Psalm 18:1-2 (NASB)
1 I love You, O LORD, my strength.”
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:20-23 (NASB)
20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

Psalm 19:11-14 (NASB)
11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

As I was reading the psalms of David, I thought about how God uses scripture and the writers of it to point out that we are the creature, His creation. And because of the fall we are not perfect. Only His righteousness can cleanse us. In psalm 18, David begins with beautiful praises to God, acknowledging that He is our strength, our rock, and our salvation. But later in the psalm, I cringe as I read verses 20-23 as David takes credit for the rewards that God has bestowed on him. It makes us realize that David was a creature, just like all of us – weak and wavering.

Then as I moved on to psalm 19, in the last four verses David shows clarity as he understands that it is only God that can keep us from the wrong path. It is His righteousness that is pure. And the psalm ends with the familiar verse, asking God to keep the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, acceptable to Him.

Verse 14 is a cry for clarity. David acknowledges his imperfection without God’s help. He claims his Savior because only He can redeem him.

Our lives are the same. We waver as the Holy Spirit works in our lives to bring the perfection of Jesus to us. I pray that God brings clarity into my life and the lives of all His children.

Always praying for the glory of God,