Bless the Lord in Integrity

Sermon Transcript

 

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever been accused of something or misunderstood and felt the almost irresistible urge to jump in and correct the record? I know that when I feel misunderstood or accused, the one thing I want to do to bring peace to my soul is to right away talk to my accuser and set the record straight. In Psalm 26, David is approaching the tabernacle, the holy presence of God for worship, and instead of looking to man for justification, he asks the Lord to vindicate him. He displays immense confidence, trusting that he really possesses the integrity necessary to  worship God with a clear conscience. If you’re anything like me, you might benefit from the ability to cast aside everything that holds you back from worshiping the Lord with a quiet, confident heart, and that’s what we’re going to be learning from Psalm 26.

 

The big idea of Psalm 26 comes from the very last few verses, and it is Bless the Lord in integrity. Bless the Lord in integrity. This begs the question, how can a people like us, with all our flaws and imperfections, bless the Lord in integrity? In Psalm 26, David models for us four ways we can bless the Lord in integrity. 1. Ask God to test you (vv. 1-3), 2. Walk in his faithfulness (vv. 4-7), 3. Depend on his grace (vv.8-11). Let’s start with the first way, Ask God to judge you.

 

Ask God to Test You

1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3  For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. 

 

Explain

The context of this Psalm is not explicit, but the best explanation could be that in Psalm 26, along with the next two, David is approaching the house of worship with joy. Whether it’s an ordinary gathering, or whether he is returning from a battle isn’t made explicit. However, the emotional tone of this Psalm is one of delight in approaching God’s house while preparing himself for entry. David seems to have been accused of walking unrighteously before the Lord and therefore would not be fit to assemble with the people of God and bless the Lord in corporate worship. His sincerity and integrity are at stake.

 

Psalm 24 appears to be David’s response to that accusation, except instead of responding to his apparent accuser (who remains unnamed), he takes his case directly to God and asks him for vindication, to be judged as blameless. David maintains his innocence and offers himself, body and soul, heart and mind up to be examined by God. The imagery he’s using is that of a craftsman that would melt a piece of silver as a means of testing its purity, and David is asking the Lord to do the same to his faith. This section brings to mind Psalm 139:23-24: “23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

 

Before we get too far, I want to answer a question that probably came to mind when you heard this passage read aloud: “When David says, “I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering, is claiming to be completely without sin?” The answer to that question is no, and we don’t need to look very far to see other instances where David confesses his sin to the Lord.

 

For example, in Psalm 32:1-5, David writes: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

 

So instead of taking David to mean that he has no sin whatsoever, we ought to take him to mean the one who walks in integrity is the one who quickly acknowledges his sin when it occurs, who does not cover his iniquity. Before the Lord, he has nothing to hide. No secret sin following him around, no concealed motives or half-hearted trust. In fact, God himself uses this phrase to refer to David in 1 Kings 9:4 “And as for you [Solomon], if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules.”

 

Now, let’s look carefully at the basis of all of this. In verse 3, David writes: “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” His integrity (and ours) is more about the unfailing loyalty of the Lord than it is about anything in us. If we want to be a people who walk in integrity and trust in the Lord to judge us without wavering, we aren’t going to do that with our eyes fixed on ourselves. In the same way that a person getting swept away by the ocean keeps their eyes glued to the shoreline, we need to keep the Lord’s steadfast love before our eyes at all times. 

 

Apply

Now let’s begin to take this part of the passage personally. When we are accused by man, we can turn to God for our ultimate vindication, asking God to judge our hearts and trusting him with the results. Let’s be a people who make David’s request in Psalm 26:2 and Psalm 139:23-24 our personal prayers. Let’s ask God, Lord, test me. Refine me like a craftsman refines silver. Search me o God, and know my heart! See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me into everlasting life.

 

Without drifting into excessive introspection, it is good to ask the Lord – Am I walking in integrity? Do I have any hidden or persistent unrepentant sin in my life? If today, you find yourself not walking in integrity, don’t panic. Instead, take Psalm 26 as a reminder for you to turn from your sin, for the very first time or for the thousandth time. Confess your sin to the Lord and turn from your sin to God in repentance. 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

 

But what does it look like to “walk in his faithfulness,” as David says at the end of v.3? Let’s move on to our second point.

 

Walk in his faithfulness

4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD, 7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.

 

The second way that we bless the Lord in integrity is to walk in his faithfulness. In vv.4-7, David expands on the claims he makes about himself at the end of verse 3, saying what he does not do and what he does do. David does not sit with men of falsehood, not does he consort with hypocrites. He hates the assembly of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked. The language that David uses here is reminiscent of the words of Psalm 1:1 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.”

 

Like in Psalm 1, David is speaking about the company he keeps. He is not aligned with evildoers, with those who hate God and so are without hope and without God in the world. “Sitting” with men of falsehood means that he is not participating in their dishonest activities. In fact, he does not mince words and even takes it a step further – he hates the assembly of evildoers. Integrity is not only a matter of external actions (like sitting), it is also a matter of internal disposition, loving what God calls good and hating what God calls evil. Loyalty to God requires separation from evil. Hypocrisy is the ultimate killer of integrity, and so it is not surprising to see David number hypocrites among those with whom he does not associate.

 

We’ve seen what David does not do, now let’s look at what he does do. He washes his hands in innocence and goes around the Lord’s altar, proclaiming thanksgiving aloud and telling all of the Lord’s wondrous deeds. Instead of aligning himself with the enemies of God, he participates in right worship with joy! Any external accusation or pressure he faces fades in light of the opportunity he has to give the Lord what he is due, praise and thanksgiving. God has done marvelous things for his people in history , and for each of us that has experienced new life in Christ. The appropriate response to all of that grace is to sing songs of thanksgiving.

 

What might it look like to live this out? An encouragement in line with text is to simply be aware of the different people you allow yourself to associate with and exert an influence on you. This does not mean that you should have zero non-Christian friends or acquaintances, obviously that would go against Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations and his example of dining with sinners. What it does mean is that we need to be wise about where we place our ultimate loyalties and who we allow ourselves to imitate. What would it look like for you to avoid sitting with men of falsehood? It might come at a great personal, relational cost to you to refuse to go along with dishonesty at work or in your family life. But for those of us whose allegiances belong to the Lord, there is no other way. 

 

Third, and finally, depend on his grace.

 

Depend on his grace

8 O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. 9  Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.

 

In the last section of this passage, we saw what David hates. But here, in the habitation of the Lord’s house, the place where His glory dwells, we see what David truly loves. More than anything else, David wants to be found to be sincere not as a way to puff himself up in self-righteousness, but instead to be found worthy to enter the house of worship and bring his sacrifice of praise to God. 

 

This section of the Psalm is a prayer. David is depending on God’s grace to protect him from judgment. He knows that there will come a day when those who are wicked on this earth will receive their due punishment, God will judge them in his wrath and as v.9 puts it, their souls will be swept away. They will not inherit eternal life, they will receive what they ultimately deserve.

 

Again, David is more concerned with how God views him than with how others perceive him. He is willing to disassociate with the evildoers on earth, no matter the cost, because he wants the Lord to look upon him as a worshiper with integrity.

 

He writes, “redeem me, and be gracious to me.” God has a long history of redeeming and being gracious to his people. In the Old Testament, the great work of redemption was that of the Exodus. After years of slavery, God heard the cries of his people and graciously redeemed them, leading them out of Egypt on the Red sea on dry ground.

 

That great work of redemption from slavery through sacrifice was meant to point to an even greater deliverance from slavery. Our Lord Jesus was the true lamb of God. He lived a spotless life, completely unblemished from sin. He obeyed every dot of God’s law. He truly was falsely accused of wrongdoing and was unjustly put to death at the hands of bloodthirsty men. He died in our place for our sins so that we could get a new heart that would cry out to God and say “redeem me, and be gracious to me,” and he would hear our prayers. 

 

Not only that, but in David’s day, God was pleased to dwell in the tabernacle, in a particular place at a particular time. God’s dwelling was established in the tabernacle, but because of Israel’s sin, bloody sacrifices and a mediating high priest were required. Despite all of this, David is emotionally moved by his ability to experience God’s presence in this way! And yet, the tabernacle and the temple were a shadow of what was to come. 

 

When Jesus came to live the life we all should have lived, John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus was a tabernacle among us during his earthly life, and after he rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of all who would turn from our sins and put their faith in Jesus. That is why in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul can say, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” If living with integrity was important for David as he approached the tabernacle, how much more important is walking in integrity today now that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit? Not only that, the great joy that David is expressing here, the joy of approaching God’s house and offering acceptable worship, is something that is accessible to us every day because wherever we followers of Jesus go, God’s presence goes with us and in us. The stakes are so much higher for our integrity today, as we are now temples of the holy, living God. 

 

Yet, on our own merit, we absolutely fail to accomplish that integrity, we have no right standing before God, we’re actually the hypocrites, sinners, and bloodthirsty men whose souls will be rightly swept away at the last judgment. But by faith in the finished work of Christ alone, we can cry out for redemption and know that our penalty has been paid. He has been gracious to us, so we are free to approach the Lord in confidence in an even greater way than David does in this passage.

 

As we begin to take this part of the passage personally, I would like to encourage you to trust your identity in Christ. If Jesus is your only hope in life and in death, and you are a new creation in Christ, when God looks at you, he sees all the righteousness that Christ earned. He sees the silver that has been tested and demonstrated to be perfectly pure. Do you see yourself as the Lord sees you? 

 

This means you don’t have to be afraid of exposing your truest self to the Lord, or run from him when you sin. You don’t have to fear what others think of you. Having your identity fixed in Christ alone changes everything and frees us from our insecurities. 

 

Conclusion

12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

 

David has opened himself to be examined by the Lord, he has walked in God’s faithfulness and depended on his grace. Finally, the Psalm closes with David reaffirming his desire to bless the LORD. 

 

This Psalm ends with an affirmation of trust. David has petitioned the Lord to let him enter God’s house, and now he declares “In the great assembly I will bless the Lord.” His foot is firm, meaning he will not slip and there is no chance that God will fail to keep him steady. The Psalm has come to an end, David remains confident in his integrity, and he is able to approach the house of God and bless the Lord. This is a preview of the worship described in the book of revelation as all God’s people from every tribe and nation sing together and bless the Lord.

 

This calls the question for you and me. Today, are you resolving to bless the Lord? Have you trusted in Christ alone as your only hope in life and in death? Or are you finding your ultimate allegiance in this world, or even in yourself? Every other place you try to place your feet will be sinking sand.

Listen to what Jesus himself says: 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27) Do not build your house on the sand. The storm will come, and the consequences will be eternal separation from God. Instead, build your life on the rock, stand on level ground and bless the Lord in integrity.