Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro
I want to take us on a detour for a few weeks to spend some time in the Psalms.
We are going to begin by looking at Psalm 26 today.
Psalms 26, 27, and 28 reveal David’s love for God’s sanctuary (26:6–8, 27:4–7, 28:2), which in David’s day was the tabernacle on Mt.
Zion.
God didn’t permit David to build the temple (2 Sam.
7), but He did give him the plans for the temple and helped him accumulate from the spoils of battle great wealth to provide material for constructing the temple (1 Chron.
22, 28–29).
But not all who gathered to worship at the sanctuary were sincere in their walk or their worship, and some of them were openly disobedient and spread lies about the king.
It was this situation that led to the writing of this psalm.
In it, David makes three requests of the Lord.
This Psalm ought to cause us to think about our relationship with God.
Are we confident enough in our relationship with God to ask Him to examine us?
David has nothing to hide.
This Psalm gives us a picture of a worshipper approaching the temple of the Lord.
In each of Psalms 26–28 the Lord’s house comes into view.
In Psalm 26 the worshipper, as he approaches, is searched by God’s demand for sincerity (cf.
Pss 15 and 24) and, in the last verse, rejoices to have found access.
The worshipper is not approaching with a clear mind though.
The Psalm can be broken out into a series of petitions and claims, closing with a final vow.
David’s first petition.
Vindicate me.
David petitions God to vindicate him.
a: to free from allegation or blame
b (1): CONFIRM, SUBSTANTIATE
(2): to provide justification or defense for: JUSTIFY
c: to protect from attack or encroachment
The Hebrew word used here has the meaning to judge.
I think the reason most modern translators use the word vindicate here is because of our general conception of the word judge.
Most often we think of judging in terms of pronouncing condemnation.
The term though here should not be understood in those terms but rather in the sens of deciding guilt or innocence.
It has to do with impartial judging.
In this opening, David’s fellow men are not yet in the picture, though his defensiveness tells its own tale of them.
With the cry ‘Yahweh, be my judge!’ (JB), he wisely appeals over the heads of friends and enemies alike.
David is calling here for examination, which we see as we continue.
He is confident that his life meets the standards of righteousness required for vindication.
We see David’s reasoning for this in the claims that he makes.
David states that he held to a code of conduct.
He was at that time in an unimpaired condition.
The NIV translates the phrase as
For I have led a blameless life.
This claim is not one of sinless perfection but rather a claim to possess the appropriate attitude.
A healthy fear of God.
That he had an awareness of his sinfulness and absolute dependence on God’s divine mercy.
David had an understanding of his own sin and how that placed him in conflict with God.
David makes this claim not out of arrogance, but out of dependence on God’s divine grace and mercy.
Firm faith.
The second portion of his claim here is that his faith has been unwavering.
This is not just a past act of firm trust but a lifestyle that will continue unshaken into the future.
A statement and a commitment to not slip, slide, or totter.
David has taken his commitment to the Lord to heart.
He is confident in his relationship with the Lord.
That trust and that faith have to start somewhere though.
Have you ever played with young child in a pool.
You help them get up onto the side and coax them to jump in.
They look at you, then at the water, then back at you.
You stretch out your arms and tell them you will catch them.
When that first jump finally happens, trust is built.
That trusting leap communicated confidence that grows and builds to the point that the child has little fear and is almost ready to jump in on their own, if not trying to do so.
Trust gives us the confidence to attempt things that seem beyond us.
Dave has faith, he has confidence, he trusts the Lord.
David trusts that God will judge him fairly and find him not guilty.
The first element of blameless living is an attitude of unwavering trust in God.
This foundational attitude undergirds all we think, say, and do.
Unwavering trust enables us to do things we might not ordinarily attempt.
Sometimes this may mean we remain still and wait for God rather than relying on our own strength (cf.
27:14).
Other times it might encourage us to leap out in faith.
David’s second petition.
Or other translations read test me.
Examine me.
Prove me, Try me, Test me
These three words, all synonyms, drive home the point of willing submission to God’s examination.
These words refer to a testing of metals to determine their value, to remove the impurities that lie within.
Test my whole being.
Test my heart and my mind.
We must remember that heart is not simply the seat of emotions as we think of it today.
The heart includes desires, the seat of knowledge and wisdom, the seat of conscience and moral character.
It has to do with how a person responds, especially to the revelation of God and the of the world around them.
Some of our bibles have a note that says - literal test my kidneys and my heart.
The kidneys are often associated with the heart as constituting the center of human personality (Pss.
7:9; 26:2; Jer.
11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Rev. 2:23).
Because the areas around the kidneys are sensitive, the Hebrews believed the kidneys were the seat of the emotions (Job 19:27; Ps. 73:21; Prov.
23:16).
The kidneys were also used figuratively as the source of the knowledge and understanding of the moral life (Ps.
16:7; Jer.
12:2).
David is asking the Lord to test all of him.
Test my emotions, test my morals.
To not leave any part unchecked.
David’s life was motivated and controlled by God’s love and truth.
Your lovingkindness is before me.
The reason that David knows he can ask The Lord for this examination is shown in the next claim that he makes.
“I walk in your faithfulness.”
Literally, your lovingkindess is always before my eyes.
David describes the fierce loyalty that marks God’s covenant relationship that He has with his people.
David’s foundation, his hope and security is not in his own integrity and sinlessness, but in God’s fierce loyalty and enduring faithfulness.
It is this love and faithfulness that provide a way for sinful humans, who acknowledge their dependence upon God’s mercy and grace, to continue to walk in his presence.
David continues in the psalm making more claims.
I stay away from evil.
If these verses sound arrogant, we mistake them.
These men are potential allies, potential enemies; and David has made his choice.
Hating their company is not a matter of social preference but of spiritual alignment; ‘company’ here means congregation or party, a rival group to God’s own.
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