Solid ground

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SOLID GROUND

 Ps 26

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; 3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. 8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me.

12 My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

NIV

David is asking God to judge him and is not that what we desire as well? We want God to be our judge, for he will judge us fairly without favoritism. However, we can be sure we will be judged blameless because we are in Christ. We have trusted in the Lord without waving. That is we will not slide or tumble or vacillate. We do not move from our trusting in him, not just for salvation, but for the life in the here and now. Here is where the proof is in the pudding. We can say all we want, that our trust is in the Lord, but now we are asking him to test us, to examine our heart and mind and see if we are really who we say we are. David was confident God would not find any difference in what he said and who he was. Can we say the same thing? Can we say that God’s love is ever before us and that we walk continually in his truth? Wavering from this would mean we would have to say no. But we do not waver, we do not make a move without his counsel. We do not trust in our own choices. We do not trust in our own abilities. We do not trust in our own intelligence. We do not trust in our wealth. We trust completely in God and his plan for our life. We do not sit or take counsel from deceitful men. This is the meaning of sitting with deceitful men. We do not consort, or fellowship or exchange ideas with hypocrites, those who claim to be believers, but do not live or are the people they say they are. There are far too many who claim to believe in God, but live as though they believe in the world. We need to stay far away from these types, unless of course we have been called by God to bring them the truth. But the idea is that we do not take any of their advice or counsel. It is not that we are just believers, but we abhor the assembly of the evil doers, we refuse to sit with them, accepting anything they have to say about how to live. Sure we can learn knowledge from the world, raw education without the bias of man. But when it comes to concepts that are indifferent to the word of God, we cannot accept them for we are in the truth. It is the philosophies of man, which we stand against, for we base our life on the truth of God. This is the only way we can say that we wash our hands in innocence. The world’s way is corrupt, God’s way is pure without blemish, and because our trust is in Jesus, we are holy and blameless in the sight of God, therefore he has declared us innocent and we can have clean hands. We proclaim his love and give him praise for his loving kindness and blessings in our life. We love the house where he lives, where his glory dwells. The church built of brick and mortar is not his dwelling place. We are that house, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are living stones being built into the temple of God. So as David asked, we also ask, but at the same time know, God will not combine us with the wicked. He will separate us, putting us on his right side and them on his left. We will be ushered into his everlasting paradise, and they will be cast out into the everlasting lake of burning sulfur. So we can say with confidence our feet are on solid ground. Our feet are firmly planted in the word of God. On solid ground I stand. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.