Psalms 69:9-12 (ESV)
For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
Psalm 69 is a song of lament. The writer has a zeal for God. This zeal is consuming his life. But, how are those around him responding? Note:
1. His zeal for God is met with reproach. The words means to “taunt” or “defame.” Imagine when you are zealous for God and the only response you solicit is taunting and defamation toward you.
2. His zeal for God caused him to weep and to humble himself in fasting. But, again, the only response from those around him was more “reproach.”
3. His zeal for God caused him to put on sackcloth for his clothing. This meant he took of his comfortable clothes for the coarse and rugged mourning clothes. This would indicate the person was hurting about something. That should solicit from the world around you empathy or pity. Yet, again, nothing but reproach and ridicule.
4. His zeal for God caused him to be a byword and others called him a drunk. This was the impression his zeal for God showed the world around him.
When we have a zeal for God we might think we should be in a such a great place. But, in truth, others might not see it that way. That should neither surprise us or diminish us. Our zeal for God is FOR GOD, not for the world around us. We need to be worried about God’s thoughts regarding our zeal for Him, not how man responds.
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