Psalm 26:1-3
Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.
................
I had a hard time with this psalm. I find that the psalmist is often far more confident in his faith than I usually feel on any given day. But, instead of dwelling on that, I'll just make two simple observations.
1. The need for vindication. There is something fundamental to the human experience about needing to feel vindicated or justified. If that is true, then what could possibly be motivating that universal feeling? It must be some sense of accusation or false judgment driving our need to clear our name or restore our reputation. David says, "vindicate me" because there are false accusations threatening to smear his name. Jesus was also no stranger to this experience, and so we again see how the lament psalms were dear companions to our lonely savior during his times of deepest sorrow. We too can add our voice to his refrain when we feel unjustly accused from within and from others' slander and cynicism.
2. The grounds for vindication. But, how can I speak these confident words in the midst of my daily failings and hypocrisies? I cannot boast in my integrity. In fact, I feel rightly condemned by most of the accusations I face. When we're honest with ourselves we know that we don't deserve the vindication we so desperately crave. But, notice verse three. "For YOUR steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in YOUR faithfulness." Here is the gospel flooding in with reminders of who God is and what he has accomplished on our behalf. The "for" statement is the grounding of what precedes.
The grounds for my vindication is nothing less than the steadfast love of Christ, which I must place before my eyes and find true confidence because he loves me so fully and completely.
And then I can walk, not in my faithfulness, but in His. Amen.
