Loving Judge
David’s prayer for judgment is not reckless bravado, but quiet trust in a God whose justice is shaped by grace and whose scrutiny is meant to heal.
By Steve Wilkins
“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, 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 an aspect of God’s nature that we routinely miss. God loves us and desires to see us become the best versions of ourselves. 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 trust His heart, confess our sin, and return to a loving relationship.
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
Judgment, in God’s hands, is not exposure for condemnation.
It is exposure for healing.
Not a verdict meant to destroy, but a leading meant to restore.
A Closing Prayer
Lord,
Search me—not to shame me, but to heal me.
Show me what You already see,
and give me the courage to trust Your verdict over my own self-condemnation.
Lead me away from the anxious and hurtful ways,
and guide me again into the way that lasts.
Amen.