Psalm 26

A Psalm of David.

1 Judge me, O LORD;
for I have walked in mine integrity;
I have trusted also in the LORD;
therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;
try my reins and my heart.
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes;
and I have walked in thy truth.

4 I have not sat with vain persons,
neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evildoers;
and will not sit with the wicked.

6 I will wash mine hands in innocency;
so will I compass thine altar, O LORD.
7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works.

8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house,
and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
9 Gather not my soul with sinners,
nor my life with bloody men:
10 In whose hands is mischief,
and their right hand is full of bribes.

11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity;
redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
12 My foot standeth in an even place;
in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

JW: David professes his integrity, ver. 1-8; deprecates the doom of the wicked, ver. 9, 10; casts himself upon the mercy of God, ver. 11, 12.

3: 'For' - I dare appeal to thee, because thou knowest I have a deep sense of thy loving-kindness, by which I have been led to love and obey thee.

4: 'Sat' - Continued with them. I have been so far from an imitation of their wicked courses, that I have avoided their company.

12: 'Standeth' - I stand upon a sure and solid foundation, being under the protection of God's promise, and his almighty and watchful providence. 'Congregations' - I will not only privately, but in the assemblies of thy people celebrate thy praise.

It took me a couple of times reading through it to notice, but you can see in this psalm that a life of worship and discipleship is a living that employs your whole body: eyes, heart, hands, mouth, and especially the feet (notice all the references to walking). [Well almost your whole body...not your butt (see 'sit' and 'sat' in v. 4-5), no place for laziness or complacency!]

Our eyes should constantly be aware of and looking for the love of God, which is ever before us. We should guard our heart, for as Jesus tells us it is the well-spring of life, knowing that God ever examines it and wants it directed toward himself and others. The importance of clean hands appears here in similar fashion as Psalm 24, which has it as a requisite for entrance into the sanctuary. In order of appearance, the last body part that shows up is the mouth. I don't know if there's an intention in that, but it would make sense if so. Notice that the psalmist publishes (proclaims/speaks) with thanksgiving. Chances are that if we have the rest of our body aligned with the right purpose, our publishing of good news will likely be well-received...or at least it will be heard. I saw someone quip recently something about this idea, but that ultimately, we are still called to 'publish,' or present in word, our faith. The statement was meant as tongue-in-cheek (at least I think so) to the quote from St. Francis of Assisi that is perhaps quoted too frequently: "Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." The response I heard was, "To those who [espouse this idea], note that Jesus was not a mime." Too many of us speak before we should; but there are also many who should speak because their eyes, their hearts, their feet, and their hands are all rightly-oriented. Those are exactly the type of people who should speak, and the type of people we would do well to listen to.

How many of us can honestly say to God, of all beings, "I have walked in integrity"? I mean I might be able to slip that one past you, but God knows where I've been walking. David expresses this. But it's not like he's proud or sanctimonious about it. He's just confessing, in my view, that he's living/walking in accordance to the truth of God's loving-kindness. I think that is what Wesley was picking up on, too: I have a deep sense of thy loving-kindness, by which I have been led to love and obey thee. It's living and walking in the love of God so described in 1 John 4 - In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another...So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in that person. By this is love perfected in us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. God's love made manifest to and in us so that we, with David, can cry to God, "I have walked in my integrity." But note that this is also a confidence that isn't independent or self-sufficient; David still cries in the end for God to redeem and be merciful to him. Let us not forget that even as we pursue holiness.