Psalm 69:29-32

In Psalm 69:29-32, the speaker contrasts herself/himself with her/his enemies whom she/he asked Yahweh to curse in verses 22-28:

"But I am lowly and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord [Yahweh] more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive."

1. From these words, the hearers realize that this psalm is not only a prayer to persuade Yahweh to save the psalmist from her/his enemies, but also an encouragement to others who experience similar distresses as the speaker. The poet presents herself/himself as an example to the hearers, and in verse 32b actually addresses the hearers and encourages them to persevere with strong faith under oppressive circumstances. [Note similar language in verse 6].
2. There are different ways to "praise" God: by bearing witness to others what God has done for us (Isaiah 43:8-13); by telling the assembly of God's people what God has done for us (see Psalms 22:22; 107:22, 32); and by composing a "song" which describes what God has done for us (as here; see Psalms 96:1-3; 98:1-6).
3. Thanksgiving is the only appropriate response to Yahweh's mighty deeds in behalf of humanity. We are totally dependent on Yahweh for everything, so when he does things for us, we must be grateful. See Colossians 3:15-17.
4. External religious acts--animals sacrifices, music, prayer, giving, preaching, and the like--all have their place in the ebb and flow of the lives of the faithful, but they pale into insignificance compared with "matters of the heart"--trust in God, love for God and others, forgiveness, acceptance of others, grace, mercy, and [here] gratitude or thanksgiving. God accepts our external religious acts IF they come from a genuine heart (see Amos 5:21-24; Hosea 6:4-6; Isaiah 1:10-17; 58:1-12; Jeremiah 7:1-14; Micah 6:6-8; Titus 1:16; 1 Corinthians 13; etc.).
5. The faithful persistence of others under distressful circumstances is a great encouragement to people of like faith to continue in their service to God when times are bad. Peter holds up the example of Christ's faithful persistence during his suffering and death to encourage Christians suffering persecution to remain faithful to God in spite of the oppression they are experiencing (1 Peter 2:18-25).
May God help us never to give up, but to trust in his protection and care, in the worst kinds of circumstances.

John Willis