Psalm 18

²⁰        The Lord has dealt with me

     according to my righteousness;

     according to the cleanness of my hands He rewarded me.

²¹        I have kept the ways of the Lord,

     I have not wickedly left my God.

²²        All His ordinances are before me,

     I have not put away His statutes from me.

²³        I was blameless before Him,

     I have kept myself from sin.

²⁴        Therefore the Lord has rewarded me

     according to my  righteousness;

     according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

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God’s Righteous Favor

For the Lord’s Day:  the 2^nd of May 2004

Introduction:  I would think that a solid Calvinist who read this section without regard to the ongoing context could almost hyperventilate on the words and insinuations clearly stated.  Calvin himself helps us to put this section in the proper perspective, and in my translation and grouping of verses I have made certain that the third line of verse twenty-five is accorded a dominant feature of the Psalmist’s expressive poetry.

 

Calvin writes:  “David might seem at first sight to contradict himself; for, while a little before he declared that all the blessings which he possessed were to be traced to the good pleasure of God, he now boasts that God rendered to him a just recompense.”  And at the end of a lengthy argument in this vein: he concludes:  “We ought not, however, to think that David, for the sake of vain boasting; we ought rather to view the Holy Spirit as intending by the mouth of David to reach us the profitable doctrine, that the aid of God will never fail us, provided we follow our calling, keep ourselves within the limits which it prescribes, and undertake nothing without the command or warrant of God.”

 

In detailing the difference between “one who is purified,” with “one who is purifying himself” Delitzsch refers us quickly to 1 John 3: 3, where we read:  “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

 

The Apostle Paul too encourages us in the process of realizing the blessed work of Him to whom we owe everything.  In Philippians 2: 12-13 he writes: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

 

Later in life, even as David does in the grand poetic structure of this hymn – Paul demonstrates the relationship of the Lord’s blessings and the work to which we are called day by day, even as David was:  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”  2 Timothy 4: 7

 

Therefore let us not be troubled by the phrases before us, just so long as we put them in the greater context of a life lived in obedience – thereby we may all realize the Divine grace and mercy.

 

Spurgeon gives us another take on the text:  “Viewing this Psalm as prophetical of the Messiah, these strongly-expressed claims to righteousness are readily understood, for his garments were white as snow; but considered as the language of David they have perplexed many.”  However, he too is concerned that we maintain an orthodox understanding of what David experienced and reported.  “The dispensations of divine grace are to the fullest degree sovereign and irrespective of human merit, yet in the dealings of Providence there is often discernible a rule of justice by which the injured are at length avenged, and the righteous ultimately delivered.”

 

Development:  With that said, let us probe the experiential evidence here revealed by David to demonstrate the blessings heaped upon us by our great God of mercy.

 

We begin with verse twenty: “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He rewarded me.”  Yes – we do understand that all of our hands are dirty and whenever we come to that realization physically or spiritually there are means and methods of finding a cleansing wash.  May I be so bold as to suggest that the Old Covenant ceremonial law pointed us towards the final and best means of washing: in the blood of Christ our Lord and Savior – of course.

 

Some years ago – a solid conservative friend began to badger me about working in the public schools as being too sinful for an honest man.  Indeed some of our overseas troopers are beginning to realize the frustrations of their fathers in Viet Nam and their grandfathers in World War Two.  Their hands have become bloody because of the ongoing necessary business of war.  As I realized it in the military and social services: yes – sometimes we have to do things to achieve a greater and better cause.  A wonderful Army Colonel encouraged me and another solder when a jealous sergeant had charged us with breaking multiple rules and regulations.  He called us in after he had done a thorough investigation and told us that while technically we had erred, he was certain that we had attempted to do what was best for the service and that we were within the spirit of the law so to speak.  He also admonished us that he expected us to do likewise if the opportunity ever presented itself again – because: he said it was our willingness to live on the edge and find a means to accomplish a certain good that led to his decision!  The Army need men like us, he encouraged!

 

I know for certain that in the raising of three prosperous and hardworking sons – that I ignored numerous social expectations and selective legislation that would have hampered my job as a father and role model.  The same attitude was also necessary to achieve educational excellence in the midst of a public system that bordered on fraud, irresponsibility and down right stupidity.  That necessary and ongoing opposition finally got to me, so I retired as early as I was able.

 

Through it all, I certainly learned to love the Psalms that met my life on the edge day after day.  It was the sustenance of the Psalms that made my public life possible and productive in the long run.

 

I know that you are all used to a detailed verse by verse study in the course of the ongoing exposition of the Psalter.  So I would ask your indulgence and patience as I take a big chunk of three similar verses and summarize the similarities of their content.  Let’s consider verses twenty-one through twenty-three:

 

“I have kept the ways of the Lord,

I have not wickedly left my God.

All His ordinances are before me,

I have not put away His statutes from me.

I was blameless before Him,

I have kept myself from my guilt”

 

In a few months when we reach Psalm 24 we will read the grand questions in verse three: “Who may ascend … and who shall stand?”  The answer of course is given immediately afterwards in verse four:  “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”  Then verse five in that same Psalm tells us:  “He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

 

We can also go all the way back to the beginning of the Psalter, to Psalm 1 where we learn of the multiple blessings given to those who neither stands nor sits in the presence and knowledge of the wicked.  So, again – we are reminded that every aspect of life, work and witness is done in, through and for the higher and greater glory of Triune God and Creator of heaven and earth.

 

In verse twenty-one David contrasts his ongoing options: in the positive sense he has recognized the work, wisdom and way of the Lord and in the negative sense, he has not wickedly strayed from the path of righteousness either.  In verse twenty-two we read in a similar vein, first the positive: that he has read the requirements of the Lord God and then the negative: that he has not put any Divine portion of revealed wisdom at arm’s length.

 

Spurgeon too notices this pattern in these verses:  “Here the assertion of purity is repeated, both in a positive and a negative form.  “There is ‘I have’ and ‘I have not,’ both of which must be blended in a truly sanctified life; constraining and restraining grace must each take its share.”

 

This pattern of contrasts continues into verse twenty-three where we see that the Psalmist may appear blameless before the Lord of all the earth.  Please note that in these verses, the word “because” is not evident except in the most inferior translations.  This should be one more bit of evidence that Calvin’s understanding of this section is the correct interpretation:  that sovereign blessings are welcomed by the elect of every age because we have all received more, much – much more through grace and mercy, than we ever deserved by any worldly standards.

 

Now, let us be certain that we handle the last phrase of this section with especial care and concern.  The words here seem awkward and many translators would rather translate it this way:  “I have kept myself from sin.”  However, the actual text requires us to write:  I have kept myself from my guilt” Older translations replace the word “guilt” with “iniquity.”  My Translator’s Handbook observes that “guilt,” “is generally understood to refer to a Person’s awareness of having done wrong and feeling bad about it.”

 

Calvin addresses the turmoil of the soul in this regard when he writes:  “[David] tacitly acknowledges that he had not been so pure and free from sinful affections … He had therefore to fight in his own mind against many temptations, for as he was a man, he must have felt in the flesh on many occasions the stirrings of vexation and anger.  But this was the proof of his virtue, that he imposed a restraint upon himself, and refrained from whatever he knew to be contrary to the word of God.”

 

Years ago, one of my ongoing adversaries observed that I contained my anger well – but they were concerned if it was always controllable.  I simply informed them that I would be certain to let them know when and if I ceased to be a Christian – so that they could then give their fears a solid foundation!  Since that was unlikely, I assured them that they were safe: since there is no such thing as a Christian terrorist!  That religious anomaly is better left to the followers of Mohammed as proof of their true father and purpose.

 

Application:  We come now to the twenty-fourth verse, our last for the day.  I don’t know if you can see it in your translation, but I have attempted to highlight the positive and negative aspect of the center three verses which are captured between the beginning and ending verses that use a statement, qualified by two dependent phrases.  “According to” is the repetitive phrase that enhances the opening and closing statements.

 

“Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.”  Calvin notes well on the last line:  “In these words there is evidently a contrast between the eyes of God and the blinded or malignant eyes of the world; as if he had said, I disregard false and wicked calumnies, provided I am pure and upright in the sight of God, whose judgment can never be perverted by malevolent or other vicious and perverse affections.”

 

Again, if we are reminded of the Christ-o-centric possibilities of the Divine righteousness, then all of the New Testament instruction of Christ’s imputed righteousness helps us to comprehend the ongoing graciousness that enables our witness in the spirit of David reflected in the majestic tones of this wonderful and ageless Psalm.  And thereby we may affirm the essential teaching point of this portion:  that we, along with David and all the other saints are empowered to do the perfect will of Him who saves us from our imperfections and that thereby in lives lived in the full light of God’s grace and mercy can yield a greater reflected glory to the cause of Christ and our God in heaven.  May He manage us to that end day by day.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

The Westminster Confession & Catechisms.

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