Psalm 26 | Surrender

Responsive Reading: Psalm 26

Pastor: Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Congregation: 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.

Pastor: I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.

Congregation: I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.

Pastor: I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD,

Congregation: proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.

Pastor: O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.

Congregation: 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.

Pastor: But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.

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

Psalm 26 is about integrity.

David begins this psalm talking about walking in integrity and ends the psalm with a commitment to continue to walk in integrity.

Integrity is in short supply in our world.

Why does David care so much about living in integrity? Why should you and I care about living in integrity?

David’s commitment to integrity is not about showing how moral superior he is compared to others. It isn’t about earning God’s love and favor.

David’s commitment to integrity is about living for an audience of one. David wants one thing and one thing only: friendship with God: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” (Ps 25:14)

If friendship with the Lord is the goal, then the fear of the Lord is the pathway. Integrity is the daily consistent steps that keeps us on that path.

In Psalm 26, David invites us to walk that path with him. I’m warning you, there is a price to be paid, but it’s worth it!

This psalm can be divided into four sections: We see a request, a reasoning, a reliance, and a resolve.

(1)David’s Request

David’s prayer begins with a request: “Vindicate me, O Lord…” (Psalm 26:1a)

“Declare me innocent, O Lord…” (NLT)

The word vindicate is a legal term. “[It] refers to the activity of a third party who sits over two parties at odds with one another. This third party hears their cases against one another and decides where the right is and what to do about it (he functions as both judge and jury).” (Vine’s Dictionary)

David’s request is for God himself to set the record straight.

Set the record straight about what? We are not told.

Here’s what we know: There is a group of people against David described as: men of falsehood, hypocrites, evildoers, and wicked.

Based on those descriptions, I can think of a few scenarios if this was written before David became king:

Perhaps they are flattering David into taking the kingdom by force by taking King Saul out, “You know David, God did promise you to be the king. Actually, you are the king since Samuel already anointed you.” But David can see through their hypocrisy

Perhaps they are mocking David for waiting on God’s timing. “David, you are a fool for not taking your enemy Saul when you had a chance.” But David can see that these are men of falsehood (lit. “men of emptiness).

Perhaps they are tempting David to “loosen up a little” if he wants to be accepted in their circle of friends. But David will not compromise in his commitment to be a man who fears God. He can see that these men are evildoers.

Perhaps they are accusing him falsely. They are making stuff about him or questioning his motives. David can see that these men are wicked who want to bring him down and destroy his life and reputation.

From David’s request for vindication we learn a very important lesson as followers of Jesus: Not everyone will understand and support your decision to be “all in” for Jesus.

"The world provides no cheerleaders on the pathway to godliness." (Kevin DeYoung)

David knows that the only one who can set the record straight is God.

Psalm 37:1–6 “1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”

David has made a choice: to walk in integrity (FOTL) and to trust in the Lord that in due time, he will set the record straight.

(2)David’s Reasoning

“...for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” (Psalm 26:1)

Is this some sort of self-righteous, sinless perfection claim by David? No. His trust is in the Lord.

Because his trust is in the Lord, David has chosen to walk in the path of integrity. That is, he has been consistently walking in the same direction. (Fargo, ND & Minneapolis, MN)

Integrity is a key word in Psalm 26. The psalm begins with integrity (I have walked on the path of integrity) and the psalm ends with integrity (I will continue to walk on the path of integrity)

Once again, integrity is not a sinless perfection. Integrity means “completeness.” When used as an adjective, it means “complete” in the sense of the entire or whole being.

When it comes to describing a person who trusts God it refers to someone with whole heart devotion. That is, an undivided heart.

In Spanish, we say pan integral — literally, integral bread. In English it’s called, whole wheat bread. That’s bread that hasn’t been stripped down. It’s whole. Nothing essential is removed. It’s nourishing because it’s complete. That’s what God wants from us — integrity. A life that is not compartmentalized. Not part-faithful on Sundays and part-compromised on weekdays. He wants our whole heart. A life of integrity is like pan integral — nothing stripped out, no duplicity, no additives. Just the real thing.

Illustration: Are you a waffle or a you a pancake? A waffle has squares, individual sections:

Spiritual life (church, religion,)

Professional life (work, school)

Relationship life (marriage, dating, friends)

Financial life (savings, spending)

Recreational life (hobbies, entertainment)

Online life (phone usage, social media)

Physical health life (exercise, diet, sleep)

I want to propose that David was able to live a life of integrity, not because he was somehow morally superior in his generation, but because of the power of God’s transforming grace.

(3)David’s Reliance

David experienced God’s love and faithfulness.

“For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” (Psalm 26:3)

You can see the gospel of Jesus Christ in this verse.

David’s eyes are focused on God’s steadfast love (hesed)

Hesed is one of those Hebrew words that are hard to translate (i.e. apapacho from Nahuatl).

Hesed, most important word in OT? Appears 250x (1/2 in Psalms). Hesed often describes God’s steadfast, loyal love for his covenant people.

Hesed is a Hebrew word that no single English word can translate accurately.

Lovingkindness, steadfast love, unfailing love, and mercy, just to name a few.

Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy (hesed) shall follow me all the days of my life…”

Hesed is a love that is bound with a promise.

2 Samuel 7:12–16 “12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ””

God’s steadfast love has a companion: Faithfulness (lit. truth)

David walks the gospel path marked by God’s love and faithfulness:

Psalm 25:10 “10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

Psalm 40:11 “11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!”

Psalm 57:3 “3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!”

Psalm 61:7 “7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!”

Psalm 85:10 “10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

Psalm 86:15 “15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Psalm 89:14 “14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.”

Psalm 115:1 “1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

Psalm 138:2 “2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

How do you respond to this?

(4)David’s Resolve

“But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity...” (Psalm 26:11)

David does not share life with godless (vv.4-5). The reason is because these have values and lifestyles that contradict God’s Word.

David uses strong language to describe his resolve:

Psalm 26:4–5 “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.”

This doesn’t mean that David ignores, looks down on them or avoids their physical presence. The idea of “sitting down” with people in Scripture is to share life, share values.

“Hating their company is not a matter of social preference but of spiritual alignment.” Derek Kidner

Don’t expect the world to understand nor applaud your resolve to walk in God’s love and faithfulness.

[slide] The bible vs society graphic

Where do we go from here?

A prayer of surrender

“Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:2)

Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God Self-Examination and Repentance

Perhaps the most life-giving and crucial part of repentance is found in using the joy and benefits of the gospel to both convict and assure you at the same time.

Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God Jesus Can Get the Spot Out

That’s why we must stop trying to cleanse ourselves through self-punishment, or to get a sense of cleanness by living in denial about our sin. Instead, we must go to him in prayer, looking to his work on the cross, and both admit and forsake our sin.