What’s Our Goal? Psalm 26

A text – Psalm 26

¹ Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
² Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind.
³ For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.

⁴ I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
⁵ I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord,
⁷ singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and telling all your wondrous deeds.

⁸ O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell and the place where your glory abides.

A reflection:

This psalm attributed to David makes his case to the Lord that he has trusted God and lived by God’s laws. His relationship to God is a right one. He does what the Lord wants and does not do what the Lord forbids.

Saying this psalm out loud, we might think this is kind of aspirational, rather than a true confession of our habits. I try not to abide or live with the worthless, mostly. Or I sing songs of thanksgiving occasionally and credit the Lord with providing me what I need, when I think of it. We may not think of ourselves as acing this test of faithful behaviors.

Well, we don’t earn God’s favor by doing things. God loves us all the time, even when we fall short. But trying to do God’s will and noticing when we come up short is something God loves to see, because God knows we have realized we have not been disciplined, we have not been perfect, but we are trying to do better. When I think about the people I root for more wholeheartedly, I don’t thnk of someone who gets an A+ every time on everything. I root for someone who tries, forgets, lapses, and then suddenly, in a burst of effort, wins? The second person is way more interesting and real. God loves us, reality and all. Those of us in category 2 are working hard to stay in relationship with God, and we know when we have failed. God’s love doesn’t waver, in either case. But the second person knows she needs it more.

So when we say or sing this psalm, let’s do it either as a brag or as a goal, whichever is appropriate. Saying or singing our best picture of ourselves isn’t a bad way to live. It keeps the goal in front of us so that we strive toward it. No wonder there are athletic images in so many of Paul’s letters. Try, try again is our cheer, and the Lord is cheering us on.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for cheering us on in relationship with you. We need your energy and confidence in us, not to be perfect, but to be faithful. Amen.