Integrity

Psalm 26, verses 1 to 12.

Psalms 26 · chapter mention

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.