Psalm 7:8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity that is in me. Is this speech self-righteous? If so it is a bad speech: for self-righteousness is a bad temper of mind; few are worse. But there is another temper of mind which looks like it at first, but is not so, and which is right in its way. I mean the temper of Job when his friends tried to make him out a bad man. He declared he would tell no lies about himself. "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. I have, on the whole, tried to be a good man, and I will not make myself out a bad one." St. John said, "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." I. BUT WE MAY MISUSE THAT DOCTRINE. Many do. 1. Some people try to confess as many sins as possible. They do not go and commit them, but they fancy themselves guilty of them. This is all too common. It is ruinous oftentimes to the body; I have seen people kill their own bodies and die early by this folly. And they kill their souls too, and enter into strong delusions and believe lies. And yet one pities them more than we can be angry with them, and all the more because they are generally the most innocent, and who have least to confess. We should pray for them. 2. But there is a worse misuse of St. John's doctrine than this. A man may be proud of calling himself a miserable sinner, and of confessing his sins. But if he really knew the misery of sin he would not talk so much about it. His talk is only another way of saying, "I am a better man than you. I confess my sins, and you do not." II. BUT WHAT IS THE RIGHT USE OF THE DOCTRINE? If you refuse, like Job, to own yourself guilty of what you know you are not guilty of, such a man will tell you that you are ignorant of the first principles of the gospel. You are building integrity and morality. Now, he is partly right, and so are you. St. Paul will help us, for he said, I judge not mine own self; for I know nothing against myself, yet am I not hereby justified; but He that judgeth me is the Lord." Now, no man was ever less self-righteous than Paul, and yet he says, "I know nothing against myself." Then, here is the rule. If you have done wrong, confess that; if you have done right, be not afraid to say you have. And to keep up self-respect, go on trying to do right. Wrong no man, least of all, a woman, But, mind, your right-doing will not justify you, for we all have sinned. III. REMEMBER THE LORD WILL JUDGE YOU. Be glad of this, as David was, for he knew that the Lord would bring him out of his sin. You must not think of God as hard, or you will fret and not fight. But if you believe Him good you will fight and not fret. And you will be able to leave yourself in His hands. (Charles Kingsley.) Parallel Verses KJV: The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. |
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