How does God come to our defense when we’ve been wronged?
We all want to be vindicated since, in this life, we have been treated unfairly. On a smaller scale, it may just be a simple argument between spouses in which one claims the other moved something while the other has proof that things were totally different. On a larger scale, it could have led to broken family promises, lies, and cover-ups that caused the wrong student to be kicked out of school, a criminal who hurt a loved one to be convicted, or a worker to get a promotion without reason.
God’s Exoneration
Psalms 26:1 begins, “Vote Me Righteous, O Lord.” The term “vindication,” when translated, includes judgment at its heart. David is asking the Lord to judge him. Look at the wicked and at me; you’ll see that I’ve led a moral life and have relied on you without reservation. Three things are revealed through David’s prayer:
1. When you ask for redress, be sure honesty is your guiding principle (Psalms 26:1). No one else’s misconduct is mentioned in the context of David’s pleas for justice. David begins in the mirror, where he will also finish. I have integrity, yet I am totally reliant on you, Lord.
“Heart” and “mind” are the Hebrew words for “kidneys” and “heart,” respectively. The kidneys (or innards), in the Hebrew mind, were the organs that drove us in the sense that we would call the “heart” of emotions and motivation, while the “heart” was far more what we would define as the location of thinking and volition. In essence, David is saying, “Look at my heart and intellect with your all-seeing eyes, and you will realize that I am entire and holy.”
When we pray for justice, we behave like playground kids who have been harmed and rush to the teacher, screaming, “He struck me! Grab him! ” She referred to me badly! Take away her break time! Do it in my presence so I can enjoy seeing her feel humiliated!
We ask for three things in that appeal to the authorities: judgment that balances the scales; retribution against the adversary; and a declaration in front of everyone that we are correct. David has a fourth request: judgment of the person making the request for justification. You must be confident in your own honesty before God and not only that you are right in the moment to make that cry of vindication.
2. When asserting your own justification, you must be prepared to uphold stringent criteria for Divine review (Psalms 26:1).David asks God to evaluate him in four different aspects of life. He starts out with the truth (Psalms 26:1). He does not hang around with men of vanity or dishonesty. Additionally, he avoids socializing with “hypocrites”—those who conceal their actions so that others cannot perceive what they are doing. David is claiming that he upholds the 9th commandment’s ban on giving false testimony.
Second, David offers righteousness (Psalms 26:1). David showed total contempt for the evildoers’ disrespect for authority, murder, adultery, and theft when they met for their kind of “worship” (because “assembly” is a cultic phrase connected to worship). He upholds the fifth, eighth, and tenth commandments.
Third, David provides adoration that is pure (Psalms 26:1). The first through fourth Commandments, which are all about loving God with all of one’s heart, soul, strength, and intellect, come to mind when David thinks about integrity. He is aware that loving our neighbor comes from loving God. If you treat everyone properly but reject God’s requirements for approaching God, you cannot be a person of integrity—wholeness before God, not only before man. No one who worships idols or is an atheist could ask God to “Vindicate me” and hope for anything other than eternal punishment, since the judgment would show that even God’s reasons for helping people are evil.
Fourth, David declares that he is an ardent worshipper (Psalms 26:1). David loves God and observes the Sabbath. David loves the inhabitant of the Lord’s home—God and his glory—rather than the Lord’s house itself. David says, “Use this to judge me!”
Because none of us fully observes the Commandments, this presents a problem for all of us. We cannot say, “Lord, get them but overlook me,” since it would not be right for a holy God, so we stand without hope of being justified in front of our foes.
What hope do we have as those who need both justification and the righteousness that God demands?
3. Keep in mind that the Lord’s grace gives salvation when you want separation (Psalms 26:1). Sinners, particularly the bloodthirsty, who are susceptible to bribery and have wicked tools at their disposal to carry out their plans, will have their souls swept away by God. While they may put your life in danger, they are also facing the Almighty Judge and King for their own lives.
Even though David professes to have perfect integrity, he is aware that he will fall short and could be carried away by the floods of everlasting damnation. He thus begs for help in order to escape the punishment of the wicked: “Redeem me and be kind to me.”
In the end, God cannot claim that David’s integrity is sufficient to ward off the anger of a perfect God since God is not obligated to save David. So what does David hope for? God, please save me by your grace! God specifically accomplishes this for us via Christ.
Christ enters the world in the fullness of God’s righteousness—complete in truth, righteousness, purity of worship, and love to God. God crucified Christ to death on the cross in our place, carrying our guilt.
Because Christ is the only one who is righteous enough to defeat death, as shown by his resurrection from the grave, God provides us with everlasting life via his righteousness. Grace is God’s promise to redeem us; it is a gift, not something we deserve. By trusting in Christ, we are given this blessing. Therefore, we continue to put our reliance on this same Christ when we need to be justified.
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