Psalm 26 Continued…
Psalm 26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
What is expressed in the first two verses could well be summed up in the words of that lovely Hymn:
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, my Savior, and know my thoughts I pray—
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.
But David does not feel that he has anything to confess. What a delightful state to be in! To be able to open up the heart to the all-seeing eyes of God confident that God Himself will be satisfied with what He sees.
“without wavering”…we get the sense that David had not slidden from his attitude of faith. Let us trust God to keep us trusting in Him.
This is a marvelous psalm that speaks of David’s walk [how he lived his life]. David committed several great sins which we are told about in the Bible, but he did not continue to live in sin. David’s sins stand out like lumps of coal in a snowman, because the rest of David’s life was an example of godliness. He became the measuring stick for those kings who followed him. Every king was judged by whether or not he walked in the steps of his father David. If he followed David’s example, he was accepted and declared a good king.
This psalm reminds us of the first psalm. Notice how it reads; “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” It was because of his faith in the Lord that David did not waver [stumble and fall into sin]. This is not a claim of perfection, but of innocence, particularly as viewed within the context of ungrounded “legal” charges. It was not that David was so strong that he could resist temptation—he knew that he wasn’t—but he knew that when he trusted the Lord, the Lord would sustain him in every situation. “blameless” means wholeness of character, an undivided mind and heart, completely devoted to the Lord. When your character and conduct are attacked, it isn’t wrong to vindicate yourself, as Paul did (2 Corinthians 10-12), or to ask the Lord to vindicate you. We aren’t just defending ourselves; we’re defending the name of the Lord whom we serve. Our vindication is for His names sake (Psalm 23:3; 25:11).
David stands accused of some capital offense which he doesn’t disclose in the psalm, but if we read between the lines, we find that David had been accused of fraternizing with ungodly men and of thus being untrue to Yahweh. He knows who his foes are; that they are fierce, and he fears sudden death at their hands. The enemies who were slandering David are described in verses 4-5 and 9-10. They are deceitful, hypocritical, and wicked evildoers, sinners who schemed to rob others and even accepted bribes (Amos 5:12), murdering those who stood in their way. David is confident in his innermost being that he is innocent from the charges made against him by these men, and the way out for him lies in the Temple.
To the Temple he goes and partitions God for Justice, solemnly protesting that his manner of life makes him innocent of any charge. His opening words are a petition to the Lord, in which is mingled his declaration of innocence and a request for God to examine his claim (v. 2; 139:23). The Lord could discern that he had been consistent in his faith (v. 1a) and in obedience to the Lord and His truth (v. 3). David does not claim a sinless life but asserts a sincere and consistent endeavor to walk uprightly (Psalm 139:23-24).
David comes and stands before God and cries; “I am innocent.” David may have been innocent of a particular charge; but in reality, of course, only the Lord Jesus could talk like that. He could open up his entire life to the probing inspection of His Father. God’s verdict on the life of Jesus was: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Throughout the history of Israel and the church, there was a “congregation of evildoers” (v. 5; 2 Samuel 50:16-21) along with the congregation of true worshippers (v. 12), the tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30), and wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:26-31). And we are warned over and over in God’s Word to always be wary of them and to recognize them.
PRAY
Help me Father to walk in truth and integrity. Help me to lead a blameless life.