Psalm
26:11-12 But
as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me. My
foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.
A psalm of
lament
The psalm begins and ends
with similar wording. David prays for God’s discerning mercies. He asks that
God spare him the same fate of the wicked and ungodly. He lays claim to a
blameless life of trusting God.
We sometimes allow the sins
of our past to dictate our posture before God. He has forgiven those sins and
the consequences may have all passed by, but they still influence our thinking.
We still seem these sins as we did in the past. We forget that God has
separated us from them. He now sees us in Christ. As we approach Him now we do
so in faith and trusting that He has forgiven and forgotten our past sins.
Since that time we have approached him in faith and with a pure heart devoted
to him. We have not knowingly sinned. If we have sinned, we have sought his
forgiveness and received it.
David remembers the nature
of God’s forgiveness. He can speak of not being like the wicked and evil people
that surrounds him. He does this because His trust is no longer in the world or
himself. His trust is in God. This is the measure of our faith and our
worthiness before God. This is integrity, being the same person when no one is
watching.
May God continue to grow us
in the likeness of Christ. May we fully understand the measure of His
forgiveness and allow ourselves to forgive our self. Then we can move forward
in the mercies and graces of Christ Jesus.
