psalm 26

Psalm 26 (NRSV)
1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.a
4 I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
5 I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence,
and go around your altar, O Lord,
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.

Lord,
This poet is making his case. He needs your help, and so do I, and he is pleading his worthiness. Look at his claim: integrity, trust, and faithfulness. And what has he avoided? He has steered clear of the worthless, hypocrites, evildoers and the wicked. And then he claims the merit of worship – singing and testimony. This is really good stuff, excellent behavior, and virtue worthy of God’s reward.

But, isn’t there always a “but”? we know that if this poet is David, it was not always true. He did some pretty nasty things, things that deserve the label of “moral depravity”, do you remember Bathsheba and Uriah? Maybe he wrote this before the fall.

I don’t want to belittle the virtues and behavior that he claims. Integrity, trust, faithfulness are good things and refusing to succumb to the influence of bad people is always commendable. Lord, I pray that those virtues will be mine. But I also know that while there is nothing in my history to match the moral depravity that David demonstrated with Bathsheba and Uriah, neither can I claim untainted virtue.

So, Lord I am left to pray, help me to be as virtuous as I can be and forgive me when I fail. While I want to stand before you with good character and some achievements and the claim of contributions made to your world, I know that I will forever be indebted to your forgiveness and grace. I know that I will forever be dependent on the grace of Christ and for that grace I pray.

PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Ask God to help you to do the right thing in the right way at the right time.
Ask God’s forgiveness for your failures.
Rest securely in the Gospel of Christ.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “thank you” to God.
In Christ’s name,
Amen



a Or in your faithfulness