Verses 1-12, “Vindicate me, O Lord, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Lord, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells. Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men, In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.”
When we have enemies that come against us, we must remember that we are in a spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:12-13, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Rather than fighting a spiritual battle by physical means, we must rely on God. More often than not, we want vengeance or revenge against those who have wronged us, without stopping to consider the wrongs we have committed ourselves. David asked for God to vindicate him, which involves judgement, because only God knows the hearts to make proper judgement. He asks to be examined in his mind and heart, likely because he had already examined himself.
When we partake in remembering the Lord in communion, we are inviting examination by God and judgement, which is why we should examine ourselves first. I Corinthians 11:27-32, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”
David specifically pointed out that he has not sat with the wicked, idolatrous, or hypocrites, because he has hated evil. Sitting with these people indicates spending time in their company, which is more intimate than speaking truth into their lives. To spend a good deal of time usually suggests that there is an overlooking of the evil elephant in the room; there is no fellowship with them. Besides, when you sit with the evildoers long enough, their bad company corrupts your good morals. Rather than sitting with the ungodly, the believer should walk in wisdom, learning what pleases God. Ephesians 5:8-11, 15-16, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them [. . .] See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Do not tolerate a false teacher, but rather withdraw yourself. I Timothy 6:3-5, If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.”
Do not overlook the sins of the hypocrite in the church body, but rather put them out if they refuse correction. I Corinthians 5:11-13, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner— not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves the evil person.' ”
Psalms 1:1-6, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
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