“Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me” (Psalm 69:6-9).
How do you view the sins you have committed? All of us have sinned (Romans 3:23), but every person does not view the sins they have committed the same way. Some treat their sins lightly because “everyone else is doing it”, while others continue to carry the guilt of their sins around with them even after God has forgiven them. How should we view our sins? In Psalm 69 we get an idea of just how ugly our sins are.
Psalm 69 was written by David but contains numerous prophecies about Christ. It speaks about “those who hate me without cause” (Psalm 69:4) which is quoted by Christ in John 15:25. It also mentions “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21) which was fulfilled while Christ was upon the cross (Matthew 27:48). The opening verses above also are mentioned as being fulfilled in the life of Christ (John 2:17; Romans 15:3).
In this Psalm, it mentions, “…the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me” (Psalm 69:9), and again, “Because for Your sake I have born reproach” (Psalm 69:7). The word “reproach is not a word we often use in our language today. The word translated as “reproach” carries the idea to “taunt, blaspheme, and defy”. When I think of my sin as defying God, taunting God, and scorning God, it makes me feel disgusted at myself when I give into sin. It is appropriate and healthy for me to feel this way: “For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted…” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Viewing my sins as scorning God causes me to not want to treat them lightly!
In addition, when I view the behavior of the mob around the cross of Christ, was not their behavior an accurate description of the word “reproach”? The soldiers blasphemed Jesus as they stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him, twisted a crown of thorns which they placed it on His head, put a reed in His hand, and bowed the knee to him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”. Afterward they scorned Him by taking the reed out of His hand, hitting Him on the head, and spitting upon Him (Matthew 27:29-30). The chief priests mocked Him saying, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save” and “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him” (Matthew 27:41-43). The people who passed by the foot of His cross blasphemed Him saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:39-40). When I sin and reproach God, do I view myself as behaving like one of these groups of people at the cross of Christ? Perhaps, I should so I understand just how ugly sin is!
However, it is critical we remember Jesus bore our reproaches (Psalm 69:7, 9). He willingly did this and God allowed Him to because He loves us and wants us to be saved (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Today, I will strive to not sin against God because I understand how ugly sin is, but I will also rejoice greatly because God loves me so much, He allowed His Son to bear my reproaches against Him!
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).