Rev. Doug Floyd

Pentecost+14 – Call to Christ
Rev. Doug Floyd
Psalm 26

The Lord tells Jeremiah, “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.” (Jeremiah 15:19, ESV) The Jews will mock Jeremiah’s words. They will beat him. They will throw him down a well and leave him to die. Yet, the Lord continues to raise him up and send out His Word through Jeremiah. Long after his enemies have died, the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah will stand.

The Lord tells Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”” (Matthew 16:18–19, ESV)

A moment later He tells a baffled Peter and the other disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24–25, ESV) Though Peter will take up this cross and eventually be killed for the faith, the Word of the Lord will speak through him to bring multitudes into the family of God.

Jesus tells Nicodemus, ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) Later, Jesus will be crucified by the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Roman governor. In three days, He the Father will raise Him from the dead. Jesus brings life to the people of the world on the “basis of an indestructible life.”

In each of these stories, we see the vindication of God. Though God’s people may be mocked, beaten, and even killed, He will vindicate them. He will reveal His glory in and through them. He will raise them up as His people.

In today’s Psalm, the writer faces various enemies within and beyond Jerusalem. He faces liars, hypocrites, evildoers, and the wicked. This sounds like the same motley crew who appear in Psalm 1. God’s people face opposition: human and spiritual. We may not be physically beaten, but we may face mistreatment, struggle, and sometimes very real suffering from co-workers, family, and even our own thoughts.

Like this ancient Psalmist we cry out, “Vindicate me, O Lord!” N.T. Wright sees this cry for vindication like Paul’s promise of justification in Christ. It is a cry of God’s people, “Remember me! Remember I am yours!” And in the words of Jude, “Remember that you promised to present me as blameless.” He writes,

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24–25, ESV)

Vindicate me O Lord! Vindicate us O Lord!

In trying to emphasize the goodness of grace, we sometimes over emphasize human sinfulness. Yes, we are sinners. And yet, we trust that God is transforming us. When the Psalmist declares, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:1–2, ESV) It might be easy to reject the idea that we walk in integrity, that we walk without wavering. We can only see Jesus fulfilling this prayer. It is true that Jesus does fulfill this prayer, but remember it is the prayer of ancient Israel. It is the prayer of God’s people.

Douglas Webster responds to the tendency to only human see humans considering our sinfulness. He writes, “Some preachers have a strange way of proclaiming the gospel message. They only seem to know how to target their Sunday morning sermon to the lost. These preachers assume the worst of the gathered congregation, even though they are in the presence of sincere believers. “You may look all put together,” the preacher says boldly, “but inside you are filled with deceit and guilt.” …He is used to preaching this way even though his congregation has just finished singing songs and hymns with gratitude in their hearts to the Lord.”

Webster continues, “The seeker in the congregation who has yet to come to Christ must wonder at the power of the gospel to change lives if a seemingly vibrant and redeemed congregation is so lost and in such need of saving.”[1]

In our Psalm today, the writer is not presuming by saying, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:1–2, ESV) When we hear the Scripture, we should hear the Good News that Christ has embraced us and is transforming by His love.

In verse 3, we read, “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” (Psalm 26:3, ESV) What a beautiful and bountiful promise of God. This word for “steadfast love” is hesed, which can refer to unfailing love between humans, but also and most sublimely speaks of God’s unfailing love toward us. The Psalmist trusts that God is leading Him on the path of righteousness. Though he may struggle at times, the goodness of God is leading him forward.

Charles Spurgeon calls attention to this glorious promise of God’s hesed, God’s loving-kindness. He writes, “Dwell, dear reader, upon that celestial word lovingkindness. It has a heavenly savour. Is it not an unmatchable word, unexcelled, unrivalled? The goodness of the Lord to us should be before our eyes as a motive actuating our conduct; we are not under the bondage of the law, but we are under the sweet constraints of grace, which are far more mighty, although far more gentle. Men sin with the law before their eyes, but divine love when clearly seen, sanctifies the conversation.^[2]

Our psalmist reminds us that the lovingkindness of God draws us. It is the aroma of life to those who are being saved. Like sweet nectar to a bee, we are drawn the sweetness of our God. We long to hear His good Word, we long to feast upon His love and life. We rejoice to gather with His people, for in the congregation of the saints, we ourselves are being changed as we all gather around the life of our Risen Lord.

Like Psalm 1, our writer avoids the company of the wicked who would seek to harm, to deceive, the corrupt. He declares, “I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds. O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” (Psalm 26:6–8, ESV)

This not a posture of self-satisfied righteous over the sinners. Rather, it is the joy of the redeemed who long to the see the sinner come into the communion of the beloved. It is in this sweet communion of saints, we can pour out our hurts, our wounds, our suffering as well as our joys, our praises, our thanksgiving. In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, we are reminded that our Lord has chosen to share His grace gifts in our lives through the people of God. It is in company with God’s people we find encouragement in difficult seasons, prayers for healing in physical weakness, wisdom in challenging decisions, and so much more. We are walking together in this world to the New Jerusalem, and we help and encourage one another along the way.

Thus, our psalmist ends by declaring, “My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.” (Psalm 26:12, ESV)

Let us bless the Lord. Let us rejoice. Let us shower one another with His peace and love. And let us bring His Gospel to the world in need.

[1] Douglas D. Webster, The Psalms: Jesus’s Prayer Book, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2023), 219.

^[2] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 416.