Psalm 54
O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
2
O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3
For strangers have risen against me;
ruthless men seek my life;
they do not set God before themselves. Selah
4
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5
He will return the evil to my enemies;
in your faithfulness put an end to them.
6
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
“Innocent until proven guilty.” This value in our judicial system is actually rare. In most countries, if you are arrested, you are assumed guilty. You must prove your innocence. If you can vindicate yourself, you may be set free.
This rare value in our judicial system, is needed to offset common human behavior. If we hear that someone “may” be guilty of a crime, that person is nearly always considered a criminal. No trial is needed in the court of public opinion. The damage to a person’s reputation is immediate.
The Psalmist laments the attacks of individuals who were striving to destroy him. He called the attackers are called ruthless. Why are they ruthless? They do not acknowledge God. They are identified by their behavior as being of the evil one.
But, instead of giving up under the barrage of their painful and persistent attacks, the Psalmist shows his faith in the Lord and God’s ultimate vindication of his cause. What does it mean to be vindicated? It means to free someone of blame, or suspicion. How can the Psalmist hope for this great salvation? The Psalmist believes in the Lord.
God is the one who can vindicate us, even in the face of Satan’s horrible accusations, even in the face of the reality of our sins. Jesus died on the cross for our forgiveness. Jesus offered His Holy life for our sinful lives, so that we can receive from Him a gift we could never earn. Thus forgiven God stands us up to walk before Him by faith, trusting in His Grace, and acknowledging His power to raise up our lives to be holy lives, in keeping with His Will. Through faith in Jesus we are a new creation. By Grace through faith, we vindicated by the love of God in Jesus.
Let us pray
I thank you Lord for your great love and mercy in coming to my defense. I confess my many sins and failures. I confess your holy life and death were offered for me and all the sins of the world. O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might. In Your name I pray, AMEN.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.