PSALM 7:8–17 My Righteousness
READ: PSALM 7:8–17 (2 SAMUEL 16:5–13)
V. 8 “Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness.”
Wow! The psalmist says some pretty brash things about himself, doesn’t he? “I’m blameless, innocent!” Children say such things when Mom comes across a broken vase. Accused people standing before a judge in court are also often quick to claim innocence.
David comes across as self-righteous, and such people aren’t very likeable, are they? As Christians we would rather confess that “there is none who does good, not even one” (Ps. 14:3). Are we not all conceived and born in sin and of ourselves unable to do any good (Ps. 51:5)? Jesus Christ went further: even thinking lustful thoughts is unrighteousness (Matt. 5:28). How can we then accept David’s plea to the LORD for vindication on the ground of his righteousness?
Despite these truths, there are times when we may rightly speak of our own righteousness and integrity. It’s true, when we stand under God’s scrutiny we have no ground to speak of our own righteousness. David knew he could never justify himself before God’s judgment seat. After his sin of adultery, he confessed his sins and sinfulness from birth (Ps. 51).
But it’s different when a person is falsely accused by another. David had been wrongly charged by a Benjaminite of having deceitfully repaid a good friend with evil. This man had slandered David as one who had taken unfair advantage of others, and so David took his case to God on the basis of his own righteousness. For those accusations weren’t true at all! Remember that David, though he had several chances, had never lifted his hand against King Saul who was wrongly seeking to kill him. And David had later shown mercy to Saul’s crippled grandson Mephibosheth by restoring Saul’s property to him and even supplying him with food daily at his royal table. David had acted righteously.
See, there is a justifying righteousness and a sanctifying righteousness. The one is a declaration, the other an ongoing activity in our lives. Through faith in Christ, God declares us righteous, justified in his eyes. Through Christ’s Spirit at work in us, God changes our thoughts, words, and actions to line up with his law, so that more and more we produce righteousness. When we humbly live trusting and obeying the Lord, then false accusations have no power and the prayer of Psalm 7 can be ours as well.
You are righteous, so live righteously.
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