Psalm 26

Here is an important Psalm that is concerned with one’s walk of faith day by day.  David is trusting the Lord to keep him on the right path (v1-5).  This confidence in the Lord gives David both joy in his relationship with God (v6-9) and the absence of fear with respect to eternity (v9-10).  The joy and absence of fear allow David to continue on (v11-12).

Our daily walk can be filled with doubt when we hear accusations from others, from our own minds, and from Satan, the accuser of our brethren.  We may be unsure of ourselves and the decisions we make when tempted.  We may confuse the desires of our hearts with lust.  This kind of uncertainty leaves us in a very difficult situation if we long to walk uprightly before God.  What are we to do?

Here is what David does.  He prays, “Vindicate me, O LORD!”  He prays this in the context of a life of “integrity.”  Integrity refers to fullness, such as the fullness of harvest or of one’s bank account.  David believes he is right in his walk; he has no thought that he has strayed.  An illustration of this came in the rebellion of Absalom when he invited 200 men to a banquet where he put his coup in motion.  The 200 men went in the “integrity” of their hearts, not having any idea of Absalom’s intentions.  So David has no thought that he is wrong in his walk.  The twin oft related perfections of God are at the center of his life: God’s lovingkindness (checed) is before his eyes; God’s truth (emeth) is the path he walks (v3).  He has separated himself from idolaters, hypocrites and the wicked (v4-5). 

So what does it mean when he prays for the Lord to vindicate him?  It means that he wants to be judged by God and not by anyone else.  God must be the One who examines, proves and tries him (v2).  David is not arrogant when he says he has integrity.  He is saying he knows of nothing wrong in his actions or motives.  But he is trusting the Lord to let him know when he is in fact wrong.  It is interesting that the Hebrew word for integrity (tom) has a plural Thummim.  This was the mysterious provision (the Urim and Thummim) made for the priest so that he might discern God’s will.  In a way David is saying that to the best of his knowledge he is in sync with what God thinks. 

But that is not the end of the prayer.  He wants nothing more than to be truly walking uprightly.  So he prays that God will let him know of any inconsistency.    Consider the terms used in v2:

·         Examine: This is the term used often of the test that tells the true value of something such as gold or silver (Ps. 66:10; Zech. 13:9).  Solomon declared that as the refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, so the Lord tries the hearts (Prov. 17:3).  Job said, “When He tries me I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:20).  There is an interesting illustration of this in the story of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt.  Joseph tested the words of his brothers (Gen. 42:15-16).  They claimed to care about their father and younger brother but for their own good they needed to be examined that this was truly the case.  So David is asking God to examine him, to see if there be any wicked way in him (Ps. 139:23-24).

·         Prove: This word is used in parallel with the previous and has to do with determining the nature of something by smell.  We may open the jar that has been in the refrigerator for a long time and sniff it to see if it is still edible.  Thus God “proved” Israel at the bitter waters of Marah (Ex. 15:25) and with the manna that turned sour overnight (Ex. 16:4).  This is what God did with Abraham, testing him in the command to offer up Isaac (Gen. 22:1).  God should smell a sweetness from our sacrifices!

·         Try: This word is also related to metal but takes the revealing of the dross further to the purging of the dross.  In Judges 7:4 God didn’t just reveal the unpreparedness of most of Gideon’s army; He purged the army, reducing it from 10,000 to 300 men.  In Psalm 26:2 this purging is applied to the mind (Heb. kidneys, seat of the emotions and desires) and heart (Heb. inner part).  As Heb. 4:11-13 tells us, the word of God is the cleansing tool that can reach to the deepest parts of the inner man; nothing is hidden from God!

What we are seeing and saying is that David does not just merrily go on his way with no thought as to his lifestyle.  He is dependent on God to reveal any impurity and then to burn it away.  So let us be wise in this.  We trust God to remove the dross from our hearts and thus we are not subject to the accusations of people.  But that is not the same as ignoring the rebukes of people.  God in fact uses these “rebukes” as a mild form of removing the dross.  To reject these is to invite God to use a hotter fire.

In the end David and Paul agree.  Hear the words of Paul when accused by others, from 1 Cor. 4:3-5:

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court.  In fact, I do not even judge myself.  4 For I know of nothing against myself; yet I am not justified by this, but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.  Then each one’s praise will come from God.

In your daily walk, are you open to the searchlight of God's word and Spirit?  The word pierces into the very dividing of soul and spirit.  The Spirit uses that word to reprove us.  With this we are able to walk in confidence, confidence that God is working in us to lead us in the way everlasting.