CS Lewis wrote, “There are, indeed, some few passages in which a psalmist thinks of 'judgement' with trembling: 'Enter not into judgement with thy servant...' (143:2)... But the opposite attitude is far commoner: 'Hear the right, O Lord' (17:1), 'Be thou my Judge' (26:1), 'Plead thou my cause' (35:1), 'Give sentence with me, O God' (43:1), 'Arise, thou Judge of the world' (94:2). It is for justice, for a hearing, far more often than for pardon, that the psalmists pray. ...
The psalmists, with very few exceptions, are eager for judgement because they believe themselves to be wholly in the right. Others have sinned against them; their own conduct (as they frequently assure us) has been impeccable. They earnestly invite the divine inspection, certain that they will emerge from it with flying colours. The adversary may have things to hide, but they have not.
The more God examines their case, the more unanswerable it will appear. The Christian, on the other hand, trembles because he knows he is ...
