Psalms 69:7

THE CAUSE OF DAVID'S SUFFERING

"Because for thy sake I have borne reproach;

Shame hath covered my face.

I am become a stranger to my brethren,

And an alien to my mother's children.

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;

And the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me.

When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,

That was to my reproach.

When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword unto them.

They that sit in the gate talk of me;

And I am the song of the drunkards."

"For thy sake I have borne reproach" (Psalms 69:7). In all probability, this sheds light upon the reason behind Saul's malignant enmity against David. David's devout life, indicated by the fasting and wearing of sackcloth (Psalms 69:10-11) on appropriate occasions would have been construed by a man of Saul's temperament as an open rebuke of his life-style. Also, in the fight against Goliath, David had refused to wear Saul's armor, thus denying Saul any share in the victory. No wonder Saul hated him.

"Stranger unto my brethren ... alien unto my mother's children" (Psalms 69:8). This is easily understood. David, was classified by the king as an outlaw, and the object of an all-out hunt, as of a wild animal; and therefore David's brothers would have been mortally afraid either to help him or to be seen in his presence ... This situation, as far as we know, cannot be referred to any other period of the life of David, except that during his flight from Saul's implacable jealousy.

"The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up" (Psalms 69:9). Now, upon this verse is laid the burden of declaring some other authorship besides that of David. But why? It fits David perfectly. Of course, "house" here is not a reference to the temple (constructed in the next generation), as we have repeatedly pointed out. As in many other scriptural references, the reference here is to the tabernacle. Had David been zealous for that? Certainly! Where did he take the sword of Goliath following his God-given victory over the Giant of Gath? He took it to the Lord's house, the tabernacle where Abimelech was the high priest. That action, along with the sackcloth, the fasting, and the other acts of devotion that went along with such things adequately establish the truth that David did indeed exhibit a genuine "zeal for God's house."

How had it eaten him up? It had precipitated the murder of the high priest and his entire family (close friends of David), and it had launched Saul's entire army, or some large contingent of it, in their ruthless hunt to seek out and kill David. Now, where is there anything else that suits what is said here any better than that?

"Fasting ... sackcloth" (Psalms 69:10-11). We have commented on these above.

"I am the song of drunkards" (Psalms 69:12). Various readings of these words are: "Those sitting in the gate composed a song against me; winebibbers made me a theme for their lyrics; playing on stringed instruments, drunkards and carousers sang of me."[6]