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Psalm 7:17

Theme: Praise is the bold declaration of a forgiven, restored, covenant-anchored child standing in Christ’s righteousness.

There is something breathtaking about the way Psalm 7 ends.
The psalm begins in accusation, turmoil, emotional upheaval, and the raw ache of a man whose past has been weaponized against him. But it ends like this:

“I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness.”
Psalm 7:17

David is not praising God because the conflict is over.
He is not praising because his name has been cleared.
He is not praising because the trial has ended or because every enemy has vanished.

He is praising before the verdict.

That is the miracle of righteousness by faith.

Praise is not the victory lap. Praise is the courtroom declaration.

David’s final words in the psalm are not a sigh of relief after everything is resolved.
They are the confident, covenant-rooted worship of a man who knows:

“I can praise God now because the verdict has already been secured in Him.”

He is not waiting to feel innocent.
He is not waiting for the community to agree with him.
He is not waiting for the accuser to stop talking.
He is not waiting for his emotional memory to heal.

He is praising God according to God’s righteousness, not according to David’s emotional state.

This is an Old Testament believer standing firmly on a New Covenant reality.

Praise comes from identity, not circumstances.

David’s praise flows from one truth:

God’s righteousness has become my righteousness.
God’s verdict has become my verdict.
God’s covenant has become my refuge.

This is why praise is powerful:
It is the voice of a believer refusing to define themselves by accusation, memory, trauma, or the wounds sin has carved into their story.

Praise is the sound of a heart coming back to life.

Praise rewires the heart.

Something happens when forgiven people dare to praise:

• Shame loses its vocabulary.
• Accusation loses its power.
• Trauma loses its authority.
• Guilt loses its throne.
• The soul remembers who it is.

Even if you still remember the past…
Even if you still feel the echo of what you once were…
Even if temptation still knocks and sometimes even gets inside…

Praise is the breath that reclaims the ground.

Because praise is not denial.
Praise is defiance.
Praise is standing on the covenant instead of your history.

When David says, “I will give thanks,” he is not describing a feeling.
He is announcing a decision shaped by covenant sonship:

“I belong to the God who has declared me righteous.
Therefore I will praise Him.”

Praise aligns your heart with the finished work.

This is why thanksgiving is not an add-on to the Christian life.
It is the engine of spiritual identity.

When you praise God according to His righteousness:

• You are aligning yourself with the verdict already spoken over you.
• You are speaking the truth of heaven into the chaos of earth.
• You are living as a covenant son or daughter, not an accused orphan.

This is why the New Testament says:

“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1

Praise steps into that reality and refuses to step back out.

Reflection for Today

• What would it look like for me to praise God before anything changes?
• How would my identity shift if I thanked God “according to His righteousness”?
• Where do I need to praise God not because I feel victorious, but because Christ already is?

Prayer

“Lord, I praise You according to Your righteousness. Not my emotions. Not my history. Not my failures. You have declared me innocent, restored, and Yours. Teach me to worship before the verdict because You have already spoken the final word over my life. Amen.”