Finding Yourself in the Psalms

Psalm 26

A Psalm of Personal Integrity

Salesman who was waiting in the office of a prospective customer to submit his company's bid on a job. He was the only one in the room, and as he looked at the secretary's desk he noticed a competitor's bid for the job. But he couldn't see the amount of the bid because paperweight – a CAN FILLED WITH BALL BEARINGS covered the figures.
What did he do? You guessed it. He picked up the can in order to see the bid, and perhaps
refigure his bid, and when he did thousands of B.B's poured from the bottomless can and spilled across the floor. Adapted from Gill Laine, Proclaim magazine, p.150, in Donald F. Ackland and Robert Dean, 52 Ready to Teach Bible Study Lessons (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1994).
Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. —George Washington
STARTS – 26:1 “I have led a blameless life” (KJV “I have walked in my integrity”)

ENDS – 26:11 “I lead a blameless life”

SUBJECT – “integrity!”

Is this ARROGANCE? While David recites the blessing of integrity, he does ith “With a

dread of sink a sense of danger and a prayer for deliverance” (Scrogie)

The description of a blameless life is given, 26:2 “I have trusted in the Lord without wavering

RYRIE “blameless life = sincerity of purpose and single hearted devotion, not sinlessness”

I. The PRAYER of Integrity. 26:1-3
A. Vindicate me
1. (Proverbs 11:3, NIV) "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity."
2. (Psalm 7:8, NIV) "let the Lord judge the peoples. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High."
B. Test me. Similar to Psalm 139:23-24
II. The PRACTICE of Integrity. 26:4-10
A. Association. V. 4-5
B. Sincerity. V. 6-7
1. (Psalm 24:3-4, NIV) "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false."
2. (1 Samuel 15:22, NIV) "But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."
3. Isa 1:11-18
III. The PRIVILEGE of Integrity. 26:11-12

“A man of integrity has nothing to hide. He has nothing to fear. He has nothing to prove. And he has nothing to lose except his wholeness and honesty.” Howard Hendricks

From ACTS 20 (sermon 2 years ago). Paul’s Ministry among the church in EPHESUS

A. The Privilege of Moral authority.

– Parents who don’t discipline their teens

– William Bennet “The book of virtues” (8 million in gambling debt)

– Psalm 41:12 “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And You set me in

Your presence forever.”

B. The Privilege of a Powerful Example. 12 statements by Paul.

Is Paul overly defensive? NO!

2 Cor 4, 10-12; 1 Thess 2; Philippians 3. 1 Cor 11:1 “Follow me, even as I

follow Christ.”
C. The Privilege of a clear conscience.

Illus – Steve Farrar. Forgot lunch – busy day – runs out for a 1/4 pounder with cheese and coke..

SPENDS $2.89

Wife: “You forgot your lunch – what did you you eat?
Farrar: “nothing. . .
Later, preparing a sermon. . .Holy Spirit prompting him. . .rationalization. . .

“How does a man in spiritual leadership who has had such an impact in your life suddenly fall

in to sexual immorality? Well, it starts with something around $2.89 (Standing Tall, 182).

D. The Privilege of Eternal Perspective. Read 20:22-24 Storing up treasure in heaven. . .

VULNERABLE. Integrity is easily lost.

Psalm 26 BEGINS and ENDS with INTEGRITY. (Beginning of life, end of life) It was written of DAVID
(1 Kings 15:5, NIV) "For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite."

The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do, if he knew he would never be found out. –Macaulay