Verse 2:
"Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind:"
Because it is late in the game for David, he is focusing on the top priority issues. In verse 1: "Vindicate me." In other words, I want the straight story to prevail.
Now in verse 2: "Test me," "try me," and "examine my heart and my mind." The key words in verses 1 and 2 are in verse 1 - "Vindicated" and in verse 2 - "Test," "try," and "examine."
David is obviously getting ready for his final examination. He is being completely open before God.
Job 23:10: "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (NIV).
Don Wyrtzen says: "Lord, may my life be an open book before You!"
David says to the Lord at the end of verse 2:
"examine my heart and my mind." It is both of these that are at issue.
Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (NIV).
The Lord Jesus says in Mark 7:21 - 23: "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts and fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man" (NASB).
Psalm 139:23 - 24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting" (NIV).
Verse 3:
"for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."
Whereas, in verse 2 it was the "heart" and "mind." Now we have here in verse 3: "love" and "truth."
Here in verse 3 we have the 2-fold reason for why he asked the Lord to "vindicate," "test," "try," and "examine." The reason being, my testimony is: (1) "your love is ever before me" and (2) "I walk continually in your truth."
The question we raised is: How passionate is our love for Jesus Christ?
David says "for your love is ever before me."
In essence David is saying that he is obedient to God's truth. The word for "walk" is comparable to the Greek word which means walking around or conduct.
Steven Lawson says: "David invited God's close scrutiny of every aspect of his life. Test me, try me, and examine my heart and my mind, he declared to God, believing that such a spiritual inventory would prove him to be blameless. He was confident that such a thorough investigation by God would clear him of his enemies' charges because the Lord's love was always before him, motivating him to walk continually in the truth of God's Word."
