What is the meaning of Psalm 69:10?

I wept

– David testifies that heartfelt sorrow flooded his soul. “Every night I flood my bed with tears” (Psalm 6:6) shows this was not a passing mood but a pattern of passionate lament.

– The Lord Jesus, whom David prefigures, also wept: “Jesus wept” at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:35) and “He approached Jerusalem and wept over it” (Luke 19:41).

– Scripture confirms that such tears are not weakness but worship. Hebrews 5:7 recalls Christ “offering up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears,” and Revelation 21:4 promises God will one day wipe away every tear.

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and fasted

– David pairs tears with fasting, a physical expression of dependence on God. Earlier he “pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the night lying in sackcloth” (2 Samuel 12:16).

– Isaiah 58:6–9 clarifies true fasting—humble repentance and practical righteousness.

– The Savior likewise fasted: “After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry” (Matthew 4:2). His teaching “when you fast” (Matthew 6:16-18) assumes believers will adopt the practice, doing so before the Father, not for public applause.

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but it brought me reproach

– Instead of sympathy, David meets ridicule. Psalm 35:13-16 records how his fasting became “a reproach,” as enemies mocked him.

– Christ endured the same. At the cross He was taunted: “He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now” (Matthew 27:43), echoing Psalm 22:6-8.

– The New Testament prepares believers: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Yet reproach for His name is a blessing (1 Peter 4:14).

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summary

Psalm 69:10 shows that sincere devotion—tears and fasting—may invite scorn rather than praise. David’s experience points ultimately to Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, whose perfect obedience still drew hatred. Believers share both His disciplines and His reproach, trusting that the God who sees in secret will vindicate openly.