in Psalm 5, David pleads with God to “lead me in thy righteousness.” What is the righteousness of God? And why does David have to be led into it?
Righteousness in the Bible is always being just, no matter what. God does not possess any prejudice, partiality or preference when dealing with His children. He loves us each equally and judges us by the same law, His law of unconditional love and justice. To God, there are no grey areas. If there were, there would be wiggle room for judgement. Like human attorneys, He would be citing exceptions to the rules and trying to justify the if’s and but’s. But He doesn’t. What is law for you is law for me.
Why does David ask to be led into God’s righteousness? Because we humans don’t know how to be just, do we? Our viewpoints are tainted by emotions, experiences, teachings and dsiappointments. We “interpret” the laws and see the world the through skewed lens of self. We need God to guide us, to be the God He has promised to be – totally unbiased, fair and just. The God who forgives our sins and shortcomings through the sacrifice of His own Son on the cross because He know we all have fallen short. If God was not a totally just God, His mercy would be meaningless and His grace diluted.
David was asking God to judge him fairly, to seek out his heart. To come to His aid, even if he had done wrong. That is a pretty bold statement. But David had faith. David was hardly perfect. He knew he had sinned big time, but He never stopped loving God and wanting to do His will.
How about you? Are you that bold to come before God and say “judge me fairly”? If you believe that Jesus died so you could be forgiven and that nothing can separate you from God’s love, not even your own negativity, then yes, you can be so bold. How awesome that we can kneel before the Creator of the Universe and have Him look our way, with tenderness in His eyes. That we can say, “I’m sorry, Dad. I really, really am,” and be beckoned to crawl up in His lap to receive His love and protection. How wonderful His lap is big enough for all who want to come. All we have to do is say we are sorry, that we need His mercy and believe that through Christ it is made available to us. Meet ya there.
