When the Wicked Mock the Righteous Sufferer

David cries out in Psalm 39:8 with a peculiar burden: "Make me not the reproach of the foolish." He does not merely ask for relief from his misery—he asks that his affliction not become ammunition for the ungodly. The fool observes David's circumstances and draws a devastating conclusion: if serving Yahweh and trusting in His promises yields such poverty and pain, why should anyone follow Him at all?…