Psalm 26, verses 1 to 12.
I'll read it out loud.
Of David, vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me.
Test my heart and my mind, for your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.
I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.
I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord,
proclaiming thanksgiving aloud and telling all your wondrous deeds.
O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
in whose hands are evil devices and whose right hands are full of bribes.
But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground in the great assembly.
I will bless the Lord.
This whole psalm is really about integrity, the need to walk with integrity.
So verse 1 begins,
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trust in the Lord without wavering.
And then it ends, concludes the psalm in verse 11,
with this referencing integrity again.
But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
And when we normally think of integrity, we think of honesty, right,
and moral uprightness.
And that's true, but that's because that's an entailment,
an implication of integrity.
The fundamental meaning of integrity is to be whole, to be undivided.
So it's kind of what David talks about and prays for in Psalm 86, 11,
where he says,
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness,
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
So because someone who has integrity before God
is wholly devoted to God, in every way given to God,
that person behaves consistently in every manner of life,
in every aspect of life,
which is why that person behaves with honesty and moral uprightness.
And that's where we get that secondary definition of integrity.
And if there were, you know, multiple gods that demand our allegiance,
then there would be a cause for, you know,
having divided allegiances and loyalties.
But because there's only one true God,
that's why the Bible calls for integrity,
that we should be whole and undivided, complete in our devotion to God.
And there's two parts to living with integrity,
two aspects of it, really, that this passage talks about,
the psalm talks about.
And the first part is to live before God's steadfast love.
And the second part is to live before God's faithfulness.
And those are the two kind of cardinal attributes of God
revealed in Exodus 34.
It says, 34 verse 6, it says,
declares that God is abounding in love and faithfulness.
That's steadfast love and faithfulness,
so two characteristics of God.
And so let's start with talking about faithfulness.
What does it mean to live before God's faithfulness?
We usually think of, you know,
when we hear the word faithfulness,
of God's faithfulness toward us, right?
He's good to us.
He's always faithful to us.
We think about it that way.
But faithfulness, biblically,
has first to do with God's faithfulness to himself.
When it talks about the word faithful,
it's sometimes translated as truth.
It's the same word.
So it's God's truthfulness, his truth.
That's his faithfulness.
And the reason why we think about that
is the reason why God's always good toward us
is because he's always true to himself.
And he is a merciful and gracious God.
And because he's always true to himself,
that's where we get the sense that he's faithful to us,
always good to us.
So it really is speaking of the fact
that God's not contingent on anything.
He doesn't change.
His posture toward us is not dependent on the circumstances.
He's not subject to changing whims or moods.
He doesn't have mood swings like we do.
And so he's always faithful and true,
as Revelation 3.14 says.
And that's in contrast to us as human beings.
We have frequently changing moods.
We are situations,
our character is frequently swayed back and forth
depending on the circumstances.
It's contingent often on the circumstances.
So for example,
when we're lured by the prospect of wealth,
right,
or blinded by fear of scarcity,
of having not enough,
then we resort to greed and selfishness, right?
Our character is affected by that.
When pressured by approaching deadlines,
right,
whether it be from work or school,
right,
we become impatient with people,
right?
When tired or hungry,
we become liable to anger,
right?
When praised by other people,
we kind of swell up,
you know,
with pride
and think more highly of ourselves than others.
When we are criticized
or unrecognized by other people
for what we are doing
and who we are,
then we shrivel up,
right,
and we turn to self-pity
or self-loathing,
right?
And so it's,
it's for us,
it's often that we,
you know,
James 1.14 talks about this,
each person is tempted
when they are dragged away
by their own desire
and enticed,
right?
That's,
that's often describes us,
right?
The root of sin
is the desire
of our hearts
and so often for us,
it's our internal condition,
it's our external circumstances
that affect us
more than our internal condition,
our character.
And of course,
but,
but in contrast,
God's unchanging
and that's what he's talking about
when he says that God
is always faithful and true.
That,
and that's why
walking with integrity,
living before God
in wholeness
and undividedness
entails
living not according
to our circumstances
but according to God's truth.
That no matter
what's happening around us,
no matter the storms
in our lives,
the whirlwinds
in our lives,
we're able to live
according to God's truth
that he's faithful
and he's true to himself.
And so that's,
that's one part,
but if,
you know,
if we understand
God's faithfulness,
however,
apart from God's love,
then that becomes scary,
right?
Because if God's always
true to himself
and he's always true
to his holiness
but we don't understand
his love toward us,
then that's a scary prospect.
I don't know if you guys
have read George Orwell's book,
1984,
right?
So it talks about how
the big brother
is watching you,
right?
It says the refrain.
It's a big brother.
You guys know the concept
of the big brother.
There's someone always
watching you
and controlling you.
It's in a totalitarian state,
right?
And that would be
what it's like.
If God's always true,
he's sovereign,
he's omnipresent,
he's everywhere,
he's always faithful,
true to himself,
and he's holy,
that would be a scary thing
to live under
if we understand
God's truthfulness,
his faithfulness
apart from God's love.
So it's important
that we live also
before God's steadfast love
and that's what
verse 3 is talking about.
Your steadfast love
is before my eyes.
And God is loving,
so the fact that
God's true to himself
always means that
God's always loving
toward us as well.
And this is so important
in our walk with God,
in our communion with God.
And John Owen
is a 17th century
Oxford theologian
and he writes about
the importance
of keeping God's love
in his book
Communion with God.
And he writes that
nothing grieves God
more than our
hard thoughts,
he says.
Meaning,
hard thoughts about him,
like the thoughts
that doubt God's goodness
toward us.
The hard thoughts,
believing that God's
not really gracious
and compassionate
toward us.
So these kind of
hard thoughts,
thinking that he's
hard toward us,
it grieves God
more than anything else,
he writes.
And the reason why,
he says,
is because God knows
how unwilling
is a child to come
into the presence
of an angry father.
So Owen continues,
if our soul only knew
this love of the father,
it could not bear
an hour's absence
from him,
whereas now perhaps
it cannot watch with him
one hour.
So if we really understood,
I'm going to probably
share that on Sunday as well,
but if we really understood
God's steadfast love
toward us,
that he really is
as gracious
as he says he is,
and that he always
is that way,
and without changing,
he's always that way,
then that would make us
long to be in his presence,
that would make us
want to pursue him,
it would make us eager
to come into his presence,
not reluctant
or hesitant.
And when we understand
this steadfast love
and faithfulness,
that's when we can be
unwavering in our trust,
as David says he is
here in this psalm.
So that's the meaning
of integrity,
but then what's the key
to integrity?
How can we live
with integrity?
So he unpacks this,
so in first,
verses four to five,
he speaks of the assembly
of evildoers,
he avoids the assembly
of evildoers,
and in verses six to seven,
he speaks of the assembly
of God.
So that's the key
to living in integrity,
avoiding the assembly
of evildoers,
and being part of
the assembly of God.
So verses four to five,
read with me,
it says,
I do not sit with men
of falsehood,
nor do I consort
with hypocrites.
I hate the assembly
of evildoers,
and I will not sit
with the wicked.
And note the contrast
here between verse three
and verse four, right?
It just talked about
God's faithfulness,
which can also be translated
as God's truth,
and then immediately
after that in verse four,
it talks about men
of falsehood.
So these men
are not characterized
by God's truth,
they're characterized
by falsehood.
They're the wicked,
they're the assembly
of evildoers,
they're hypocrites.
And in order to keep
his integrity,
David says that he avoids
the company of these men.
He refuses to consort
with them.
And so in doing so,
he's exemplifying
what Paul commands
in verse Corinthians 1533.
He says,
do not be misled,
bad company corrupts
good character.
We're badly mistaken
if we think that
we can walk in integrity
amidst bad company.
We're always affected
by the people around us.
And there's a lot of
self-help gurus
nowadays talk about this.
It's just that you are
an average of the five
closest associates
around you.
Even your income.
Yes, even your income,
they say, right?
So they say,
you're going to look like
the people you're around.
And that's the heart
of discipleship,
really, imitation.
And so he says,
David,
one of the keys to integrity
is avoid bad company.
Avoid people who do not
follow God,
do not honor God.
And then verses,
and well,
I should add there
that this doesn't mean
that we should dissociate
with unbelievers altogether.
We still reach out
to them in love.
We minister to them,
but we don't consort
with them
in participating
in their wickedness
and the evil doing
and taking counsel
with them.
And we do not
number them
as the people
who define us
and that define
our activities
and our identity.
And then verses 6 to 8,
David then turns
to the assembly of God.
It says,
I wash my hands
in innocence
and go around
your altar,
O Lord,
proclaiming thanksgiving
aloud and telling
all your wondrous deeds.
O Lord,
I love the habitation
of your house
and the place
where your glory dwells.
So this is a description
of worship in the temple
at the time,
Davidic times.
And it's confirmed
by verse 12
where it says,
My foot stands
on level ground
in the great assembly.
I will bless the Lord.
That's the same word
that was used
to describe
the assembly of evildoers.
So here,
it's contrasting
those two companies
intentionally.
And so,
in order to walk
in integrity then,
then we need
to live in the midst
of the assembly
of God,
assembly of the righteous.
And that's,
assembly is crucial
for our spiritual formation.
In the New Testament,
of course,
the assembly,
another word for assembly
is church.
It's the gathered church
is called an assembly
throughout the New Testament.
And if,
because if you are
in the presence of God,
if you're in the company
of God's people,
then you're going
to become more like God
and you're going
to be able
to walk in integrity.
Because the spirit of Christ
is powerfully active
in the body of Christ
when they're gathered together
in unity.
And that's why
corporate worship
is important, right?
See,
Ephesians 4,
15 to 16 says,
Speaking the truth
in love,
we will grow
to become in every respect
the mature body of him
who is the head
that is Christ.
From him,
the whole body
joined and held together
by every supporting ligament
grows and builds
itself up in love
as each part
does its work.
It's when
the whole body
gathered together,
each part
does its work,
that's when
the church matures,
that's when we mature
as individuals
also in God's presence,
in God's body.
And so,
and that's why
the assembly
is so important
here at Tux,
but there can be
no Christian maturity
apart from
the assembly
of God's people,
from the church.
And so David says
in verse 8,
I'd love the habitation
of your house
and the place
where your glory dwells.
And that's challenging
to think about.
Do we love
the habitation
of God's house?
Do we love
to gather
with his people,
assemble with them
to worship?
And so,
Christian integrity
consists in
living in light
of God's
steadfast love
and faithfulness.
And then the key
to that integrity
is assembly,
avoiding the assembly
of evildoers
and being in,
participating in
the assembly
of God's people.
But it's important
to note
at the conclusion
of this
that David's
not here
talking about
absolute integrity
because he wasn't
perfect.
He was a sinful man
like all of us.
And we know
that he understands
this because
he says in verse 2,
prove me,
O Lord,
and try me.
Test my heart
and my mind.
The word prove
here is language
that's associated
primarily with
smelting
and refining
metal.
Right?
So where you
refine metal
to get rid of
the dross
and to bring out
the pure metal.
Right?
So when he says
prove me,
he's not just
asking God
to test him
but he's also
asking God
to refine him,
to purify him.
And so,
and we see that
also in verse 11
where he says,
but as for me,
I shall walk
in my integrity,
redeem me
and be gracious
to me.
Right?
So he recognizes
that even as
he's approaching God
and saying,
you know,
compared to
those people
who are living
without reference
to you,
I am living
in integrity.
I am following you
and living
in reference
to you.
But even as
he says that,
he recognizes
he needs
God's redemption.
He needs
God's grace.
So he says,
I will walk
in my integrity
but redeem me
and be gracious
to me.
And that's why
ultimately,
because no one
walks with
complete integrity,
God had to send
Jesus who alone
walked with
perfect integrity,
who alone
had undivided
heart toward God
to live the
perfect life
of obedience
and then to
die for our
sins as
an atonement.
And so,
and when
we believe
in him,
that's when
we're covered
by his blood
and that's when
his integrity
becomes our
integrity
and God
can truly
say of us
and we can
truly say to
God,
prove me,
O Lord,
and try me,
test my heart
and my mind
and be rest
assured that
we will be
justified
because we
have been
justified by
Christ,
that we will
be accepted
by the
Father.
And this
is so
helpful for
us because
for us,
David didn't
know Jesus,
right?
I mean,
as a prophet,
maybe he looked
ahead to Jesus,
but he doesn't
know Jesus as we
know him.
And so for us,
we have even more
reason to be
assured of God's
steadfast love
and faithfulness
because we've
seen the ultimate
demonstration of
that in Jesus
dying for our
sins.
And so then
when we look
at that and
we consider the
fact that Jesus'
integrity is ours,
then we don't,
when we think of
God, we shouldn't
think that God's,
you know,
wagging his
finger at us or
shaking his head
at us in
disgust or
wagging his
finger at us in
disappointment.
He's pleased
with us.
He delights in
us in the same
way he delights
over his son
because his
son's integrity
is ours.
He sees Jesus
when he sees
us.
And so with
that in mind,
then we can
keep God's
steadfast love
and faithfulness
before our
eyes and
that's what's
going to help
us to walk
in integrity.
So let's
keep that in
mind and turn
to him in
prayer.
Let's sing
God over all
and then
begin praying
a prayer
for that
oration.