DEVOTIONAL
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DIVINE SCRUTINY
Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Psalms 26
“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart For Your loving kindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.”- Psalm 26:2-3
The heart of Psalm26 is the desire to worship God in integrity. It is a heart cry for vindication in the face of false charges/misunderstanding.
The Hebrew word to vindicate usually mean “to judge”- whenever we judge ourselves we are certainly correct with the outcome of our own judgment. In Psa 26:1-2, we hear the voice of a forgiven sinner declared righteous by the Lord, but yet going through life’s challenges coupled with undeserved evil.
In Psa 26:3-4, the Psalmist asks GOD to examine him thoroughly. As we sojourn through this part of life on earth, self-examination and dependency on God’s divine scrutiny is of great importance. Our thoughts, motivations, affections are to be placed before Him and examined, whether right in His sight. No matter how perfect we may be in our own eyes, our vindication must always come from the Lord especially in situations where there are great misconstructions.
Most times we are with the opinion that when we are serving the Lord with all our mind, body and soul nothing happens to us that makes us feel bad or disappointed. The Psalmist David did not only express his heart of openness to the divine intervention of God in his situation, but also talked about the loving kindness of the Lord that is always before his people and the authenticity of the truth of His word. “For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth.” Ps.26:3 NLT. In the midst of trying times, David puts his trust in the steadfast love of the Lord.
In Psa 26:11 the Psalmist says: “But as for me I will walk in my integrity, redeem me and be merciful to me.” Despite the unpleasant happenings around him, David tries very hard to comfort himself by reaffirming his faith and confidence in the Lord. Those who do evil, the wicked are not his portion of friends. He proposed not to turn back to the old ways of life by not going to the evil place, but to wholeheartedly trust in the Lord and walk with Him in integrity.
It is easy for us to become disheartened at difficult times and in the midst of misunderstanding; but we can take lessons from the Psalmist of his attitude of trust in the steadfast love of the Lord for him and his affirmation to continue to walk in integrity. Thus David has the confidence to pray for God’s mercy and redemption and looks forward to declaring His praise in the midst of the assembly of God’s people. May we also lean on the Lord to walk before Him in uprightness being assured of His timely intervention in our lives that we too can sing His praise!
Prayer:
Almighty Lord, do no gather my soul with sinners
or my life with blood thirsty men; empower me to walk
in your truth for your glory.
In Jesus name.
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