The old line, “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed,” is certainly true here!
What notes of truth in Psalm 69 are transposed to a higher key in the New Testament? Psalm 69:4, “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head,” is quoted in John 15:25, “But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’” On the occasion of Christ driving the moneychangers from the temple, the words of Psalm 69:9a—“Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up”—are quoted in John 2:17. “Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.’” The rest of this verse, Psalm 69:9b, reads as follows: “And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.” This is used in Romans 15:2-3 to give us a very practical application: “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’” Then Psalm 69:22-23 reads as follows: “Let their table become a snare before them, and their well-being a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see.” This speaks of the mystery of Israel’s blindness, as applied in Romans 11:9-10. Finally, Psalm 69:25, “Let their dwelling place be desolate,” is an allusion both to the removal of Judas from the apostleship (Acts 1:20) and of Israel as God’s spokespersons as well (Mt 23:38; Lk 13:35). We have already considered Psalm 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink,” referenced in all four Gospels (Mt 27:34, 48; Mk 15:36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:28-29). Jesus began His public ministry hungry in the desert and ended it thirsty on the Cross. Yet not once did He seek to please Himself. What an example to us!