Psalms of Innocence

In , David is appealing to his innocence in the context of a false accusation being brought against him. “Lord, if I have done this, if there is injustice on my hands, if I have done harm to one at peace with me, or have plundered my adversary without cause, may an enemy pursue and overtake me.” He states, “Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity.” This psalm focuses more on the righteousness of God than on the righteousness of the psalmist. For example in verses 9,11 & 17, “the one who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God…God is a righteous judge…I will thank the Lord for his righteousness.” This is the historical context of David’s situation. However, given that David is a prophet, and that these Psalms are to be interpreted as the words of Christ, this ultimately is to be interpreted as Jesus speaking. Jesus had pursuers seeking to tear him like a lion, to rip him apart. Incredibly unlike David though in verse 6, where he seeks God’s judgement on his adversaries, Jesus says “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus is the only one who ultimately can be vindicated by God according to his righteousness and his integrity (v8). So is this psalm applicable to us as Christians today? Yes. This is a prayer that we can pray when we find ourselves in similar situations to David and Jesus, because accused of something we have not said or done. Being hunted down out of jealousy rather than for anything that we’ve done wrong.

In , David again is in a situation where he is being hunted most likely by Saul. It is “a just cause” (v1), coming from lips free of deceit. He is speaking truth. In contrast to his vindication coming from others, he is asking for God to vindicate him, for God sees what is right (v2). In three ways David says God has examined him, appealing to God more deeply to uphold his cause and vindicate him. “You have tested my heart, you have examined me at night. You have tried me and found nothing evil.” His appeal is coming from genuine motives that have been tested by God and purified and found to be righteous. He goes on to say that he has avoided the ways of the violent, that his feet have not slipped (v4-5). This could be referring to the 3 times that David had opportunities to kill Saul, but rather let him live, showing David’s righteousness in the situation and Saul’s blatant wickedness. Interesting that the Psalm begins with God who sees what is right, and ends with David’s certain hope that he will see God’s face in righteousness. Again, this is ultimately prophetic and fulfilled in Jesus, whose cause was just. He was in need of protection from the wicked who were treating him violently, his deadly enemies who surrounded him (v9), who advanced against him, surrounding him, determining to throw him to the ground. Like a lion eager to tear, ready to pounce (v11-12). Again it’s so incredible how Jesus in his time of need doesn’t call down curses on his enemies, but rather forgives them, entrusting himself to him who would justify him, satisfied with his presence, and with the promise of seeing his Father’s face in righteousness. How incredible though to think that at the cross even the comfort of God’s presence was taken from Jesus, as he cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Can we as Christian today pray this psalm? Yes. We can pray this Psalm as people who are found in Christ. Who when God examines us, finds nothing evil, because he finds the righteousness of Christ covering us. We can have genuine motives in seeking justice and cry out to God to bring vindication for us or for others around us. However, we also know that God may answer with a not now, later. Just as his answer to Jesus was not now, later.

In David praises God for his deliverance over all his enemies. He declares, “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness. Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me, and have not disregarded his statutes. I was blameless toward him and kept myself from my iniquity. So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight” (v20-24). Again, this should be interpreted for David in the context of his battles against those who sought to bring him down though he had done nothing wrong. David was righteous, the man after God’s own heart, and the standard against which all the other kings of Israel and Judah were measured. This is not saying that he is sinless, but in his dealings with those who opposed him and stood against him as God’s anointed one, he was blameless and innocent and therefore was protected and delivered by God. Some help in interpreting this comes from the line before in verse 19 where David says, “He rescued me because he delighted in me.” Also in verse 32 David says, “God – he clothes me with strength, and makes my way perfect.” And finally in verse 50, “He (God) shows loyalty to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” So these surrounding verses give us insight into other reasons God rescued David. It was because he was God’s anointed. It was because David found favour, or delight in God’s eyes, that he rescued him. And his integrity, or his perfection, was given to him by God. Ultimately this is Jesus speaking about his own experience, for the ropes of death literally wrapped around him, the torrents of destruction literally terrified him, to the point of sweating drops of blood. The ropes of Sheol entangled him and he died. He called to Yahweh in his distress, and he cried to his God for help, however, from his temple he responded with earthquakes and darkness, but not against Jesus enemies; rather it was against his beloved Son. God shot his arrows into his Son instead of his enemies. However, after going through all this, God reached down and took hold of Jesus, pulling him out of the depths of the grave, rescuing him from his powerful enemy, and from those who hated him. The Lord brought Jesus out to a spacious place, and rescued him because he delighted in him. The Lord truly rewarded and vindicated and raised Jesus because of his righteousness, his sinless perfection. God showed himself faithful and blameless and pure to the faithful, blameless and pure Jesus. Now Jesus is King above all his enemies, and they fall beneath his feet. All his adversaries are subdued beneath him, and he will annihilate those who hate him on the day of judgement. He shows ultimate loyalty to ‘the’ descendent of David, Jesus of Nazareth, and his church who are his spiritual descendants, forever.

In , David prays for vindication on the basis of his integrity, which brackets the psalm in verse 1 and 11. Again he asks the Lord to test him and try him, to examine his heart and mind, showing that he has nothing to hide. He is coming with pure and genuine motives. He washes his hands in innocence (v6). He asks the Lord not to destroy him like the wicked, but to redeem and be gracious to him because of his integrity (v11). Prophetically speaking about Jesus, he trusted the Lord without wavering (v1), even in the garden of Gethsemane. He did not associate with hypocrites (v4), but rather rebuked them for leading the people of God astray (). Pilate washed his hands, claiming his innocence, before handing him over to be crucified (), when really it was Jesus who was innocent (v6). David asks the Lord not to destroy him along with sinners, with murderers (v8-10), and yet Jesus was crucified alongside two murderers. However, Jesus lived with integrity, and so Yahweh redeemed his life from the grave. The feet of Jesus stood once again on level ground (v11), and now he blesses the Lord as the leader of his people in the great assemblies (v12). We too can pray this prayer with the same confidence, no, even more confidence that what David had. As people who are in Christ, we have been made righteous. By faith we have been given a guarantee that we will be vindicated. It may not come in the present life, as David hoped for, but it will certainly come in the life to come, as it did for Jesus.

In , the sons of Korah voice a complaint on behalf of God’s people. How come we are rejected &humiliated? How come we are retreating from our enemies and being plundered by them? How come you God are handing us over to be eaten, scattering us among the nations and selling us? Why have you made us an object of reproach to our neighbours, who mock and ridicule us? Why have you made us a joke among the nations? We are disgraced and shamed because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler. We are crushed, and covered in deepest darkness. Because of you we are being put to death all day long. We have sunk down to the dust, and our bodies cling to the ground. And yet we have not forgotten you or betrayed your covenant. Our hearts have not turned back from you or strayed. Wake up God. Why are you sleeping? Get up! Don’t reject us forever! Rise up! Help us! Redeem us! Don’t hide and forget us! For God’s people, those who were righteous didn’t undergo these trials. It was the wicked who God had promised to bring these things upon, not his own righteous people. This is an appeal to God. They recognise their great dependence on him (v4-8), and so can’t understand why he’s not coming to their aid. Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of this cry of complaint. He cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was faithful to God, and yet he experienced rejection & humiliation. God handed him over to be eaten. He was mocked and ridiculed. People laughed and scoffed at him. He was crushed and covered in deepest darkness from midday until three in the afternoon. He was put to death. He sunk down to the dust, and his body clung to the ground. All these things happened to him and yet he was never unfaithful to Yahweh. How can this be? Was God sleeping? Had he forgotten about his Son? Was he powerless to intervene? No. This was his plan to accomplish salvation for humanity. And was Jesus vindicated and redeemed? Yes. God raised him from death and seated him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. We too, as we pray this Psalm, can be confident that even if we go through affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword, we cannot be separated from the love of God (). Not even death or demons or anything else in all creation take away the victory that is ours in Christ, and the love that is ours forever in Christ.