Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Sunday, January 19, 2014 Read Psalm 69:6-8 The psalmist cries out to God to not let him become the source of shame and reproach for those who look to him. Just so, as the early Christians heard this Psalm they saw Jesus on the cross. There were many who likely saw the death of Jesus as a failure. To be crucified was to be brought to intense shame. And they recognized that Jesus had endured this agony. He had indeed become like a stranger to many. Yet, they knew him as the one upon whom all their hopes rested. The psalmist’s fears would not come to reality in Jesus.