Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. Psalm 69:6-8 KJV
May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel, Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Dishonor has covered my face. I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother’s sons. Psalm 69:6-8 NASB
The Gospel records reveal to us some of the concerns of the Lord Jesus while on the cross. Luke records His intercession for His foes and His intervention for a prisoner. John tells us of His interest in His mother and in the fulfillment of one verse of Scripture. We marvel to think of all that occupied His mind during those hours of intense suffering. Even a cross could not transform Him from the selfless, caring person He is, into someone only thinking of Himself.
The Floods
But in the Psalms, we get even more insights into the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and all that filled His mind. Psalm 69 records the thoughts and breathings of the Man Who was sinking in deep mire; the Man Who was experiencing the floods overwhelming Him; the Man Who felt the crushing of the waters as they entered into His soul. Above, beneath, around, within – the awful intensity and immensity of divine judgment swept over Him. And yet, and yet He was not wholly absorbed with His own sufferings.
His Father
In the words cited from Psalm 69, there is the thought that He did not want anyone to misjudge God and to presume that God had
forsaken His faithful servant. He did not want anyone to be “confounded” that despite His own faithfulness, somehow God had not proved faithful. His suffering and forsaking were unique in all the annals of time.
On the cross, He was concerned with maintaining His Father’s honor. He was vindicating His Father amidst His sufferings. This is seen in Psalm 22 when He uttered, “But Thou art Holy.” His forsaking was not a sign of inconsistency with God. Here, in Psalm 69, He goes on record to declare to all that God can be trusted. He will later speak of the “loving kindness of God” (vv 13, 16). The God Whom He served was still worthy to be trusted: “But as for Me, My prayer is unto Thee” (v 13).
His Followers
His deep concern for those who would follow and seek to serve God is also evidenced here. He details the depths of His grief, not to complain, but as a concern that those who follow might think the price too great to pay – reproach and shame. The human heart, exposing its hostility to God, was all vented on Him. Even His nation (brethren), and His family (My mother’s children) disowned Him and rejected Him. The price of faithfulness included His family, the favor of the nation, and the fiendish ferocity of human hatred against God. His concerns and care stretched down to you and to me.
Consider:
His enemies were “many” and “mighty,” and notice the crucial position of the word “then” concerning His restoring what He did not take away.