Psalms 18:23
And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
BSB
ASV
I was also perfect with him, And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
KJV
I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
"I was also upright before him." Sincerity is here claimed; sincerity, such as would be accounted genuine before the bar of God. Whatever evil men might think of him, David felt that he had the good opinion of his God. Moreover, freedom from his one great besetting sin he ventures also to plead, "I kept myself from mine iniquity." It is a very gracious sign when the most violent parts of our nature have been well guarded. If the weakest link in the chain is not broken, the stronger links will be safe enough.
1834–1892
In our reading we had a very wonderful description of God's delivering mercy towards His servant David. He was very peculiarly tried in the court of Saul. He deserved so much of the king that it was doubly difficult for David to be treated so badly. He had been the deliverer of his country when he slew Goliath, yet he was hunted as if he had been the grossest of malefactors. He had to flee for his life like a partridge upon the mountains—and all the while, no doubt— Saul and his partisans accused him of all manner of evil.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Psalms 11:7For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
leads to
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.
He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
Through
Psalms 37:27Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.
leads to
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.
Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.