“Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For Your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in Your faithfulness.“
(Psalms 26:1-3 ESV)
We know that Jesus is present in the Scriptures, from start to finish. He is the Word who was “in the beginning,” who was with God, who was and is God (see Genesis 1:1, John 1:1). We hear our Savior’s promise as the Scriptures draw to a close: “Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20b ESV). The psalms, too, speak of Him, foretelling His betrayal (see Psalm 41), His crucifixion (see Psalm 22) and His resurrection and exaltation (see Psalm 118).
The Lord who is foretold in Scripture used those Scriptures in prayer. Jesus spoke in the words of a psalm as He prayed from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1a ESV). As He yielded up His spirit, His final prayer may have been inspired by a psalm: “Into Your hand I commit My spirit; You have redeemed Me, O LORD, faithful God” (Psalm 31:5 ESV). Jesus prayed the psalms, but it may be difficult for us to pray some of those inspired words, including these: “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.” If we are honest about our lives, integrity and unwavering trust are traits that do not always characterize our behavior. Yet we can easily imagine Jesus praying those words that so well describe Him as He walked in integrity and placed unwavering trust in His Heavenly Father.
Other words of the same psalm also apply to the life of our Savior: “Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” Jesus’ unwavering trust was proven and tried, His sinless heart and mind tested as He took up the cross. He remained faithful and obedient to His Father “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8b ESV). Then on the third day after Jesus’ death, the Heavenly Father in His faithfulness vindicated His Son and “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24 ESV).
Through faith in Jesus, we are vindicated because God is faithful to His promises. He forgives our sins for Jesus’ sake and raises us up to a new life. We are justified, clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. We come before God’s throne in prayer, dressed in Jesus’ holiness and integrity and so we pray, “Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For Your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in Your faithfulness.” Our Lord is faithful to forgive and restore us, and we walk each day in His faithfulness.
We Pray: Lord, lead me to follow You in integrity and trust. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on August 28, 2023
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. How does the testing of our faith strengthen our reliance on God?
2. How hard do you think it was for Jesus to remain obedient to God and go to the cross for us?
3. How does Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection set us free?