Psalm 26:1

Psalm 26:1   

Moral integrity 

     At first sight, this Psalm might read like a fairly heavy dose of self-congratulation as David expands on his uprightness, his moral integrity and his devotion to the Lord and His Temple. “I lead a blameless life,” he claims in verse 11. However, as we read of his enemies and their wickedness and, because we now know quite a bit about King David, we can discern that he is, in fact seeking vindication from the Lord. This Psalm is not boastful at all, it is a plea for the Lord to stand with him and uphold him and David hopes that his righteous living and attitudes will be sufficient for the Lord God to respond!

 

V1        It is always a bit frustrating to have no information about which point in his life David wrote specific Psalms. It’s possible to have an educated guess at some of them but others could have been penned at any time. Let’s face it, it wasn’t an untroubled life was it? There was domestic turbulence, sons who plotted against him, an early life full of conflict which prepared him for countless later battles with the nations around Israel. David was a man of war, not just on the battlefield but in his personal life too! So, maybe Psalm 26 could have been written at any time. Here was a man who constantly pleaded with God and, on the strength of his moral integrity and his faithful obedience, he often had to plead with the Lord to get him out of the tangled web of hostility that surrounded his family and his reign. Let’s face it, none of us are David’s, I would be very surprised to learn that high-ranking rulers and royalty are reading this but we are all kings and priests if we serve the living God. We will all have enemies and there will be a constant flow of attacks on our integrity and on our faithful walk as believers. If you are under attack right now, ask the Lord to vindicate you against your enemies, ask Him to keep you from the clutches of the wicked and that evil schemer, the devil himself. “Vindicate me, Lord.” 

 

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