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Psalm 18:23
I was also blameless with him. I kept myself from my iniquity.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all his ordinances were before me. I didn’t put away his statutes from me.
23I was also blameless with him. I kept myself from my iniquity.
24Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.
Notice
“My iniquity” makes David’s claim of blamelessness personal, drawing attention to the wrong he has resisted and the God before whom he lives.
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What do you make of David naming both blamelessness and “my iniquity” in the same verse?
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Where else Scripture says this
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Hebrews 12:1Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run …David describes keeping himself from iniquity, while Hebrews urges its readers to lay aside the sin that entangles them.
1 John 5:18We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him.Both passages connect keeping oneself with freedom from sin, though John speaks of those born of God.
Matthew 5:29–30If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish than …Both concern refusing sin; Jesus uses severe bodily imagery to convey the stakes of removing what causes stumbling.
Matthew 18:8–9If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than …David describes keeping himself from iniquity; Jesus uses severe bodily imagery to stress separation from what causes stumbling.
Psalm 37:27Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.David’s account of keeping himself from iniquity shares Psalm 37’s concern with departing from evil.
Psalm 11:7For the LORD is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.Both connect uprightness with God: David describes being blameless with him, and Psalm 11 says the LORD loves righteousness.
1 Samuel 26:23The LORD will give to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; because the LORD delivered you into my hand today, and I wouldn’t stretch out my hand …Both describe restraint before God; Samuel records the specific refusal to strike the LORD’s anointed.
1 Chronicles 29:17I know also, my God, that you try the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these …Both speak of integrity before God, with Chronicles describing uprightness of heart and Psalm 18 describing blameless conduct.
Psalm 17:3You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.Both pair integrity before God with restraint: Psalm 17 names the mouth, while Psalm 18 speaks of keeping from iniquity.
Psalm 19:13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great …Both link blamelessness with being kept from sin; Psalm 19 makes that keeping a direct prayer to God.
Job 1:8The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and …Both join blamelessness with turning from evil, describing integrity through a person’s conduct before God.
Isaiah 26:8Yes, in the way of your judgments, LORD, we have waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul.Both describe a life directed toward God; Isaiah speaks of waiting for him, while David speaks of blamelessness before him.
Where this verse fits
Temptation. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
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Encouragement
David speaks of integrity before God while naming the iniquity he has kept himself from. Faithfulness includes the concrete work of refusing sin in God’s sight.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).