Loving Judge

Let my judgment come forth from Your presence.
—Psalm 17:2

On the surface, this seems like a risky prayer.
Praying to be judged by God? The God who sees everything. Who knows everything. David makes it clear elsewhere that nothing is hidden from God. Asking for judgment from such a God seems utterly foolish.

Except for the realization that God does see everything. God does know everything.

David had learned that God does not use the same standards for judgment that we use. We focus on words, actions, and consequences. We compare the alleged offense to what we think we know of God’s law. We then treat that law as a definitive list of rules meant to govern behavior and punish the offender accordingly. In one sense, that is what the law does — it governs our actions.

But in a deeper sense, God’s law is intended to reveal the heart of God, and to demonstrate that keeping His law perfectly is impossible.

So here we find David standing naked before his Creator, saying, in effect, I trust Your righteous judgment to see exactly what my offense was, and to act in accordance with Your gracious nature.

David had come to understand that God was not primarily interested in his actions, but in the condition of his heart. And David had a heart after God’s own heart.

He had a fierce confidence in the righteousness of the God who always answered those prayers.

You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tested me and You find nothing. —Psalm 17:3

David discovered that God loves us and desires to see us become the men and women He created us to be. He is not sitting on His throne on high, waiting for an adequate reason to smite us. NO!

He is leaning in toward us, calling us to confess our sin, trust His heart, and embrace restoration.

That is why David can pray again, without fear:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.”
—Psalm 139:23–24