Befriending

March 11, 2019

Psalm 26, 2019

“Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.  Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.  I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites.  I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, Lord, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.  Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.  Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with those who are bloodthirsty, in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. I lead a blameless life; deliver me and be merciful to me.  My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.”

First and foremost King David is not saying he lived above sin, for we have many examples of David’s sin in the Scriptures that he acknowledges.   But David is going before the Lord and us asking for vindication in that to the best of his understanding he has lived a life of spiritual and moral integrity before the Lord.  David asks the Lord to examine or test him in his heart and mind, and in Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth in chapter 13:6, they are instructed to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith.  In the book of Jeremiah 12:1-3 Jeremiah is complaining about the wicked and in verse 3 he is telling the Lord “test my heart toward you.”

Long before the term befriending got into our language, King David was doing so, and he avoided the association’s people who proved to be evil.  He is referring to men who offer up bribes to pervert justice.

All who are in Christ stand on level ground, for the ground at the cross is the same for all, and it matters not color or status.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice