Can anybody possibly live a perfect life? Every Christian knows the answer is no. But in Psalm 26 David seems to say that’s exactly what he’s doing. How can that be? Certainly, he knows better than to believe that.
Psalm 26
Of David.
Ps 26:1 Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
without wavering.
Ps 26:2 Test me, O LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
Ps 26:3 for your love is ever before me,
and I walk continually in your truth.
Ps 26:4 I do not sit with deceitful men,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
Ps 26:5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
Ps 26:6 I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, O LORD,
Ps 26:7 proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
Ps 26:8 I love the house where you live, O LORD,
the place where your glory dwells.
Ps 26:9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with bloodthirsty men,
Ps 26:10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
Ps 26:11 But I lead a blameless life;
redeem me and be merciful to me.
Ps 26:12 My feet stand on level ground;
in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.
Do you see what I mean? Verses 1 and 11 both say he has led a blameless life.
Background on Psalm 26
Let’s see the commentary for this Psalm to see if the author says anything about this apparent conflict between our belief as Christians and what David wrote about himself. Check out verse 1 again, before we read the comments on it.
Ps 26:1 Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
without wavering.
At first glance the word vindicate suggests a desire to be shown to be right over against other people: “I have been falsely accused; show everybody that I am really innocent.” But as I read this psalm I sense that it is not David’s reputation in the eyes of other people that concerns him but rather God’s vindication of the rightness of a devout and moral life. In other words, it is not his own reputation but God’s reputation that he covets. He has been trying to obey God. He is surrounded by many who think that he is foolish, just as we are surrounded by similar mockers of righteousness today. What he is asking is that God will show by the quality and steadiness of his life that a moral life is always best—for the sake of God’s own honor and for the good of those who may be looking on.
This is how the three major themes of the prayer come together. They are a plea for vindication, the claim that the psalmist has led an upright life, and confidence that in the end he will be found standing on level ground when the bad moral choices of others have caused them to be swept away. 1Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 231). Baker Books.
Well, that answered one question. But raised another. Vindication is in God’s eyes, not in the eyes of someone else or compared to someone else. It’s entirely between David and God.
However, since David said he led a blameless life, then why is vindication even needed? Of course, we know that vindication is needed by everyone. No one is perfect in God’s eyes. No one can even approach the perfection of God in this fallen world. Except for God Himself, in the person of Jesus.
So then, there’s still an open question about vindication. Is David asking God to verify his perfect life but being falsely humble or something by using the word vindication? Or is David ignoring his imperfections when he claims to have led a blameless life? Or, is there something else going on?
Let’s take a look at verses 2 and 3 for the answer.
Ps 26:2 Test me, O LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
Ps 26:3 for your love is ever before me,
and I walk continually in your truth.
The way of the righteous, which David claims to have been following, is outlined in verses 3–8. But verse 2 has something important to contribute to it. In that verse David asks God to examine both his “heart” and his “mind.” In other words, in order to walk in a right way David must be both instructed in God’s truth and born again, which is the only way anyone ever acquires a heart that desires to go in God’s paths. He needs to know the way, but he also needs to want to follow it. These two ideas carry over into verse 3, for the idea of heart desire is preserved in the word love, and the idea of mind instruction is echoed in the word truth. 2Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 232). Baker Books.
The author follows up this paragraph with a lengthy discussion about how a righteous person lives. However, that’s beyond our scope today.
One thing I do want to point out though is that in verse 2, David writes “examine my heart and mind”. Does that sound familiar? If it does, here’s why. First, there’s the statement below about a man after God’s own heart, when Samuel told Saul that God was going to replace him (Saul) as king because of the things he did.
Samuel Rebukes Saul
…
1Sa 13:11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’S favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
1Sa 13:13 “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’S command.”
1Sa 13:15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
You may or may not remember that occasion. But many Christians will remember the reference below to that event.
In Pisidian Antioch
Ac 13:13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
Ac 13:16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
Now, I could stop there. It shows the reference to the Old Testament passage.
However, that doesn’t really help us today, does it?
What’s this thing about us being perfect?
So, what’s the deal with being perfect? We aren’t. None of us. That’s why Jesus died on the cross, to save us from our imperfections.
There is something to it though. Sometimes I feel like this life is a chance for us to make a choice. Sure, there’s a choice to be made about whether we follow Jesus or not. And that choice determines where we spend eternity. Our final destination isn’t something we earn. Obviously, since salvation is a gift from God.
But, among other things, our choice is also a statement. A statement that begins with our baptism. We proclaim that we want to follow Jesus. That we want to become like Jesus. Perfect. So sin.
That’s not going to happen in this life. But it’s our desire to love Jesus and become more like Him that, among other things, says we want to be sinless.
Yes, we can say that with our mouths. We can even believe it in our brains. But do we believe it in our hearts? Do we really try to use the strength and the guidance from God, through the Holy Spirit, to try to approach a path to being sinless in this life?
Conclusion – Psalm 26 – How can anybody possibly live a perfect life?
That was a hard conclusion to reach. I started going through a whole bunch of passages to reach this conclusion. Show why it’s justified. But it was getting so long. And way too complex. So I deleted a whole bunch of stuff.
After all, this is supposed to be more like a journal that the kind of things I normally right.
Knowing full well that, at this time, I appear to be incapable of a simple straightforward journal, I decided to just cut to the conclusion.
And the conclusion is, God looks at what we want. What He knows we can be. And both of those things if we choose to love Him and to follow Jesus. It’s our desire to be perfect, not on our own but through God, that He’s looking for.\Look at it this way. If Jesus died for our sins, which He did, then what else is left besides what we want to be? Truly want to be. And that we know we cannot accomplish our perfect self, our best self, without God.
Jesus told us that He came so we might have life to the full.
The Shepherd and His Flock
Jn 10:1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
Jn 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jn 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Jn 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
That life to the full begins here on earth. And is completed in Heaven, in the next life.
At least, it will if we truly want it to, in our hearts, and with God’s help.
Image by Alexa from Pixabay
Footnotes
- 1Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 231). Baker Books.
- 2Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 232). Baker Books.