Psalm 26
What is vindication? What does it mean that God vindicates us? Merriam Webster defines Vindicate as to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like” It is to afford justification, to uphold justice be evidence or proof, to assert, maintain, or defend against opposition, regain possession or to assert one’s right to possession, and lastly to avenge.
God, our Lord does all that for us. He clears us of our wrongs. He justifies us and gives us evidence of our justification through The Holy Spirit. He claims us as His own and He avenges us against the enemy. This Psalm celebrates our vindication by God and our response to that exoneration. Verses 1-3 read,
“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 my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.”
We are not delivered because we are good. We are called good and able to be good because we are saved. When we accept Jesus, we are not only forgiven of every sin past, present, and future, but we are also given God’s Spirit, His nature and we are then able to follow Jesus and come to know our Awesome God. He opens His heart, His character, and His mind to us. We get to know Him and He makes us like Him.
It is through the proving, the testing of our heart and mind by the various difficulties and situations that God does His amazing and miraculous works in us to transform us. He knows our hearts and minds completely, the test and the proof is for us to know who we are. And we are able to “pass” those tests not by our power but because we know God loves us completely, and unwaveringly. We walk not by our faith but by His, which He gives us. Each testing and each proofing grows our faith more and more.
Verses 4-5 read,
“I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.”
These verses do not mean that we never spend any time with the lost, it means we do not abide with or join with people of emptiness and vanity, whose words are lies and lead to false religions, idolatry, and selfishness. They are hypocrites, pretenders and we will not consort, partner or walk with them. It is picture, not of caring for them and loving them enough to share Jesus, but of being with them, on their side. We do not take part in their works. We walk with and partner with the Lord and with His church. Verses 6-8 say,
“I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,
7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.”
Washing one’s hands is symbolic of removing guilt and cutting off any association with something. In this case David and we wash our hands of who we were before salvation. We wash our hands of the false prophets and false teachers who lead people to Hell. We wash our hands of Satan. We are vindicated and we tell the whole world how marvelous our Father is, how Jesus died and rose to save us, and how beautiful the Spirit is.
And it is amazing to be with God in His house. In David’s day that meant the Temple. But today we are the Temple of God. He is with is and in us always. He abides in us. And it is truly lovely to be with Him. We magnify that wondrous thing when we are with the church, the body of Christ. Each of us glorifies or reflects and adulates the Lord and together that glory is exponentially increased. If you don’t know the joy of tangibly sharing God’s Spirit with one another, of feeling His presence thick amongst you, I am here to tell you it is pure joy and greatness. He is marvelous.
The Holy Spirit is our seal, our deposit, and our identity. We cannot be mistaken for the lost. We will not be condemned with them. Remember we are vindicated. Verses 9-10 read,
“Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.”
The lost live for themselves lusting after selfish desires, seeking to fill the whole in their souls with pleasures and destruction. But we, the vindicated seek God’s will not our own. We walk in truth and honor as we manifest the Holy Spirit within us and live a life that testifies to the goodness and greatness of the Lord, Jesus our Deliverer, our Vindication. Verses 11-12 say,
“But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.”
We are part of a unit, the body of Christ and together with them our foundation is firm. Jesus is our firm foundation, our rock. It is together with the family of God as we bear the fruit of the Spirit and love another that we uphold each other and corporately bless the Lord.
We are vindicated, no longer guilty as the enemy accuses us. We are holy. We are rescued and called God’s own.
What is vindication? What does it mean that God vindicates us? Merriam Webster defines Vindicate as to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like” It is to afford justification, to uphold justice be evidence or proof, to assert, maintain, or defend against opposition, regain possession or to assert one’s right to possession, and lastly to avenge.
God, our Lord does all that for us. He clears us of our wrongs. He justifies us and gives us evidence of our justification through The Holy Spirit. He claims us as His own and He avenges us against the enemy. This Psalm celebrates our vindication by God and our response to that exoneration. Verses 1-3 read,
“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 my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.”
We are not delivered because we are good. We are called good and able to be good because we are saved. When we accept Jesus, we are not only forgiven of every sin past, present, and future, but we are also given God’s Spirit, His nature and we are then able to follow Jesus and come to know our Awesome God. He opens His heart, His character, and His mind to us. We get to know Him and He makes us like Him.
It is through the proving, the testing of our heart and mind by the various difficulties and situations that God does His amazing and miraculous works in us to transform us. He knows our hearts and minds completely, the test and the proof is for us to know who we are. And we are able to “pass” those tests not by our power but because we know God loves us completely, and unwaveringly. We walk not by our faith but by His, which He gives us. Each testing and each proofing grows our faith more and more.
Verses 4-5 read,
“I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.”
These verses do not mean that we never spend any time with the lost, it means we do not abide with or join with people of emptiness and vanity, whose words are lies and lead to false religions, idolatry, and selfishness. They are hypocrites, pretenders and we will not consort, partner or walk with them. It is picture, not of caring for them and loving them enough to share Jesus, but of being with them, on their side. We do not take part in their works. We walk with and partner with the Lord and with His church. Verses 6-8 say,
“I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,
7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.”
Washing one’s hands is symbolic of removing guilt and cutting off any association with something. In this case David and we wash our hands of who we were before salvation. We wash our hands of the false prophets and false teachers who lead people to Hell. We wash our hands of Satan. We are vindicated and we tell the whole world how marvelous our Father is, how Jesus died and rose to save us, and how beautiful the Spirit is.
And it is amazing to be with God in His house. In David’s day that meant the Temple. But today we are the Temple of God. He is with is and in us always. He abides in us. And it is truly lovely to be with Him. We magnify that wondrous thing when we are with the church, the body of Christ. Each of us glorifies or reflects and adulates the Lord and together that glory is exponentially increased. If you don’t know the joy of tangibly sharing God’s Spirit with one another, of feeling His presence thick amongst you, I am here to tell you it is pure joy and greatness. He is marvelous.
The Holy Spirit is our seal, our deposit, and our identity. We cannot be mistaken for the lost. We will not be condemned with them. Remember we are vindicated. Verses 9-10 read,
“Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.”
The lost live for themselves lusting after selfish desires, seeking to fill the whole in their souls with pleasures and destruction. But we, the vindicated seek God’s will not our own. We walk in truth and honor as we manifest the Holy Spirit within us and live a life that testifies to the goodness and greatness of the Lord, Jesus our Deliverer, our Vindication. Verses 11-12 say,
“But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.”
We are part of a unit, the body of Christ and together with them our foundation is firm. Jesus is our firm foundation, our rock. It is together with the family of God as we bear the fruit of the Spirit and love another that we uphold each other and corporately bless the Lord.
We are vindicated, no longer guilty as the enemy accuses us. We are holy. We are rescued and called God’s own.
RSS Feed
