Psalm 5

“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.”  Psalm 5:4-8 (NKJV)

The holiness of God is incomparable to mankind. That truth is often confusing when God determines to bestow mercy on some men while sternly judging others. Our great existential predicament is that we are all sinful and imperfect creatures (Romans 3:23). Yet, His standard for communing with us is that we must be perfect (Matthew 5:48). In today’s passage, David, a sinner like the rest of mankind, is beseeching the Lord to make a judgment between himself and men who are seeking to kill him. What is intriguing to us is how David asks the Lord to distinguish his pursuers as deserving of judgment while he expects God’s mercy for himself.

Indeed, some people believe their personal righteousness deserves God’s reward, yet they will not receive it. Consider the words of Jesus concerning the arrogance of unbelievers expecting an eternal reward.

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Mathew 7:23 (NKJV)

Does this mean we are all doomed sinners, fated to eternal damnation for falling short of God’s standard? Absolutely not! We have a choice.

“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” Ezekiel 33:11(NKJV)

The fact that we are sinners does not exclude us from the hope of salvation. But it is not our accumulation of personal righteousness that saves us. Instead, it is the object of our faith, Jesus, who saves us! He has paid the penalty our sin deserves, and moreover, He imputes (accredits) His righteousness to us when we place our trust in Him, alone, for our salvation.  

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:8) (NKJV)

How could David confidently make a distinction between himself and other men? Because He had chosen to follow the Lord, as revealed in His Word. The same is true for us.  

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” John 1:12 (John 1:1;14) (NKJV)