Who Can Pray For Vindication?

Well, as I read our sermon passage for today, Psalm 26, I read it trusting and I pray you'll receive it trusting that it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient, powerful word.

And when we proclaim the word of God faithfully, the spirit is pleased to apply that and illuminate it to our lives.

And in that way, in the hand of the Holy Spirit, it's a sword that's sharp and two-edged and it will pierce through where no man's insights or words could ever pierce.

So here is God's word for us today.

Psalm 26, a Psalm of David.

Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity.

I have also trusted in the Lord.

I shall not slip.

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.

I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites.

I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of your wondrous works.

Lord, I have loved the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.

Do not gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, and whose hand is a sinister scheme, and whose right hand is full of bribes.

But as for me, I will walk in my integrity, redeem me, and be merciful to me.

My foot stands in an even place.

In the congregations, I will bless the Lord.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

Let's pray.

Oh, Father, please show us what we cannot see on our own.

Please teach us to pray in words we could never come up with on our own.

And please help us to behold God through Jesus Christ in a way that we could never fathom on our own.

We ask this for your namesake.

Amen.

Imagine being caught by surprise one of these weeks, one of these Lord's Days, by a man you've never met, don't know anything about him,

and he picks up this microphone in the middle of a public worship service, and he says, please pray with me.

God, go ahead.

Examine my heart.

It's clean.

Try my mind.

It's pure.

Look at my walk.

It's blameless.

Judge me based on my righteousness.

Amen.

I think several, I can picture probably which ones, and probably walk up here, gently escort this gentleman out,

and, sir, I think you came to the wrong church.

I don't think that sounds right.

Didn't you just hear, we are saved sinners.

That's who we are as we gather here.

But it sounds in Psalm 26 like that's exactly how David is praying, isn't he?

Look at verse 1.

Vindicate me, O Lord.

Vindicate means judge me, avenge me, declare me innocent, O Lord.

So he's appealing on God to be the judge.

That verb, it means to try a case.

Like a judge will hear both sides and then make a ruling one way or the other.

Either the Lord will pronounce a sentence for or against this man that's appealing to God this way.

God will either punish him because he's found guilty or vindicate him because he's truly innocent.

So David is praying like that.

God, evaluate me, my life, and rule in my favor.

That word vindicate is the one I'm preferring to use today.

I know other translations are just as faithful, they use judge or something like that.

But the reason vindicate to me is helpful is because the Latin root, vindi, it means to see.

So vindicate means to make visible.

To make a thing publicly seen for what it really is.

My question to you and to me today, it's our sermon title,

Who Can Pray for Vindication?

Who can pray for vindication?

And if the Holy Spirit will help us, once again, we'll walk through this psalm, verse by verse,

and see four ways that I believe you and I can and must pray for God to vindicate us, according to Psalm 26.

So let's start at verse 1.

Vindicate me, O Lord.

Now listen carefully to what he says next.

The basis of his prayer is this.

Vindicate me based on two things.

My walk and my trust.

Look what he says.

For I have walked in my integrity.

A person's walk points to the outer man.

Your actions, your deeds, your life, what you do.

So evaluate me based on my walk.

And number two, vindicate me based on my trust.

He says, I have also trusted in the Lord.

I shall not slip.

Who we trust reveals our inner man, our thoughts, our intentions, our desires, what we believe is good, worthy, and what we call to mind in our soul and our heart.

And so he says in verse 2, basically opening up that same initial statement, examine me, O Lord.

He's going to use another synonym, another way of saying the same thing.

Examine me.

Prove or test me.

Try my mind and my heart.

Now in verse 2, does yours also say mind and heart?

Does it say it like that?

And many translations will say, like the ESV, my mind and my heart.

Literally the words are first heart, not mind.

And then the second word is reins or kidneys.

And the kidneys represent the lower part of the inner being.

What in a time before the scientific revolution, they called the animal desires.

The lower baser desires that creatures have.

And then the heart is more like the higher part of the inner being that could include a person's conscience.

And so it's a good translation to say mind, my conscience, my heart in that sense.

And also my base desires.

Those, he's saying go ahead and examine those as well.

So it's the whole inner being that is put on the balance for God to weigh.

With the inner man, whatever that inner man finds desirable.

And in this case he says, I will meditate in verse 3 on your loving kindness.

That's what I'm putting before my eyes.

I find your loving kindness desirable.

Therefore, I have walked in your truth.

So it sounds like David is making his case to God that in his inner man, he thinks of God and desires God.

And therefore, it translated into his life and his walk.

It sounds like David is showing up at the tabernacle to worship God.

And he's saying almost those exact same words of the Pharisee that our Lord described in Luke 18.

Remember, Jesus said,

This Pharisee stood up and prayed thus with himself,

God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

And our Lord himself said that that proud Pharisee would not go home justified that day.

When I first read David's 26th Psalm here,

I thought, no wonder King Saul wanted to kill this guy so bad.

He's a self-righteous snob.

Who does David think he is to plead his own righteousness like that?

And so how are God's people supposed to sing and pray Psalm 26 without falling into that error of being Pharisees,

being whitewashed tombstones?

Martin Luther said,

My old man, my sinful nature,

it was drowned in baptism,

but the beast swims.

Do we pretend to not battle remaining sin?

Is that how we pray Psalm 26?

Just fake it till you make it?

Second London Confession of Faith, chapter 1, paragraph 9,

reminds us,

this is how we read the Bible.

The infallible rule of interpreting Scripture is,

you know the answer,

Scripture itself.

Therefore,

when there is a question about the true and full meaning of any part of Scripture,

it must be understood in the light of other passages that speak more clearly.

So let's use that help as we try to interpret 26 correctly.

We study Psalm 26 in light of its immediate context,

and in light of what the Bible as a whole says,

for there is one divine author of Scripture.

Now, if you notice,

as we've read Psalm 26 once already,

there is no confession of sin clearly in this Psalm.

But the Holy Spirit also not only inspired the words of Scripture,

not only inspired every Psalm individually,

the Holy Spirit also superintended the arrangement of the whole Psalter,

150 Psalms arranged according to His purpose.

And the Holy Spirit has placed Psalm 26,

well, you know exactly where.

It's right after Psalm 25.

And in Psalm 25,

we saw two very clear confessions of sin.

So,

it's God's design

that we will read Psalm 25,

and as an immediate sequel,

we can continue now to pray

Psalm 26.

Look back at Psalm 25.

It's probably on the same page for you.

Look at Psalm 25,

Psalms 25:5

verse 5.

It's also a Psalm of David,

the same human author.

And in verse 5,

he says,

remember not the sins of my youth

or my transgressions.

He's confessing his sin.

According to your steadfast love,

remember me

for the sake of your goodness,

O Lord.

And then look again at verse 11

of Psalm 25.

For your name's sake,

O Lord,

pardon my guilt,

for it is great.

So,

David

has already confessed

the greatness of his sin

that God saves,

not because man deserves it,

but because

of God's own loving kindness

for the sake of His own glory.

Psalm 25

makes clear

that we are guilty

of great sin,

but God's grace is greater.

Our salvation

is all of God

and all

for God's glory.

It's not our own salvation.

We cannot merit

any grace from God.

We receive it like poor beggars

with an empty hand,

but we are saved

according to God's

steadfast love.

And so,

in light of Psalm 25,

we can now

understand better

the prayer of Psalm 26.

Many times

as we work through

the Old Testament,

we'll handle

the entire passage,

then we'll see

how Christ fulfilled

all these shadows.

I simply could not

keep going with Psalm 26

without showing

how our Lord fulfilled it

early on

because there's no sense

in reading the rest of it

until we recognize

that there was only

one man in all human history

who could pray

Psalm 26

directly

without a mediator.

And that's

our Lord Jesus Christ.

The standard of Psalm 26

is impossible

for anyone

under the curse

of the first Adam,

the old creation.

but in Jesus Christ,

Psalm 26

is now

being fulfilled

because he's

the second,

the final Adam,

the firstborn

of the new creation.

And then Jesus said

in Matthew 5,

do not think

that I have come

to destroy the law

or the prophets.

So the standard

of Psalm 26

does not get lowered.

Instead,

Jesus elevated

the standard

of his own moral law

even more.

In the Sermon on the Mount,

in Matthew 5,

he said,

whoever has been angry

has committed murder

in the heart.

It's not just

your outward deeds.

It's the inward man

that must be perfect

before God also.

Jesus said,

whoever has looked

at someone

that you are not married to

lustfully

is an adulterer.

That's who you are.

And you deserve death.

You deserve to be stoned.

1 Corinthians 4, 5

tells us to wait

until the Lord comes

who will both

bring to light

the things hidden

in the darkness

and disclose

the motives

of men's hearts.

You see the impossibly

high standard

of keeping God's law

perfectly.

God knows our heart.

He even knows

our hidden motives

for doing what

everybody else would think

is a good deed.

Only our Lord Jesus Christ

could turn his eyes

to God

and pray Psalm 26.

Vindicate me,

O Lord,

for I have walked

in my integrity.

Jesus could pray that.

Examine me, O Lord,

and prove me.

Try my heart

and my kidneys

for your loving kindness

is before my eyes

and I have walked

in your truth.

Jesus could say that.

No one else

without him.

Our Lord Jesus Christ

fulfilled the righteousness

that David lacked.

Jesus fulfilled

the righteousness

that you and I lack.

And he fulfilled this

on behalf of everyone

that he purchased

with his own blood.

So here's the first

encouragement

for you and me.

In Jesus Christ,

you and I

can now pray

along with David

for the Lord

to vindicate

our inner lives.

In Christ Jesus,

we can pray

asking God

to vindicate,

make visible

any good

that's in my

inner being.

Publicly display that

because it's not

my good.

It's not my

pure heart.

It's Christ in me.

That's what

I want the world

to see.

You and I

can pray

in Jesus Christ's name

because

his deepest

desires

were fully devoted

to do

the Father's will.

You and I

can pray

in Jesus Christ's name

because his

thoughts,

intentions,

and his trust

never once

slipped into sin.

You and I

can pray

in Jesus' name

because his

perfect inner life

is now

freely credited

to you

and me

as our own.

His Holy Spirit

in each believer

slowly transforms

our inner lives

to love

what Christ

loves.

When we find

ourselves

desiring good,

it's all

of Christ

in us

and it's

fueled

out of pure

gratitude

for his

great

grace.

Amen?

This is why

we resonate

so deeply

with those

beautiful choruses

like this one

when we sing,

I hear the

Savior say,

Thy strength

indeed is small.

Child of weakness,

watch and pray

and find in me

thine all in all.

And we respond

to the Lord.

Lord,

now indeed

I find

Thy power

and Thine alone

can change

the leper's spots

and melt

the heart

of stone.

For nothing

good have I

whereby

Thy grace

to claim.

I'll wash

my garments

white

in the blood

of Calvary's

lamb.

Jesus

died my soul

to save

and my lips

shall continue

to repeat.

Jesus paid

it all,

all to Him

I own.

sin

had left

a crimson

stain

but He

washed it

white

as snow.

Well,

now let's

continue to

work through

this psalm

interpreting it

as only Christ

could fulfill it

and now He

applies it

to us

His people.

Here's the

second encouragement

of why we

can pray

Psalm 26.

In Jesus

Christ,

you and I

now can also

pray for the

Lord to not

only vindicate

our inner

lives

but for Him

to also

vindicate

our outward

lives.

You and I

in Christ

can pray

for the

Lord to

vindicate

our outer

lives in

Christ.

That's what

David does

next in

verse 4.

He says,

I have not

sat with

deceitful

idolatrous

mortals

nor will I

go in

with hypocrites.

I have

hated the

assembly of

evildoers

and will

not sit

with the

wicked.

David is

meditating

on God's

word.

He's

praying

Psalm 1.

He's

reflecting

on the

path that

God promises

to be

blessed,

that Christ

ultimately

could fulfill

in Him

alone.

And he

also

contrasts

that with

the path

that perishes.

And it's

to walk,

to stand,

and to sit

with those

who hate

God,

with God's

enemies.

But we

think of

our Lord

Jesus Christ

and He

was known

to be

among

sinners.

And He

was known

to call

out the

Pharisees,

the hypocrites.

But it

wasn't Jesus

sitting at

the feet

of these

evildoers.

It was

them coming

to Jesus

because He

welcomed them

and them

sitting at

His feet,

listening to

His teaching,

His counsel.

And so many

of us,

we sit

every day

for lunch

at work

with people

who don't

know the

Lord.

They're His

enemies.

Christians.

But are

you sitting

there to

learn,

to receive

counsel,

to be

influenced

because these

are your

people?

You'll be

gathering

with them.

Or are

you a

disciple of

Jesus Christ

gathered with

Christ's people

as you are

today?

That's the

one thing

we have

in common.

A healthy

church is

Christ plus

nothing else.

The moment

we say this

church is about

Christ and

one more

thing,

that thing

is an

idol.

And it

will tear

a church

apart.

We're

gathered as

the assembly

of Christ's

people,

nothing else.

And when we

go into

the world,

all of the

scripture teaches

us that every

person,

every image

bearer is

God's

workmanship.

Every image

bearer still

has remaining

good in them

just as we

Christians have

remaining sin.

But God

hates the

evil deeds

of men

and their

rejection of

Him as

God.

Romans 1

18 says

that the

wrath of

God is

revealed from

heaven against

all ungodliness

and unrighteousness

of men who

by their

unrighteousness

suppress the

truth.

They don't

want to hear

about God.

God hates

it when men

assemble

themselves to

do evil.

There are

only two

camps in

this world

as we read

in the

parable that

Christ told

in Matthew

18.

The field

is the

world,

the whole

world.

You are

either wheat

that God

will harvest

for His

glory to

belong to

the great

assembly one

day,

or you

are the

weeds to

tear that

will be

cut down,

thrown into

the fire.

There is

no middle

ground.

If you

are not

assembled

with God's

people,

you are

of the

world.

What does

it mean to

sit in the

assembly of

evildoers?

I thought the

comments by

George Swinock

were very

helpful.

Three observations

about sitting.

Number one,

sitting is a

posture of

choice.

It's at a

man's liberty

whether he

will sit

or stand.

Number two,

sitting is a

posture of

pleasure.

Men sit

for their

ease and

with delight.

Therefore,

the glorified

are said in

Scripture to

sit in

heavenly

places.

Ephesians

2,

6.

Number three,

sitting is a

posture of

staying or

abiding.

Standing is a

posture of

going, but

sitting is a

posture of

staying.

The blessed

who shall

forever be

with the

Lord and

his chosen

are mentioned

in Scripture

to sit

down with

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob,

the great

cloud of

witnesses in

the kingdom

of heaven,

Matthew 8,

11.

That's the

end of

Swinock's

quote.

So,

believers,

in this

life, in

our outer

man, our

actions, our

walk, our

deeds,

will it be

characterized by

belonging to

the world or

by belonging to

Christ and

his kingdom?

We pray that

God will

vindicate, that

he'll see,

Lord, I used

to be of the

world.

You snatched

me out of

that.

I am firmly

with your

people.

In the

assembly of

your people,

make that

vindicated,

make that

visible.

Let me not

be ashamed to

be gathered in

the name of

King Jesus.

We can pray

that.

Believers

can ask God

to vindicate

our outer

life by

putting on

display the

good works of

Christ that

he is working

out through

me now.

You and I

can pray in

Christ's name

because his

active obedience

to the whole

law of God

perfectly fulfilled

every righteous

requirement in

our place.

So he declares

us justified.

And you and I

can pray in

Jesus' name

because his

passive obedience

and his

death fully

discharged our

legal debt and

completely satisfied

divine justice

on the cross.

See, God will

not punish what

Christ has already

borne.

We deserve to be

punished, but

Christ was punished

in our place.

So on the great

day of judgment,

there is no

punishment that a

just God can or

will pour out on

those he already

saved and

redeemed and

punished in

Christ.

You and I can

pray in Jesus

Christ's name

because his

merit is now

freely given.

It's transferred.

It's imputed to

us by his grace

alone and his

spirit in us.

He puts the

Holy Spirit

inside believers

and that spirit

generates all the

power and is

the channel of

all the power we

need to walk

in union with

Christ.

So if we do

perform a good

work, it will

be limited.

It will not be

contributing at all

to our justification.

But God will

receive it as if

it were a glorious

work, as if Christ

himself had done

that good work.

And on that great

day of judgment,

the outer life, the

walk of all God's

people before his

throne will bring

glory to Christ that

way.

It will be the good

works, those things

God commanded, his

church did.

Not because of any

motive other than it

was Christ who lives

in them, performing

them through them.

God has commanded that

his church gather and

pray.

When any one of the

brothers up here or

I, we get the

microphone and we do

our best to pray

publicly.

If we think too much

about ourselves, we

just want to say,

Lord, I confess, I

apologize.

I was a weak

prayer.

It was so limited.

It's not what I felt

in my heart.

My words didn't do

justice.

But God, in his

grace, he receives

that as if it was

Jesus Christ glorified

without any human

constraints, praying

that good work, that

good prayer on behalf

of that brother and on

behalf of us as a

church doing our best

to pray with them.

Believers, our

confession of faith

helpfully summarizes

from scripture, are

accepted through Christ

and thus their good

works are also

accepted in him.

Good works are not

our ideas, but what

God has commanded.

This acceptance does

not mean our good

works are completely

blameless and

irreproachable in

God's sight.

They would be

reproachable.

Instead, God views

them in his Son, and

so he is pleased to

accept and reward that

which is sincere by the

help of the Spirit, even

though it is

accompanied by many

weaknesses and

imperfections.

Isn't that comforting?

And so we can pray for

the Lord to vindicate

even our outer life, even

those good works he's

commanded, because we

know it's Christ

performing them through

us for his glory.

Here's the third

encouragement.

God vindicates us in

the inner man and the

outer man, and you and

I and Jesus Christ can

also pray for the Lord

to vindicate us when we

enter his presence every

Lord's Day in this life.

Even now as we gather to

worship in his name, we

can pray that right now

this worship will be

vindicated, that it will

make visible and be

considered good and just

in his eyes as we enter

his presence in this

life.

That's what David is

describing in verses 6,

7, and 8.

He's describing a public

worship gathering under

the old covenant

regulations.

Look at verse 6.

He says,

I will wash my hands in

innocence, so I will go

about your altar, O Lord,

that I may proclaim with

the voice of thanksgiving

and tell of all your

wondrous works.

In verse 8 he says,

Lord, I have loved the

habitation of your house,

the place where your

glory dwells.

And under the old

covenant, this was a

geographic spot.

It was Zion.

It was the temple, or in

David's time, the

tabernacle in Jerusalem,

the house of God, the

place where his glory

dwells in a concentrated,

magnified way.

I loved how our brother

Jonathan pointed out

during our Bible study,

this is a great picture

of the king, King David,

praying a prayer that no

king would ever pray.

He's praying the prayer

of a priest.

And it foreshadows how

the Lord will unite a

king office with the

priestly office and a

prophetic office.

And that's only possible

in the work of Jesus.

Washing the hands, it's

where you would come in

to do the work of a

priest, the ceremonial

washings.

You take the water out

of the lava, what they

call the sea.

And you wash your hands

so that you as a

minister will be clean to

do the work.

In verse 7, proclaiming

with a voice and

ministering around the

altar, that's calling the

people to behold what's

on the altar here.

It's a substitutionary

sacrifice to atone for

your sins by blood, which

God requires.

Let's sing with

thanksgiving, declare

God's wondrous works.

The king, the priest,

the prophet.

I'm reminded how David

also, through Samuel,

knew the lesson that our

Lord loves obedience

more than sacrifice.

He rebukes those who

approach God and they

want to be only pardoned

on the outside, just by

the blood of the Lamb.

But their deeds, their

hands continue to do

evil unrepentantly.

So to wash your hands, it

means to have nothing to

do with evil in order for

sinners to approach God

according to the

ceremonial law.

They needed to be washed

before they had access

to the blood.

He says, Lord, I have

loved the habitation of

your house, the place

where your glory dwells.

And you and I can pray

that in the same way.

Lord, make visible when I

gather in your presence,

even in this life, make it

visible that I belong to

you.

That this is sincere for

me.

I love to be where your

glory dwells.

I love the habitation of

your house.

I love church.

An old minister of the

gospel told this story of a

worthy, aged woman,

quote, who has for many

years been so deaf as to

not distinguish the loudest

sound.

And yet, she is always one

of the first in the public

worship meeting place.

On asking the reason for

her constant attendance, as

it was impossible for her

to hear the voice of the

preacher preaching, she

answered, even though I

cannot hear you, I come to

God's house because I love

it and would be found in

his ways.

And he gives me many a

sweet thought upon the

text, the sermon passage,

that is pointed out to me.

And another reason is

because here I am in the

best company in the more

immediate presence of God

and among his people, his

saints, the honorable of

the earth.

I am not satisfied with

serving God in private.

It is my duty and privilege

to honor my God regularly

in public.

Amen.

Brothers and sisters, you

and I know this joy.

Every time we gather in

Jesus' name and we can

pray when we're gathered

publicly like this in his

presence, in this life,

because his hands, the

hands of our Lord Jesus

Christ in his life, in his

work, they were always

clean, absolute innocence.

You and I can enter into his

presence today and every

Lord's Day because he alone

first entered the Holy of

Holies with flawless

obedience, which God loves

more than any sacrifice.

You and I can pray in Jesus'

name because Jesus Christ is

our altar.

He is our lamb and he is our

great high priest.

Amen.

We pray in his name because his

soul completely loved the

habitation of God's house.

A zeal for the house of God

consumed him that it would be a

house of prayer.

And he ministers to us the

acceptable way of worshiping

God truly in spirit and in

truth.

You and I can enter his

presence today and every

Lord's Day because he draws us

into the immediate presence of

the holy, holy, holy God

through our union to him.

And it's because our Lord

mediates for us.

He vindicates you and me every

Lord's Day among his great

gathered congregation in heaven,

the great cloud of witnesses.

He's there vindicating us

already saying these are my

people too.

They'll be with us soon.

And he reminds you and me now

of our right standing that we

enjoy this moment that will one

day be vindicated finally on the

great judgment day.

Well, the fourth and final

encouragement for today,

not only does our Lord vindicate

us to enter his presence in this

life, but in Jesus Christ,

you and I can now also pray for

the Lord to vindicate us when we

will enter his presence in the

next life also.

Look at verse 9.

David's eyes now shift to the

future.

He says, do not gather my soul

with sinners, nor my life with

bloodthirsty men.

He's talking about a soul one day

being gathered.

And our scripture reading said of

the wheat and the tares, the weeds.

David's praying, Lord, on that

great day of judgment, don't let

my soul be counted among the

sinners, the evildoers,

bloodthirsty men, those whose

hands is a sinister scheme and

whose right hand is full of

bribes.

And it's right for us to have that

healthy fear, just that reminder,

that reverence that God's judgment

is coming and it's a real thing.

This should quicken us.

It should give us a sense of

urgency to make sure that everyone

has heard the gospel and been

warned.

George Swinnock again commented of a

faithful woman who prayed on her

deathbed after wrestling with

natural doubts that Christians will

have about salvation.

She prayed, Lord, please do not send

me to hell among the wicked.

For you know I never loved their

company during my life.

My only joy was being among your

children here on earth.

Will I really be shut out from their

company in eternity?

Oh, do not sweep my soul away with

sinners to face the wine press of

your eternal anger.

That's what David's praying here as

well.

Verse 11, but as for me, he says, I will

walk in my integrity.

Integrity is wholeness.

It means a person's life is unified.

My words and my deeds do not

constantly contradict one another.

My heart and my actions in a limited

way, those stumbling, they line up.

My prayer and my walk are bound

together because my life is in Christ

and Christ is training me, teaching

me to pray.

And the great day of judgment at the

end of this life and the great day

when the bodies of all the dead will

be reunited to their souls and all

will stand before God as judge.

You'll either be with him for all

eternity or you will be crushed by his

holy wrath and hate for sin for all

eternity.

This thought is so heavy, but it's the

focus of the psalmist in these verses.

We can't dodge it.

Thomas Boston commented that death is

God's gathering time wherein he gets

the souls belonging to him and the

devil gets the souls belonging to him.

They did not go long together, but then

they are parted and the saints are

taken home to the congregation of the

saints and sinners to the congregation

of sinners.

And it concerns us to say, gather not my

soul with sinners.

Whoever be our people here on earth on

this life, God's people or the devil's

death will gather our souls to them for

all eternity.

Every time we have the great joy, the

great privilege of calling a soul, a

person into membership of this church,

this little visible outpost of the

kingdom of heaven.

We are calling them out of the world

and into the church.

And all of eternity hinges on whether

you're united to Christ.

And if so, you'll be with his people.

Or have you rejected Christ?

And if so, your people are the world.

Even in desiring and pledging to God

that David will walk in integrity, in

these last thoughts, verses 11 and 12,

David confesses his dependence on God to

save and forgive him.

Look at verse 11.

David says, redeem me.

Redeem means to purchase back, to ransom,

to save something that belonged to someone

else.

Redeem me and be merciful to me.

To be merciful is to not give someone what

they do deserve.

Someone deserves punishment and wrath and

God's anger because of sin.

But mercy means to pass over, to not pour out

on them what they deserve.

And the final reflection that David gives us

in verse 12 is this.

My foot stands in an even place.

In the congregations, I will bless the Lord.

To stand before God on uneven ground

means that you are wobbly, you're unstable,

you're uncertain about your standing before God.

David is thanking the Lord for redeeming him

and trusting God's mercy to continue.

See, in the end, we can understand that

David had the same faith we have in Christ.

David was enslaved and hopeless on his own.

But God teaches him to pray to the Redeemer.

David was guilty, deserving God's great punishment.

But God teaches him to pray, trusting in God's

great mercy.

Redeem me and be merciful to me.

As believers, we also trust that our vindication

depends on God's constant upholding redemption

and mercy.

And we approach God in the same posture as David.

We pray in Jesus Christ's name

because Jesus' life

was the only life of seamless, unbroken integrity.

We pray in Christ's name

because he promises that he will gather

everyone he purchased with his own precious blood

into that great congregation of his people,

all who are united to him.

And he will vindicate everyone that he saved.

He will make our eternal redemption

by his mercy visible for the whole world to see.

And there in the presence of our holy God

before his throne,

your feet and mine will stand stable

on solid ground in the presence of God forevermore.

And we can sing what we sing now.

And now in him complete,

my robe his righteousness.

I'll rejoice with all my might.

I am now divinely blessed.

And when before the throne,

I stand in him complete.

Jesus died my soul to save.

My lips shall still repeat.

Jesus paid it all.

All to him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain,

but he has washed me white as snow.

Brothers and sisters and dear friends today,

make sure that you depend on Christ's mercy

as your redeemer.

In him alone can we ask God to vindicate us.

And we trust that Christ's prayers

for your vindication and mine,

God will fulfill.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's thank him.

Father, we praise you.

You are our redeemer.

You're pleased to make visible,

make public to prove your great salvation.

We know you will do this one day, Lord,

for the whole world to see.

And we trust that that same reality

is our reality now,

though we trust this by faith and not by sight.

We pray, Father,

that you will apply the word

that was preached today

to the hearts and lives and walks

of everyone you brought

to hear your word today, Father.

We ask this for Christ's precious name,

for his sake alone.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.