TLIC Psalms. June 2. Those Who Reproach You.  

Read Psalm 69:7-12.  ⁷For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. ⁸I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. ⁹For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. ¹⁰When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. ¹¹When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. ¹²I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.

In verse six David didn’t want his sin to bring shame to the community. But now his personal devotion to God has brought shame to himself – For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach. He is being mocked for his repentance, insulted for his good deeds, humiliated for his worship, and rejected by even his family.

In Christ’s cross we are able to see what David could not see. Why does God allow his repentant and zealous servant to be mocked and scorned? Christ reveals the answer. God’s most zealous servant, Jesus, faced the greatest reproach for God’s sake. As the Apostle Paul puts it:

Romans 15:3. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Now we understand. We are no longer bewildered as David was over the world’s consternation. We count the cost of following Christ, and we find joy in suffering for his name’s sake. How? Because we know that in Christ all weakness is strength, and all dishonor is glory. We know that our suffering, like Christ’s, is always redemptive. We know that to live is Christ and to die is gain.

You: Does your suffering cause you to stumble? Does it bewilder you?

You in Christ: How does your union with Christ allow you to personally face suffering and criticism?

Christ in you: Where have you seen Jesus redeem your suffering in the past? Can he do it again?

Prayer. Jesus, when I suffer reproach for your name’s sake may I find the joy set before me as you did. Help me to despise the shame and carry my cross despite what others say or think about me. Amen.