Latest / Reformed Thinking / Walking in Integrity Before the Lord (Psalm 26) | Charles Spurgeon

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Walking in Integrity Before the Lord (Psalm 26) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the deep dive powered by reformed thinking.
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This is where we take source material, historical
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commentaries, key texts, and we really try to pull out the core
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insights for you to give you a clear path to being well
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informed. And today we're doing a pretty
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substantial deep dive into one specific text.
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We're looking at Psalm 26, and our guide is going to be Charles
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Spurgeon's commentary from the Treasury of David.
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This Psalm is, well, it's David Solem, appeal to the supreme
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judge about his own personal integrity.
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It's a protestation of innocence and you can feel the weight of
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it. And the context here is so
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helpful because it really explains the urgencies Virgin
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brings U this, this really interesting idea that David
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might have written this right when he was being framed
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essentially for the murder of Ish Bosheth.
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So it's not a general prayer. It's more like a court filing.
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You know he's protesting that he had absolutely nothing to do
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with this awful political assassination.
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And that just changes how you read it, doesn't it?
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Knowing he's under the spotlight of the slanderous attacks, his
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plea just cuts so much deeper. He's not just praying, he's, you
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could say, filing a legal appeal with the court of heaven.
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And if we look at the structure, you can actually see his defense
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laid out very logically. It follows A framework that
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David Dixon noted. So it starts with the appeal
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itself. That would be verses one to
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three, where he's setting up his good conscience, his upright
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walk, and saying it all comes from his faith in God.
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And from there he moves to the external evidence, verses four
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and five. This is where he shows his, his
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deliberate separation from wicked people, from their
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schemes. This is his alibi, if you want
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to think of it that way. And that separation then allows
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for the next part, right? The purpose of it all, verses 6
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to 8, where he talks about his dedication to holiness and how
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much he loves the public worship of God.
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It's a sharp contrast to the company he's been avoiding.
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It is. And because he's walked that
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path, the Psalm then pivots into a very specific prayer.
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In verses 9 and 10, he asks, God, don't let me in with the
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judgement that's coming for those corrupt and bloody men.
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And then it all resolves, the tension kind of breaks and it
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closes with David's personal vow to keep walking this way, which
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leads to this, this real comfort and assurance that God has
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that's heard him. That's in verses 11 and 12.
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It's a beautifully built argument, really.
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It moves you from a place of of legal danger to one of peace.
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It really is a master class in pleading one's case before God.
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OK, so let's get into that opening statement then verse
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one. It's so bold.
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Judge me, O Jehovah, in the face of all this earthly injustice,
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David just bypasses every human court.
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He goes straight to the top, the throne of eternal right.
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It's a move that should make a stop and think.
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This isn't a casual thing to ask.
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It's a serious, serious action. You're carrying your case into
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the King's Bench of Heaven itself, and only someone who
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genuinely believes their conscience is clear on the
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specific charge could ever dare to do that.
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And for David, that charge was political treachery, right?
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Maybe even regicide. Right.
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But this brings up a huge theological tension, one we have
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to get into right away, David says.
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I have walked in mine integrity. Now when any sinful person says
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that, you have to ask, is that not just pride?
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Is that hubris? That's the question, isn't it?
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How do you square that with what we know about sin?
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Well, this is where Spurgeon gives a critical qualification.
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It's a key part of the reformed reading of this song.
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David is not appealing on the grounds of some perfect,
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absolute sinlessness. He is protesting his noble honor
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in relation to his political accusers.
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He's saying on this specific charge of being a traitor, my
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conscience is clear. So he's drawing a line between
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the human accusation and the divine standard.
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Precisely If we took this as a general statement of his merit
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before God, the prayer would be totally wrong.
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The far more fitting prayer for any of us at any time is always
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going to be enter not into judgement with thy servant, O
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Lord. Oh, OK, so David's appeal is
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localized. It's about the slander of men,
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not a claim of sinless standing before a holy God.
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And the practical benefit for David, then, is that comfort of
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conscience. If he knows deep down he had
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nothing to do with Ish Bouchet's murder, then the slanders of his
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enemies just don't have the same sting.
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It's that old metaphor, isn't it?
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The little bird in one's bosom singing.
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If that bird is singing about internal peace, then the storms
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outside can rage, but they don't do as much damage to your soul.
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That's right, but that internal peace isn't self generated.
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Look at the very next part of verse one.
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It tells you the true source of His integrity.
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I have trusted also in the Lord, therefore I shall not slide.
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And there it is, the cornerstone.
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This is the cornerstone of the thinking here.
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Faith is the living root. It's the circulating SAP of all
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real integrity and all real righteousness.
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If you are leaning upon the Lord, you have to walk in a
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righteous way. This leak between faith and
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integrity is so, so important. It's what keeps a person from,
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you know, resorting to sin or taking sketchy shortcuts to get
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a promise that God has already given.
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David could have killed Saul so many times.
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The opportunity was right there in The Cave.
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Right there. But he didn't.
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Why? Well, because his faith trusted
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God to accomplish his own decrees, David knew the crown
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was promised to him. So to lift his hand against the
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Lord's anointed or to get involved in Ishbashhat's murder
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would have been to steal what God had already promised to give
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him lawfully in his own time. It's such a simple principle.
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When you genuinely believe God will provide, you don't need to
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steal. Yeah, and when you believe God
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will vindicate you, you don't need to lie or manipulate things
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behind the scenes. And this really sets up a
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powerful distinction, doesn't it, between true faith and what
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Spurgeon just calls policy, human scheming.
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We mix those two up all the time.
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We do, and it brings us right back to that classic biblical
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comparison, Rebecca versus Abraham.
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Talk us through that. Well, Rebecca knew God's decree.
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The elder will serve the younger.
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Jacob was the chosen one. But instead of just trusting God
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to make that happen, she came up with this big scheme, this
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elaborate lie to trick Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing.
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That action doing something unrighteous to help God.
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It shows a lack of belief in God's means, even if she
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believed in the end result. That's a fascinating point.
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So even having a religious motive doesn't make using bad
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methods OK. Not at all.
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If we convince ourselves we have to lie or cheat or manipulate
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to, I don't know, save the church or save our business or
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whatever, that just shows we don't really trust that God can
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achieve His purposes through our simple, straightforward
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obedience. Now contrast that with Abraham.
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He gets this huge promise nations will come from Isaac and
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then God tells him to take a knife and kill Isaac.
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A complete contradiction in human terror.
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Oh, total contradiction. Yet Abraham walks up the
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mountain. He keeps his faith.
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He leaves it to the Lord to figure out how to fulfill his
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own purposes, even when the path seems to destroy the promise.
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That confidence, that willingness to obey no matter
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what, that's what protects integrity from sin.
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And that confidence leads to a specific result he mentions.
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Therefore, I shall not slide. And it's not just that he won't
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fall completely. The Hebrew word here suggests he
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won't even make a false step, not even a stumble.
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That's it. The path of integrity, the
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straight way. They might be rough, but it's
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always safe. The doubtful ways of human
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policy, however. They might look smooth and
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clever at first, but they are guaranteed to make you fall
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sooner or later. You just can't walk crookedly
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and at the same time say you're resting completely on the
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faithfulness of God. So after asserting this
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integrity, David does something really bold.
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He opens himself up for divine inspection in verse 2.
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Examine me, O Lord, improve me. Try my reins and my heart.
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He's basically saying, Lord, if you don't believe my claim, look
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for yourself, I submit to your court.
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He's inviting the ultimate cross examination, and the language
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here is so intense, Spurgeon points out, that the original
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Hebrew words progress three very specific, very thorough ways of
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testing metals for purity. OK, let's walk through those.
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How thorough is this examination David is asking for?
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Well, first there's a trial by touch that's like the immediate
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surface level inspection. Second, there's trial by smell
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that's a bit more subtle. It's checking for hidden
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corruption, things you can't see on the surface.
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But the most rigorous is the third one, trial by fire.
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This is where the metal is put into white hot heat to burn away
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every impurity, all the dross, every alloy.
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David is saying put me through the hottest fire you want Lord
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and see if I come out pure on this matter.
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That sounds terrifyingly thorough.
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And what is it that God is testing when he puts us through
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that fire? The text says.
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The rains and the heart. How do those two things differ,
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biblically speaking? Well, the reins, which sometimes
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gets translated as kidneys or your insides.
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That was understood as the seat of your lower, almost
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instinctual passions, gut reactions, deep seated desires,
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appetites. It's often where sin first gets
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a hold without you even thinking about it.
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So he's asking God to check his gut instincts, his primal
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motive. Yes, and then the heart
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represented the higher things, the affections, your conscious
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will, your rational conscience, the place of moral purpose.
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So by saying check both, David is saying look at my instincts
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and look at my deliberate choices.
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Do I harbor any murder or deceit in either place?
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Wow. That puts God's judgement in a
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whole different category from human accusation.
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Totally different. Our enemies are severe out of
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spite, you know, fueled by jealousy.
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But God's severity is the necessary severity of what is
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unswertingly right. It makes us admit that if we're
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going to stand before Him, we have to be completely and
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thoroughly sincere in every part of our being.
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We have to be transparent. But why would David invite this?
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What gives him the confidence? Verse 3 answers that and it
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lifts this whole discussion from being about works based
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righteousness to being about grace.
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For thy loving kindness is before mine eyes.
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Loving kindness. That's one of those words.
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It's just, it's almost too big for English, isn't it?
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So I said covenant faithfulness. It is, and it totally changes
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the motivation for obedience. David isn't relying on his own
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performance. He's appealing to God's mercy,
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God's fidelity. The memory of the grace he's
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already received gives him a real hope for the future.
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It gives him visions of mercies that are still to come.
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So it's both a memory and a hope.
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Yes, and this is such a good picture of the Christian life
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under grace. We're not under the bondage of
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the law, motivated by fear. We're under the sweet
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constraints of grace. And the strange thing is, grace
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is a far mightier motivator for holiness, even though it's so
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much gentler than the whip of the law.
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That's so true. If we really understood the
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scale of the love and mercy already shown to us in Christ,
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we'd be so much more careful, so much quicker to walk in
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obedience. We forget the way of mercy, and
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that's what causes us to stumble on the way of obedience.
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And the result of keeping that loving kindness in view is what
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he says next. I have walked in my truth.
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The experience of Divine Love has to show itself in a
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practical following of Divine Truth.
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And that means both parts of truth, right?
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The doctrinal part, what we believe, and the practical part,
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how we live. You can't really have one
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without the other. No, you can't.
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We have to get that walking in truth isn't just talking about
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truth. David proves his love for God's
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hest by his honest walk. It's the necessary fruit of it
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all. OK, so he's established the
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internal proof of his integrity, this faith, this clean
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conscience that's motivated by seeing God's love.
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Now he has to provide the external evidence for the world
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to see who he walks with and maybe even more important, who
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he refuses to sit with. This is David's alibi.
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It's his conduct and it's unimpeachable evidence.
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It's the simple logic of, you know, if you're accusing me of
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plotting trees and just look at my friends.
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I never took counsel with traitors.
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Verse 4 says it plainly. I have not sat with vain
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persons. And we should probably define
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vain persons a bit broadly here. It's not just people who are
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shallow or silly. Vain here means living only for
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this fleeting life, for the here and now.
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Chaffee, frothy men, Persian calls them people without
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substance or any eternal purpose.
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That's the key. And sitting with them implies
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choosing their company for rest, for solace, for fellowship.
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Now, David might have had to do business with men like that.
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We all have to live in the world.
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But he didn't make their company his home.
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A godly person might have to visit Vanity Fair, but he
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shouldn't set up a tent there. Right.
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And when that vanity is mixed with falsehood, keeping your
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distance is even more urgent. Which leads to his next
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resolution in verse 4. Neither will I go in with
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dissemblers. This is a clear decision to cut
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off acquaintance with pretenders, with hypocrites.
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Spurgeon calls hypocritical piety double iniquity.
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It's one thing to be openly vain.
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It's another thing entirely to cover that vanity with a show of
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false piety. You're deceiving God's people
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and you're deceiving yourself. So this separation has to be
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incredibly careful. It goes beyond just the world
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and straight into the church itself, because you can find
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assemblers among people who profess to follow the truth.
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Oh, absolutely. Think of the analogy of the dog
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Violet. It looks just like a sweet
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Violet. Same shape, same color, but it's
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missing that one thing. The sweet smell of truth and
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holiness. These are the people who, as the
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commentary says, might hang their beads around their necks
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and carry the devil in their hearts.
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We have to learn to spot the form of godliness when it's real
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power is missing. But that brings up a really
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tough question for us today. When we see that hypocrisy,
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serious compromise in our own community, how does a sincere
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person maintain that separation without becoming, you know,
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overly judgmental or falling into this sort of pharisaical
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bubble where you reject every community that isn't perfect?
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Where is that line? It's a tension we always have to
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manage with care. I think David's language is
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helpful. He talked about association, and
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going in with it isn't a call to cut off all interaction.
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It's a refusal to make common cause with them or to seek
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comfort in their counsel. The separation is one of
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principle and affection. We deal with them as neighbors,
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but we don't accept them as trusted friends or companions in
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the faith. So we reject the counsel and
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comfort of the wicked, but we don't reject our duty to love
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the wicked as our neighbor. That seems like the right
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balance to strike. It is, and the distinction gets
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even sharper in verse 5. I have hated the congregation of
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evil doers. That word hate is very strong,
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but it's a necessary sentence. Spurgeon argues that a person
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who doesn't hate evil terribly doesn't really love good
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heartedly. If we see sin as treason against
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the great King, then a loyal subject has to hold that treason
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in complete abhorrence. It's a rejection of the
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wickedness, not a rejection of the person God created.
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Exactly. And notice he calls them a
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congregation. This isn't just about some
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individual Sinner. It suggests violent men in an
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alliance meeting together to overthrow the innocent.
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It's a literal synagogue of Satan, existing right next to
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the Church of God. David held those kinds of wicked
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alliances in utter abhorrence, especially given that he was
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under the threat of assassination.
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That idea of a congregation of the wicked really adds texture
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to the political reality David was facing.
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These weren't just random bad guys, they were organized
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enemies plotting his downfall. And that leads directly to his
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final statement of separation here.
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And will not sit with the wicked.
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The Saints spike race have a seat saved for them at a
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different table, the King's table.
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Why would they trade that for, you know, the husks in the swine
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through. It makes the choice so stark to
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sit with the wicked implies you feel at home there, that you
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belong in their company. Spurgeon uses this memorable
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exaggeration. It's better to sit on Job's
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dunghill with God's approval than to sit on Pharaoh's throne
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without it. And this choice has eternal
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consequences. Who we choose as our company
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here tends to dictate our company in the hereafter.
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If we're happy to wander with vagrants and join their schemes
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now, well, death will gather our souls to that very same company.
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If we shun that association now, we have hope.
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We won't be bundled up with them for all eternity.
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It gives you a very practical motivation for holiness.
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If you wouldn't want to spend eternity with them, why are you
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spending all your free time with them now?
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That's it, the decision about but who we sit with is an
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external sign of where our heart is really resting.
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We are called to be in the world, yes, but we must never be
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of the world, especially when it comes to our closest friendships
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and moral alliances. The integrity David claims in
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verse one is proven by the company he keeps, or rather, the
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company he forcefully refuses to keep.
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So this necessary separation from the wicked, it clears the
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way for true commune with God. David's next move is a public,
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visible action in verse 6. I will wash my hands in
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innocency. This was a known historical
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right, a very visible action meant to show that a man had no
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connection to some evil deed. We still say it today, right?
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I wash my hands of this whole business.
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Yeah, we do. In the temple context, this act
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of cleansing was essential before you could approach the
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altar. Which tells us something
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critical about what's required for worship.
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David is claiming innocence in the matter of the slanders
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against him, and by doing so, he's declaring himself fit to
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approach God's altar. You can't be unjust to other
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people and then expect to have an acceptable religious life
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before God. You can't bring thank offerings
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with hands that are still dirty with guilt.
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That's right, the brazen labor where the priests washed was
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just as necessary as the golden altar where the sacrifice was
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offered. But again, we have to add that
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necessary qualification for us as sinful people.
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David's claim is relative innocence before men.
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For absolute innocence, we have to go to the atoning blood of
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Christ. So the outward washing of hands
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is meant to point us to a greater cleansing.
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It points us to what Spurgeon calls the two eminent laborers.
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The first is Christ's bath, the lamacrum sanguinas, the hot bath
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of Christ's blood. That blood is what makes us
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clean. Every part of us is the sole
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cause of our regeneration and our acceptance before God.
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And what's the second labor? That is the Lavacrimer
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lacrimarum, our cold bath of repentance.
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It's the necessary operation that applies the cleansing.
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And David makes a point of mentioning washing the hands
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because sins like extortion, theft, and especially bribery,
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sins done with the hands have to be decisively shaken off.
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We can't be content with a partial cleansing.
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If you've wronged someone, you must restore what you've
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wronged. Otherwise, you're just rejoicing
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in the sin and the washing is a total sham.
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OK, so once cleansed, the reason for the cleansing becomes clear.
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So will I compass thine altar, O Lord, The holy mind finds its
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greatest delight, its greatest solace in the public ordered
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worship of the Lord. To compass the altar means to
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circle it, to be totally devoted to its service.
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The altar is the right focus because it's the altar that
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sanctifies both the giver and the gift.
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But this act of sacrifice should never, ever be twisted into an
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excuse for sin. Instead, the need for the altar
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becomes the very argument for holiness.
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We can't just approach it casually.
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Personal holiness is always the prerequisite for acceptable
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worship. God values justice and purity so
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much more than thousands of animals being offered without
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genuine obedience. And what spiritual offering is
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David thinking of here, since we know the Old Testament
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sacrifices were all pointing forward to Christ?
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Verse 7 tells us that I may publish with the voice of
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Thanksgiving and hell of all thy wondrous works.
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He's moving beyond the literal groans of bulls to the spiritual
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songs of gratitude. The everyday life of a forgiven
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Sinner should be to broadcast the praises of the God of all
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grace. Let the enemies keep slandering.
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We can't let that external noise stop us from giving the Lord the
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praise He's due. This is such a key duty of the
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church. When it assembles, we gather to
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publish God's works and what makes God's works wondrous.
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They're judged by three specific criteria, and each one
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highlights God's unique glory. OK, lay those out for us.
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First, they're wondrous because of the unworthiness of their
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objects. He chooses the weak, the base,
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the rebellious, the sinful to be the recipients of his favor.
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That's just astonishing. Second, they're wondrous because
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of the costliness of their method.
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His greatest work, Redemption, cost the blood of his own son.
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The method was infinitely costly.
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And the third criterion. 3rd They're wondrous because of the
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glory of their result. The end result of his work is
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eternal life, perfect righteousness, the
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transformation of sinners into Saints.
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Just like people enjoy talking about remarkable things, the
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Saints rejoice to tell of the great things the Lord has done,
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things that defy any human explanation.
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In all of this praise and communion, it builds to this
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declaration of deep settled love in verse 8.
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Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the
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place where then honor dwelleth. David didn't just show up for
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the service, he genuinely loved the physical, the spiritual, the
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corporate reality of God's dwelling place.
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This house is the Church of the living God.
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It's the assemblies, the ordinances, the services.
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It's the place where God condescends to reveal Himself in
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the glory of His grace, and where He is proclaimed as the
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Lord of all things. And this points to the absolute,
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non negotiable purpose of our gathering.
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We come together not to celebrate the dignity of man, or
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to hear the latest social trends, or to praise the
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speaking skills of the preacher. We gather specifically and only
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to give glory to God where His honor dwells.
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If that distinction gets lost, the assembly immediately loses
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its divine sanction. If we find ourselves in a
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service where the dignity of man or the personality of the
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preacher takes center stage and the infinite majesty of God is
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sort of a footnote, that gathering has become a danger.
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It's the difference between celebrating the king and
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celebrating the King's messenger.
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We are there to celebrate the King, and that love for the
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place of God's honor is the ultimate fruit of a life that's
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lived in integrity and separation from the world.
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So the contrast between David's love for the House of God and
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the wicked company he avoids leads him right to his final
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prayer in verse 9. Gather not my soul with sinners.
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This is the final horror of separation.
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Death is the great gathering time, and David is praying with
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this incredible urgency, asking God not to put him in the same
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collection, not to bind him in the same bundle with sinners for
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all eternity, like the tares that are gathered up for the
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fire. The thought is just chilling.
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If the company of sinners is unpleasant for Saints here on
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earth, the idea of being perpetually stuck with them in
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the world to come is utterly terrifying.
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The company we keep in this life really does determine the
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company we keep in the next. Even wicked people like Balaam,
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you know they wish to die the death of the righteous.
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They may not fear sin, but they do fear the punishment and the
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awful reality of being bound with their own kind forever.
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And David is specific about the sinners he avoids, which ties
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right back to that threat. Assassination over Ishbisheth.
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Bloody men. These are people whose cruel
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schemes treat killing human beings like it's just a sport.
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Lord, don't shut us up in the same prison with them.
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Even if paradise included such men, if they stayed in their
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wickedness, it would be hell for the righteous.
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Verse 10 continues this powerful critique, detailing the
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practical depravity of the wicked, in whose hands is
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mischief. They are actively doing it.
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They have both hands full, plotting mischief with one hand
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and carrying out of the other. They're not just tempted by
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evil, they are consumed by it. And the specific corruption he
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lists is what they do with their most skilled hand, the right
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hand which is full of bribes. They carry, as Spurgeon says, a
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SOP for the dogs of justice, hoping to buy their way out of
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trouble and corrupt the courts or the government.
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The corruption of justice through bribery is especially
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offensive to David, who is, you know, pleading his own innocence
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against false political charges. It weaponizes wealth and
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influence against what is right. And we have to see the dual
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guilt here. The rich villain who gives the
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bribe is often worse, morally speaking, than the poor official
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who weekly takes it out of desperation.
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Bribery is a plague on any institution.
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There's a wonderful historical story that really brings this
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home. It shows how easily worldly gain
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can corrupt a holy office, and it comes from before the
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Reformation. The preacher, Hugh Latimer once
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told a story about this very issue.
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Ah yes, the story of the patron and the apples.
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Latimer told of a patron who was offered a dish of apples by a
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priest. The priest was hoping to get a
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lucrative church office, and the patron at first said no to the
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apples, saying he had perfectly good fruit in his own orchard.
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But the priest kept at it, right?
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Asking the patron to at least try 1 apple, and when the patron
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cut the apple open, what was inside?
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10 pieces of gold hidden in the core.
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The patron, completely shocked, suddenly exclaims.
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Mary, this is a good. Apple and the priest who is just
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waiting for this quickly shouts out they're all what?
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Apples? I warrant you Sir, they grew all
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in one tree. That all one taste.
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Ladder's point was that worldly gain and corruption are
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fundamentally linked. Once you take that first bribe,
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the others just follow and they can infect even the most sacred
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offices. This is the world that David is
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protesting against, a world where justice is for sale and
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political loyalty can be bought. And against this flood of
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wickedness, David makes his personal stand in verse 11.
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But As for me, I will walk in mine integrity.
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This is the courageous stance of the non conformist, the person
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who refuses to go along with the prevailing wickedness, who's
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willing to swim against the stream corruption and public
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opinion. Yes, but David immediately
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protects that claim of integrity by adding redo me and be
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merciful unto me. And this is the critical paveat
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that separates A biblical claim of integrity from just being
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self-righteous. Our integrity is not absolute,
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it's not inherent. It's a work of grace done in us
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by the Holy Spirit, and it's still marred by our own human
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weakness. So we stand among other people,
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and we assert our uprightness in a matter, but then we
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immediately bow before God as sinners who are relying
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completely on his favor. That's it.
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We have to constantly go back to the redeeming blood of Christ
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and to the throne of mercy. Even at our very best as Saints
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among men, we confess that our uprightness is a gift.
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It's not a claim to merit. And so the Psalm, having gone
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through this whole trial, it concludes in the major key of
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assurance and happiness in verse 12.
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My foot standeth in an even place.
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The testing is over. David is established.
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That even place isn't the shaky ground of self trust, it's the
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solid foundation of God's covenant faithfulness, His
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eternal promise, and His unchanging oath.
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There is No Fear of slipping or falling from this foundation,
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which is Christ Himself. And being established in Christ
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Jesus leaves very little room in your thoughts for anything but
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God's praises. David's assurance leads him
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straight back to public worship in the congregations.
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Will I bless the Lord? Let the false accusers howl
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outside the door with their slanders.
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The children of God are singing inside the assembly, standing on
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the rock of God's faithfulness. Every St. who finds this
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assurance becomes a witness to Divine Fidelity, ready to
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publish their own testimony of Thanksgiving.
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So what we really take away from this deep dive into Psalm 26,
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with Spurgeon as our guide, is this unbreakable sequence in the
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Christian life. Faith in God's promise leads to
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integrity of walk, which is always, always qualified and
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sustained by God's mercy. It is the essence of the gospel
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applied. David's conscience was clear
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regarding the accusations of men, but the eye of his hope was
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fixed permanently on God's grace, as the early thinkers put
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it. Non meritimea, said Misericordia
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Tua and the Oculus maeoseste. Not my merits, but your mercy is
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before my eyes. The necessity of self
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examination, of trying the reins in the heart, has to be a
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constant practice for us, but it's fueled not by the dread of
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the law, but by the memory of God's sweet, loving kindness
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toward us. We shun the wicked assemblies,
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but we delight in the assembly of the Saints.
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Right. And that delight is central.
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David's highest desire was public communion with God's
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people in the place where his honor was dwelling.
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Which brings us to our final thought for you to consider.
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If David so loved the assembly because it was the place where
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God's honor resided, what concrete personal action does a
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person take when their local gathering place seems to honor
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the dignity of man, The preacher, a celebrity?
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The latest trend more than the infinite majesty of God, That
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question of finding the place where honor truly dwells, well,
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that's a matter of conscience worth considering as you
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continue your walk. Until next time, keep seeking
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the depth in the sources. We'll see you soon for the next
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deep dive.