Psalm 69:16-21. A desperate cry to God when everyone and everything else has failed. "Answer me, O Lord, for thy steadfast love is good." Please do not hide your face from me, for I am in distress. You know my sin, you know how low I feel - my shame and my dishonor. You also know my foes. My heart is broken from their insults. I am into despair. "I looked for pity, but I found none. They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

I think we all have to get to this point before we truly realize God's love and mercy. All else has to have failed - even those we love give us insults instead of pity. It is a very rough place to be, but that is where God is; that is when we realize that only he loves us in spite of our shame and dishonor. In spite of our sin, he still has pity on us and extends his mercy and grace If we but turn to him.

The last part of this is obviously a bit of foreshadowing of how Jesus will be treated, and that brought me up short! As I was reading this I was thinking "Yes! This is how I feel! Please Lord answer me! I know I am a sinner, but I don't feel like I deserve the treatment I am getting - please look upon my foes, please comfort me!" But then I remember how Jesus was treated, and he was not a sinner, he had done nothing wrong. His very presence here on earth was a gift and a comfort to all of us.

Yet we gave him vinegar to drink and when he looked her for comfort he had none. How great is our God that he still died for us, and still wants us to be with him so much?!