LIVING IN DEPENDENT INTEGRITY

WE NEED GOD’S HELP EVERY DAY!

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.

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.

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.

12 My foot stands on level ground;

in the great assembly I will bless the Lord

If read quickly, this psalm it could seem that David has composed a song of boasting. Probably, it was a time when David was being accused falsely and knew he was innocent of those accusations.

David proclaims his integrity in verse one; in verse two, he invites the scrutiny of God; but in verse three, he remits himself to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.

Only those who have known the everlasting and perfect love of God and His faithfulness can ever hope to walk in integrity. David does not forget that his walk is completely dependent on God’s grace and help.

When we forget our total dependence on God, we will always fall away from a life of integrity. Depending on God requires our submission to his Word, our devotion to purity, and our reliance on corporate life. In this psalm David will mention how much he loves the house of the Lord.

To walk in integrity, a careful choice has to be made, and that is to choose one’s associates carefully. David was careful in evaluating those whom he spent time with. He distanced himself from the evildoers and also from those living hypocritically. This is not implying that we should completely isolate ourselves from the unsaved, but that our close friends should those that are like-minded.

David proclaims his innocence, having ceremonially washed himself, that he may approach the altar, the place of sacrifice for those who recognized their need for God’s forgiveness of their sins.

One of the great blessings of knowing the Lord is the privilege of going to Him for cleansing. John reminds us that everyone sins, and that everyone needs to confess his sins regularly. Our fellowship with God requires confession, and our integrity demands it.

1 John 1:5-10

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.   

Walking in the light requires regular confession of sin. Only those who go to God experience the beauty and privilege of true fellowship with Him.

In verse eight, David proclaims the joy of inhabiting the house of the Lord. He reminds us that God is enveloped by His glory. We must approach God, aware of our need for forgiveness and grateful for the mercy He has shown us in allowing us to have a relationship with Him.

Away from God, men are evil, with no limit to their greediness and selfishness. Why would we ever desire those that live for themselves to be our companions?

David is committed to walk in integrity, but in verse ten he reminds us on what basis he can approach the Holy God. He needs to be redeemed by God’s grace.

Dear friends, do we forget the privilege we have, to have been redeemed, and the amazing grace we have received? Do we forget the responsibility that this demands from us?

Only when we walk in integrity will our feet be stable and our worship true.

It saddens me that so many believe that worship merely consists of singing songs and allowing our feelings to transport us in moments of emotional bliss. Biblical worship is done in spirit and truth.

Philippians 3:3

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Later in the same chapter Paul writes:

Philippians 3:12

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Paul knew that a life of integrity was the result of pressing on in faithful obedience to God’s Word. Our sanctification was never compared to a walk on the beach, but rather to the life of an athlete or a soldier at war. Dear friends, may we learn from David first, and then from Paul, that a life of integrity is the result of hard and careful diligence. We must never forget that this walk would have never been possible, without God’s work of grace at salvation and His work of grace in us every day of our lives.

May you and I walk well today, in God-driven integrity!