They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.
PSALM 69 There is a close resemblance between this psalm and the twenty-second. In the opening verses, David complains of the barbarous cruelty of his enemies, and of the grievous wrongs which they had inflicted upon him. The particular enemies of whom he speaks are uncertain; some referring the occasion of the composition of the psalm to his persecution by Saul, and others to the rebellion of Absalom.
Commenting on Psalm 69:1-36
They gave me also gall for my meat. This was the sole refreshment cruelty had prepared for him. Others find pleasure in their food, but his taste was made to be an additional path of pain to him. And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. A criminal's draught was offered to our innocent Lord, a bitter portion to our dying Master.
His enemies mocked him for fasting and praying, even made him the drunkard's song; yet he resolves to keep praying. Let no scoff or hard word jeer you out of your duty to God. While they rely on insolence and slander, he lodges his cause with the Lord, and affliction makes such prayers all the more acceptable to Him.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 69:13-21