”I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused. Then at your command, O Lord, at the blast of your breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees. I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin. The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence.“
Psalms 18:1-24 NLT
Two things may stand out in this passage to those who are not familiar with David’s writings. The first is that he describes God’s victory over injustice in a magnificent way. The second is that David declares himself righteous and without sin. The first is not a proper historical description of what God did for David. The second is not a proper theological treatise on David’s sin and salvation. Yet we see them coexisting next to proper theology and history in scripture. It is clear that these writing were meant to live publically. They were not preserved as a secret gnosis for the elite. Clearly David was being poetic in his approach to both his history and theology. This was a consistent practice in ancient Jewish writings. Beyond this, on a theological level, David’s theology didn’t hold in an inability to be righteous. It held an inability for that righteousness to be used to compel God’s salvation. David understood completely that he was broken as a whole, but he could still be righteous on certain things. He could be righteous in function of not as a creature. What is most important is his understanding that God doesn’t discriminate on this basis. His justice finds the innocent, even the functionally so, and protects them. It is a beautiful picture of faith in our God, despite having a deep understanding of one’s own insecurities.
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