In Psalm 69:10-11 David laments: “When I wept in my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.” One would like to think that when you humble yourself, and do what is right before God, that people would appreciate and applaud it. But as we see here, that is not always the case. David fasted and humbled himself, but people reproached him for it.
Unfortunately, such things are more common than we might hope. It is not that unusual to get “hammered” for doing what is right before God. This is just what Jesus addresses in the 8th Beatitude: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10) Like all of the Beatitudes, this last one is a character quality of Christ Himself. Much of Psalm 69 foreshadows the life and ministry of Jesus on earth (“zeal for Your house has consumed Me”, etc.) and this part certainly does too. He was persecuted for doing exactly what God wanted Him to do. And when we are like Him, we should expect the same response from the world. When it gets hard, we just need to remember that Jesus promised there is a blessing in it: “Rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great”! (Matthew 5:10-12)