V1 – David comes to the Lord asking for justice. He cries for help and asks God to pay attention because He prays from a sincere heart. He is talking about sincerity when coming before the Lord.
Coming with an open and sincere heart before God matters. It is going before Him in truth. And these are the kinds of worshippers He wants. As He said:
John 4:24 NKJV – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
And He has also said:
Hebrews 10:22 NIV – Let us draw near to God with a SINCERE heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
What does sincerity mean when coming before God?
Sincerity is the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy. Don’t come before God thinking you can hide other things from him and tell him others. For example, you and I can’t come to God hiding your sin and ignoring it, regardless of what He has said in his word, and then come asking for anything. We can’t come before him asking for material things/healing/ and what we perceive to be important and not be ready to bring our hypocrisy before Him. We can’t come before the Lord hiding our disobedience to his word but asking for him to use us.
When we come before the Lord, we must be open — our hearts are ways must be open to Him. Because regardless of whether you acknowledge your ways or not, He still knows everything about you and nothing is hidden before Him.
(Lord, I come, with an open heart, deal with me in every area of my life. Cause me to obey you and to be like you. My heart’s desire is to completely walk in your ways.)
V2 – The Lord sees those who do right. He knows them and their actions are not hidden from Him.
He knows those who are innocent. And who are these? Well, we know that every person is a sinner and without a savior, you can NEVER be innocent. The ones whose transgressions are forgiven are the ones who have accepted Jesus as their savior and Lord (master).
But after accepting the Lord, many stumble in being true (sincere) believers and Christians. We are called to be obedient children, loving the Lord with sincerity. Loving God is obeying his commands. After we have accepted him therefore, we must check if we are really standing in him or we are still walking in our old ways of sin and rebellion to God.
Apostle Paul talked about people who say they are Christians but are not:
2 Corinthians 13:5 Living Bible – Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all?
Check on yourself!
V3-5 – There is something very profound in what David is saying here. David is saying that He has truly given his heart to God and to following his commands.
And He does not mean just outwardly, He means from the depth of his heart that He has loved God’s commands and obeyed them, to the best of his knowledge. He is saying that even in his private life, which is not seen by anyone, he has been careful to honor the Lord.
When you evaluate yourself, can you say these words like David?
In verse 4, we also note that DAVID knows that God’s commands keep him from harm – from evil and cruel people. That’s part of what God’s word does. It keeps people from harm. So you want to avoid harm? – keep God’s word.
I also see in verse 3 that God searches and tests the thoughts and the heart of a person. He looks keenly at our true motives and intentions. He looks to see if they are pure and if they honor him.
(Help me father, to honor you in my private and public life. Let me know to obey your word. Let me reminded of your precepts and your instruction to me.)
V6-12 – By his mighty power, God rescues those who seek refuge from their enemies.
The enemy fights against those who put their trust in the Lord. The enemy is murderous, always looking to kill us and our faith in God. The enemy has no pity and is boastful, He tries to track us down and is always looking for the chance to throw us down. Like a hungry lion in ambush, the enemy wants to tear me apart.
So, what can I do?
I will not lie hopeless, waiting for the attack. I will run to Him who is able to protect me. Him who is able to keep me from all harm. I will cry out to Him “only you can keep me Oh God. You can keep me from stumbling and falling.” We cry out to God because He is also the one who is able to keep us from stumbling and falling in our faith in Him.
Jude 24-25 BSB – Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity.
(Father, in your mercy, keep us in you, in your love. Keep us hidden in you Oh Lord.)
V13 – The Lord will stand against the enemies of those who trust in Him by his power.
What a glorious truth, He will protect us. We just have to be under his wings.
V14 – We truly cannot look to the world for a reward. Those who do that always fail and will be destroyed. The world cannot give any reward. Only the Lord can give a true reward.
For those who trust in the Lord, their children will have plenty and they will leave an inheritance for their descendants.
V15 – The righteous will see the Lord. We have been made the righteousness of God through Christ and thus we will see the Lord.
When we awake, we see the Lord and we are satisfied in Him.
But at the same time, when we awake in heaven, we will see Him and be satisfied.
This can be understood by knowing that those who die (physically) in the Lord have only slept. They are awake beyond the grave.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV – Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
He is our satisfaction.