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PSALM 26 THE RELATIONSHIP OF BLAMELESSNESS
Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
1 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.
A blameless life for a sinful man is a matter of the heart. No one other than Jesus has ever been blameless when it comes to sin. All have gone astray; each has turned to his own way (Isaiah 53:6a). The blamelessness of the Psalmist is that, in spite of his sins, he has an undivided heart when it comes to God. Even his sin, which takes him away from God, causes him to turn back to God in contrition and repentance. He has placed his heart on God and on the Truth. He is not deceitful and hypocritical because he is centered on God and so he has an integrity that comes from God’s Word.
As sinners we can only lead a blameless life through the imputed righteous of Jesus. On the cross, he took our sins upon himself and they died with him, while he offered his righteous to us so that we might live with him (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). We accept that offered righteousness by believing him and following him. As St. Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Our call is not to the legalistic, duty-driven obedience of the Pharisees, but to the love-driven obedient relationship spoken of by Jesus in the Gospel according to St. John (chapters 14 & 15). When an other-centered love for God is the motivation for all we think and do we will want to keep his commandments. We will not be trying to earn his favor through obedience, a strategy destined for certain failure, but rather we will obey him because he first loved us.
May the sins I commit be sins of error due to a lack of understanding, and not sins due to loving myself more than you, O Lord. Grow me to a place where I will depend upon you for understanding and seek your correction in all things. May that which is precious to you in my life, the spark of love and obedience, be refined through the fire of the Holy Spirit, so that I might walk continually in your Truth. Amen.