Psalm 26 From the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
² Examine me, O Lord, and try me;
Test my mind and my heart.
³ For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men,
Nor will I go with pretenders.
⁵ I hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶ I shall wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
⁷ That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving
And declare all Your wonders.

⁸ O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house
And the place where Your glory dwells.
⁹ Do not take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with men of bloodshed,
¹⁰ In whose hands is a wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of bribes.
¹¹ But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹² My foot stands on a level place;
In the congregations I shall bless the Lord.

Proverbs 6:16-19  

There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
¹⁷ Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹ A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.

As I read the verses from Proverbs above, I could not help but to think how much in our current culture and society the Lord hates. Could it not be said that our society checkes every one of the boxes listed. I was struck in particular by “hands that shed innocent blood.”  What blood could be considered more innocent than the blood of an unborn baby in its mother’s womb?  Make no mistake, no matter how our society spins it or frames it, calling it a choice or a woman’s right, those babies, with beating hearts, who are torn apart, shed blood. To think that a state in our nation just passed a law allowing that innocent blood to be shed up until birth is appalling and an abomination. To think that a governor in another state suggested that even after birth, babies could be kept comfortable until a decision was made about whether they should live or die, certainly is hated by God. There is no justification. There is no realistic debate, so there should be none. It is an abomination. We should not ask that God would forgive us as we continue, but rather we should cease, repent and ask that we be forgiven for what we have done.

The proverb says:  a lying tongue and a false witness who utters lies, are also hated by God. Lies and false testimony are the norm, in politics, in the news media and in our court and legal systems. In every aspect of our culture, truth and honesty are no longer valued and esteemed, neither are they expected, let alone required. There may be little or no consequences for dishonesty and false accusations or testimony in our society, but to God it is an abomination. He hates it and so should we. The proverb continues: A heart that devises wicked plans, And one who spreads strife among brothers.  These too, are prevalent throughout our culture. Again, the news media does little reporting that does not support their agenda. They have devised a plan about what they will say and how they will say it. The goal of many people, throughout society, in entertainment, media and politics, is to devise plans that spread strife and division. About the only thing we are unified in is division.

The last two things that are mentioned are: Haughty eyes and feet that run rapidly to evil.  In Isaiah 5:20, God says:  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.   There is certainly a level of haughtiness or arrogance in today’s culture. There is an arrogance in contradicting and defying God. There is an arrogance in calling evil good and good evil, many today have that haughtiness and arrogance. Even more than calling evil good, they run rapidly to evil. Morality is mocked and immorality is celebrated. Surely our society is running rapidly to evil; running from the love and compassion of God to the very things He hates. Again, our culture checks every box of the things God hates.

Contrast our society with what the psalmist says in today’s text:  Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O Lord, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.  Perhaps we cannot declare as confidently as the psalmist that we have walked in integrity. Perhaps we have not fully trusted in the Lord. We may not have walked fully in truth. But still, we can wash our hands in innocence. 1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Hebrews 4:16 says:  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  So we can come to and go about the altar of God. We can proclaim God’s goodness, with a voice of thanksgiving and we can declare all of His wonders. We can run to Him and run from evil.

May the words of the psalmist be our declaration and prayer:  O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells. Do not take my soul away along with sinners, Nor my life with men of bloodshed, In whose hands is a wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; Redeem me, and be gracious to me. My foot stands on a level place; In the congregations I shall bless the Lord.  Amen.