A Frightening Invitation to Careful Examination

Psalm 26:1‑8

Vindicate me, O LORD,

for I have led a blameless life;

I have trusted in the LORD

without wavering.

Test me, O LORD, and try me,

examine my heart and my mind;

for your love is ever before me,

and I walk continually in your truth.

I do not sit with deceitful men,

nor do I consort with hypocrites;

I abhor the assembly of evildoers

and refuse to sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence,

and go about your altar, O LORD,

proclaiming aloud your praise

and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

I love the house where you live, O LORD,

the place where your glory dwells.

Modern evangelicalism has lost her fear of the Lord. We take His presence for granted; and what we take for granted we neither value nor esteem. Irreverence grins in the face of Holy God. We approach His throne with a casual sans souci unparalleled since the creation. We no longer fear the Lord, explaining away such concepts as old‑fashioned and unworthy of our position. We cannot understand what it means to stand in awe of the Lord. Consequently, we marvel at reports from another day which spoke of stirring conversions and of mighty power among the witnesses of the Lord. Such reports seem mythical to us. Vance Havner spoke of modern church goers as morning glories, blooming at 11:00 a.m. each Sunday morning, only to fold up during the remainder of the week. Thank God, there is a small remnant. If there is hope of change in contemporary evangelicalism, it will come from that remnant. I speak boldly, hoping that I address the remnant within our own local assembly.

Turning to the Psalms, we encounter an intimacy and an intensity which almost embarrasses us. The Psalms are not merely sweet poems which sing nicely when put to music. They are prayers from the heart of real men and women, not unlike ourselves. At one moment, these songs spring joyously from hearts full of joy and love. At another moment, they are wrenched from hearts crushed by care and fear and hurt and sorrow and grief. Whatever the motivation, they are prayers worthy of our study and emulation.

The 26th Psalm is presented as David's. Reading the Psalm, we must suppose David was enduring slander or reproach, and his immediate response was to turn to God's throne. How bold, though, is the Psalmist before that sacred throne! The prayer penned serves as a reminder to us to jeopardise all before God if we would truly advance in Christian experience, to live with breath-taking boldness as we stand before the Lord, committing our way to Him.

The Examiner [The Lord – vv 1, 2] —Notice that the examiner is the Lord. We have employed His Name so much that it has become common to us and no longer holds terror for us. We use His Name in such a casual fashion. His Name is a by‑word in the degenerated language of modern communication. O Lord and Lord God Almighty and O God is no longer the preface to heart‑broken prayer, not even among the professed Church of God. But who is this we call Lord? Whom do we address?

You are familiar with the Hebrew, Yahweh, or perhaps you are more familiar with the errant, anglicised form Jehovah, but what is meant by that Name? You will recall that Moses asked of God when commissioned to go back to Egypt to bring deliverance to the Hebrews, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them [Exodus 3:13]? The response of Him who spoke from the burning bush gave us insight into His Person: I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you [Exodus 3:14].

Intimately associated with that Name is the thought of self-existence, the concept of eternity, the idea of infinity. God is greater than that which we can imagine. Uncreated, He had neither beginning nor end. He is both immanent and transcendent. We have so emphasised the love and acceptance of the Living God that we have forgotten that He is mighty in power and awesome in glory; thus, we know but little of worship. Ignorant of His Person, we know nothing of His power.

Vindicate me, O Lord… I have trusted in The Lord… Test me O Lord, wrote the Psalmist. In those words of invitation is an acknowledgement too often forgotten by modern churchgoers: it is God who examines the heart. It is God who is able to examine the heart; it is God who shall ultimately examine the heart, exposing us for what we are. Remember those cautionary words of the apostle: We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body [2 Corinthians 5:10].

How chilling that thought to casual Christians! We who know Him shall be examined by Him; and He alone is able to expose us. How many pious acts will be revealed as fraudulent! How many deeds of piety will be exposed as self‑seeking! Sinners will be condemned as having never known the Lord, and that will be even more solemn than the searching examination His own must undergo.

I confess that I worry for this charge over which the Lord has placed me. Have I spoken plainly enough? Did I honour the One who set me in this position? Have I neglected some point of doctrine to the hurt of the people? I am but a man and I cannot know motives of the people, but I confess that the indifference I witness among the professed Church of God weighs heavily on my heart.

You cannot know the despair that comes over preachers time-after-time as they look upon the faces of their congregations and feel, “What shall I do to put a sharp enough point upon this truth to get it into the heart of some man or woman who has been sitting as long as I have been standing here, and is never a bit better for it?” Some of this congregation has been listening, listening, listening, until hearts have become so habituated to this Christian preaching that it does not produce the least effect. It runs off like rain from a raincoat. What can I say? How shall I communicate the truth? And when shall we know the fear of the Lord?

The Examined [We who are His people, as we appear before Him] — Repeatedly the Psalmist presents himself for divine scrutiny. Listen to him as he repeatedly invites God to examine him. Vindicate ME… I have led a blameless life… I have trusted… Test ME… Try ME… examine MY heart and MY mind. Would any of us dare stand before the Living God, inviting Him to examine us and expose us? How painful the light when it falls on eyes accustomed to darkness! How fearful the light to that one whose deeds are evil!

I suggest to you that few of us, if any, would welcome such examination. Yet, in a spirit of love for the flock of the Lord, I warn you that each of us shall stand exposed before Him, giving an account of each life and of each ministry. I am assuredly conscious that I must give an accounting for every word, for every deed, for every thought I have harboured or encouraged. As a minister of the Lord Jesus, how much greater is my accountability to the Lord Christ. I have stood before the blood-bought Church of the Lord, speaking in His Name words which have either encouraged or discouraged those who heard, which have either instructed in righteousness or confirmed in wickedness those who listened, which have either honoured Him or have dishonoured Him.

I cannot read the Word of God without receiving reminders of my own responsibility. Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith… Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you [Hebrews 13:7, 17].

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away [1 Peter 5:2‑4].

How awesome the thought that we who consider ourselves as leaders of God’s flock—as elders and as teachers—must give a report to Him who redeemed us and who appointed us to this holy task. How much more awesome still our knowledge that this report shall be in the first person. I see no prospect that any among us can give any excuse for shirking our responsibility before God and before His holy people. We cannot excuse sin either in conduct or in speech.

What is true for me, as one appointed by the Lord is no less true for you if you are one of His own. As His, you have received a gift from His Holy Spirit. Your responsibility is no less than that of the spokesman of the Lord. You must give a report of your own stewardship—the employment of the gift entrusted to you for the health and wholeness of the Body. That, also, is a clear teaching of the Word.

[The judgement arising from the accusation of our thoughts] will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares [Romans 2:16].

We will all stand before God’s judgement seat. It is written:

“’As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will confess to God’”

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God [Romans 14:10b‑12].

Brothers, such knowledge is sobering indeed!

What is your gift? As a Christian, you know that He has gifted you. How have you employed that divine enablement for His glory? What are you now doing that honours Him? We are quick to claim that all we possess is His, for we have nothing that we did not receive? Does our administration of those possessions demonstrate His ownership? What if He were to take back all we hold dear—whether houses and lands, or transportation, or sporting equipment, or clothing, or that which we have reserved as security and a hedge against the future? How would we respond? What if He was to remove our ability to serve either the people of God or ourselves? What if the boundaries of our world were suddenly and irreversibly reduced to the walls defining our bedroom? How would we then serve the Lord?

The words flow so easily, but how ominous the consequences if we are not worthy of that probing examination. Test me, O LORD… try me, examine my heart and my mind. Was God to hear our prayer, answering as He alone can do, what would be revealed by His examination? What would result? Dear people, I do not lie when I say that I shrink from such scrutiny either for myself or for the flock over which I preside. I fear God's examination, for I know my own wickedness; and I know enough of the wickedness of this flock to fear for you.

The Examination — What did David invite the Lord to examine him for? What did he hope to be revealed in this scrutiny? David invited the Lord to examine his life‑style [vv 1a, 4, 5]. Our life‑style likewise shall be examined. David invited the Lord to determine whether his was a blameless life. What would we take for a blameless life?

David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives an excellent description of what he has in mind in verses 4 and 5 when he speaks of his associations and that to which he gives approval. He does not sit with deceitful men nor does he consort with hypocrites. David exercises discernment in his associations. Those whose lives fairly scream defiance toward God find small comfort in his presence. They may wear the livery of Zion, but their speech is that of one who robs the sheepfold. David refuses to permit his life‑style afford comfort to any such people.

As a church, does association with all the other churches mean more than honouring God through association with those who endeavour to honour God? How can embracing the United Church as in tune with Heaven honour God? How can approving of the wickedness of the Anglican Church of Canada in their mad rush to disregard God’s Word glorify Him who loved us and gave Himself for us? In what way will acceptance of the Seventh Day Adventists as evangelical change their cult and please God? Will God really approve of us if we embrace Catholicism as righteous without calling to account papal infallibility and salvation through human merit? Shall we change our position in order to feel good about ourselves?

What of us as individuals? Are we prone to laugh at the risqué joke or the suggestive story at work? Even if we refuse to do such in the workplace, do we nevertheless permit such to amuse us in the privacy of our homes through what we absorb through radio and television? I am horrified at the lack of practical holiness demonstrated by the professed Bride of Christ in this day. In no small measure, our lack of practical holiness—and our failure to be concerned about our lack—is due to our desire to be amused to death. Lowering our standards to permit ourselves to be entertained in the home, we are unprepared for the consequences.

Our children ridicule our God and our faith but didn't we teach them that He wasn't much through our actions before them? Our contemporaries cannot tolerate strong meat, coming to church only to be entertained, but didn't we give our tacit approval of such through our own demonstrated desires? Our churches give out a message of rose water to cure the cancers of sin, but isn't that what we demanded because of lowering our own standards?

Attempting to be broad‑minded, we no longer condemn sins once abhorred. We give new names to old sin in a vain attempt to make the unacceptable acceptable. Unfaithfulness is finding ourselves. It never ceases to amaze me that when some individual decides to find themselves, the first place they look is in another's bed. Drunkenness is alcoholism. If it is an illness, it is the first illness which could be eliminated by removing the source. If we didn't foist alcohol on our youth through the media, through false advertising, through our own wicked tolerance, we wouldn't worry about people becoming sick from it. Greed is security. Blasphemy is telling it like it is. Rebellion and thoughtlessness is assertiveness, standing up for ourselves. Sodomy is an alternate life‑style. Lying is protecting our own interest. The wages of sin are not frozen, nor are they subject to change. Even for us, the wages of sin is death.

David invites God to examine his life‑style, and then he invites Him to scrutinise his faith [vv 1b‑3]. Our faith, likewise, shall fall under the searching probe of the Living God. Of his own faith, David asserted, I have trusted in the Lord without wavering… Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your truth.

I am convicted here, and I suspect I speak to a people who must likewise stand convicted by these words. How grievous my own lack of unwavering trust. God has spoken, giving a charge to be fulfilled. Yet, my faith totters, proving itself weak. How glad I am that my salvation does not depend upon the quality of my faith. Rather my salvation is dependent upon the One in whom I have trusted. Likewise, the acceptability of my service depends not upon the quality of my faith, but having fixed my eyes on Him who assigned me, He shall cause me to stand. How distressing the knowledge that His love has not always ruled in my life, my actions giving mute though effective witness to that sorry fact. How disquieting the knowledge that I do not walk continually in His truth, yet struggling against the flesh, and that not often successfully.

It is not so much that we cannot have growing, glowing, vibrant faith, it is that we do not have such faith. We have convinced ourselves that such is the stuff of childhood tales. If we are children of the King, we are expected to live as such, knowing that He has designed that we are destined to be conformed to the image of the Risen Christ, being transformed by the renewing of our minds. This being true, how is it that we are hard‑pressed to demonstrate growing faith, to say nothing of glowing faith? Why, if this is true, are our minds yet undifferentiated from those of the earth‑dwellers around us? How is it, if this were true, that Christ is so little evident among us? Dare we stand before Him, inviting examination of our faith?

David finally invited the LORD to examine his worship [vv 6‑8]. Our worship, also, shall come under divine scrutiny, and even now is subject to examination by the Risen Lord of Glory. David speaks of his approach to the altar of God, which he asserts is in innocence. He states that he is not reticent of speaking of his praise of the Lord, that he is conversant and current when he speaks of the deeds the Lord has done for him and through him. He speaks of his love for the Lord's house.

Tozer was correct when he spoke of worship being the missing jewel in the evangelical church. Churches today suffer either from catatonia or hysteria, neither of which is worship. Sanctified somnolence is not worship, regardless how pious such appears. I hesitate to suggest that a cemetery is more conducive to worship than is a shopping mall, since such is not necessarily the case. If such divine dullness is not worship, than neither is the holy hullabaloo others seem to believe to be worship.

Were the Spirit of God to grip our hearts, we could not sleep through that time with God. Were He to seize our hearts, we would be in love with Him and we could not wait to enter into His presence. The evidence of our failure to worship is seen in the need to beg people to pray, is seen is the need to plan campaigns to get the unconverted to unite with the church where they can claim kinship to yet others who are unconverted. The evidence of our failure to worship is seen in our efforts to attract outsiders to Him who is altogether lovely.

When I was dating my wife, I couldn't be silent about her. I spoke of her to everyone who would listen. I told them of her smile—how it dazzled my eyes. I told them of her lovely red hair—how it was the most beautiful hair I had ever seen. I told them of her pleasant demeanour. People hearing my description couldn't wait to meet this lovely woman. You were no different when you were courting. If we were as in love with the Saviour as we once were with our spouse, outsiders would be attracted to Him without gimmicks or gadgets. Were God to be again central to life and worship for us, there would be no strained efforts to work up a proper feeling for worship, we would simply worship.

I am neither suggesting that we need to turn the assembly of the Lord into either a refrigerator or an oven, though I caution you against becoming lukewarm and discovering we are fit only to be vomited out of His mouth. I do recommend that our hearts must be warmed by love for Him—and such shall never be the case until we have washed our hands in innocence that we might approach His altar. In love, I remind you of our obligation to know now—and to know intimately—the wonderful deeds of the Lord. I suggest it is time that we again fell in love with Him.

I have spoken plainly out of a deep and growing concern both for the ministry I have exercised among you and because of my fear for the welfare of your souls. I know not how the message shall be applied to your hearts, but I am confident that God shall apply it to each heart. Knowing the fear of the Lord, I have attempted to turn our hearts and minds to first principles of the Christian Faith. I ask that no closing hymn be sung, but that we ponder the message of an honest heart as we close our service now. May God accomplish His perfect will among us. Amen.