting how much more active his danger is. The first section, as we saw, presented the water in an almost passive manner. Here, his danger is a great beast attempting to ‘swallow’ and ‘close its mouth over me’. It may be that this is appropriate given the shift outlined above—now that he actively addresses God, he is portraying his enemy as actively seeking his life. In light of what we said in a previous post about his ‘zeal’, what the psalmist is asking is that his zeal be backed by God’s power.