Psalm 18 is a song of thanksgiving that David wrote in response to Jehovah’s saving him from those who were trying to kill him, including Saul. There are several great themes in this psalm, but the one I want to focus on is in verses 20-24 where David explains why the Lord saved him: “20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. 23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. 24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.”
Generally speaking, we don’t pray like the Psalmists prayed, and I wonder if we’re missing more than just their language when their thoughts do not influence our thoughts. In fact, I wonder if our lack of application of the psalms leads to some theological issues, one of which David’s rejoicing above illustrates.
When was the last time you approached the Lord in prayer, either crying out for help or praising Him for the good He has done in your life, on the basis of your goodness, your righteous deeds, and your clean hands? In multiple places, David appeals to God based on his own heart and his keeping of God’s law. In Psalm 26, David even invites God into him to examine his heart: “2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.”
When I pray, whether it is in the assembly or in my closet, I find it very difficult, if not impossible, to approach God as David does. It may be because I’m a more of a sinner than he was, but I’m afraid it is something worse than that: he had a better understanding of his covenant relationship with the Lord than I do, and because of that, I’m missing out on the joy and confidence that is a hallmark of the people of God.
I don’t think I’m the only person who has this issue. Consider our prayers in the assembly. It is exceedingly rare that the person praying doesn’t ask God to “forgive us of our sins.” That phrase is standard operating procedure for most Christians today because we seem to be afraid that there is some “secret sin” (Psalm 90:8) of which we haven’t yet received forgiveness, and without using that phrase, the Lord won’t hear our prayers. Some people point to the Lord’s prayer when he said, “And forgive us our debts” as the reason we should always ask for forgiveness, but that leaves unspoken the second part of His statement, “as we forgive our debtors.” That statement is more a reminder that we must be merciful to others if we hope for God’s mercy toward us rather than a reason to include “and forgive us of our sins” in every prayer that we offer. Forgiveness is a blessing we receive when we repent of sin. The only thing that could be argued as a blanket pardon like that is our baptism when we are turning from a life of sin.
I understand the sentiment: that phrase comes from our deep desire to be at peace with God while acknowledging that we are unfaithful to the covenant at times. It is an attitude of repentance that might be commendable in some circumstances, but I think too often it prevents the outflow of joy that the redeemed should feel, replacing it with the belief that “if God saves me, it will be by the smallest of margins because I’m so filled with sin.” Contrast that attitude with David’s in Psalm 26, which David ends with this phrase: “My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord” (12).
David understands that he is in need of God’s grace. Just prior to the verse above, he asks that the Lord redeem him and show him grace. So it seems that David understood both that he was a sinner in need of God’s mercy and that he had within himself a righteousness that, although rooted in God (Psalm 16:2), belonged to him and that was a result of the choices and decisions that he made. It seems that he was living Romans 12:1-2, sacrificing himself for the Lord and being transformed by God into a man after God’s own heart.
David’s confidence was in God’s covenant love and David’s sacrifice of his life for the Lord. God’s covenant love is a constant, more certain than anything in science or mathematics. The variable in the equation is me: am I striving after God, always fleeing temptation, quick to repent when I recognize that I have sinned? If so, then I too can pray as David did, confident in my righteousness because it is a direct result of seeking His face. I can’t help but be righteous if I have lost my life in Christ Jesus. When we internalize these ideas, we will approach God joyfully and confidently (Hebrews 4:16), as David did, with faith that He will do for us what He has promised because we are doing for Him what He has commanded.
