Psalm 69

The original Hebrew word is shoshannim. It means “lilies,” but not necessarily the flowers. Some scholars say it might refer to lily-shaped trumpets or to some other instruments.

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.

Literally “your house.” Israelite ancestors of the Jewish people worshiped at a tent worship center in David’s day. His son Solomon built the first Jewish Temple, which they put on the top of a ridge in Jerusalem. It’s where the 1,400-year-old Muslim shrine is now, the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem’s most famous landmark.

People today often wear black when they’re mourning. In Bible times, people wore sackcloth. It was a rough fabric, made from the thick hair of goats or camels. People also wore sackcloth while fasting (skipping meals) during times of prayer that could go on for days.

City gates were popular gathering places where people chatted and merchants sold their products.

The Greek word is rosh. It’s apparently a poisonous plant of some kind. It’s often translated as gall, venom, bitter herb. It’s not something we’d want to serve to most relatives.

The book of life is a metaphor for life itself. Some scholars say there are end-time implications for eternal life, even if the songwriter had no conception of it.

Literally Zion. “Zion” is a term of endearment, and another name for Jerusalem. It’s a bit like “The Big Apple” for New York City, “The City of Love” for Paris, and “Sin City” for Las Vegas, though some wouldn’t call that a term of endearment.