Trusting in God to Walk in Integrity – Psalm – 26

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Pastor Maurizio

Trusting in God to Walk in Integrity, Separation and Fellowship

Trusting in God

 By trusting in God, we learn how to walk in integrity, to separate ourselves from evil and to fellowship with God and other believers. Psalm 26 shows the principles for living in the presence and power of God.

The Three Key Areas of Our Walk

Different commentators try to find the event that originated this psalm, but there is no agreement between them. It is not profitable to speculate on the different possibilities. What we should consider is how to interpret and apply the psalm to our ife.

David develops this psalm through the following three themes:

  1. His Integrity
  2. His separation from evildoers
  3. His love for the house of the Lord and worshiping God

The three Holy Spirit inspired arguments used by David give us key principles that we can apply to our life.

His Integrity

Psalm 26:1-3

  1. David claims his integrity, which shows that he was under accusation.
  2. He states that he shall not slip because he has trusted in the Lord.
  3. He asks the Lord to test his mind and his heart. He does not hide anything.
  4. He has focused on the Lord’s loving kindness
  5. He declares that he has walked in His truth

Psalm 26:11

  1. David asks the Lord to redeem him and be merciful
  2. He promises to continue to walk in integrity

Principles for Walking in Integrity

  1. Often we do not fully perceive what is going on in our heart (Pro 20:5). Lack of understanding or self-deception can blind us. Blindness produces wrong action and poor results. Walking in the truth we perceive is not equal to walking in the Truth.
  2. It is right to petition the Lord to vindicate our integrity, but we must also ask to test our heart, take time to listen to Him and stay open to His response. Our relationship with God is in both directions.
  3. The walk in integrity comes by trusting in God more than in yourself (Psalm 31:1, Pro 3:5-12). To hear and obey Him, you must be trusting in God. He is your redeemer, your Savior, your guide and your provider.
  4. For trusting in God, you must have the proper image of God. God is a Loving Father, trustworthy and kind towards us. Already the Old Testament scriptures revealed this truth, but when Jesus came, He showed it clearly to us (John 14:8-9). Without this belief it is impossible to have an open, secure and loving relationship with Him (1 John 4:19).

His separation from evildoers

Psalm 26:4-5

  1. David has not associated with idolaters
  2. He has not mixed with hypocrites
  3. He has not fellowshiped with the wicked
  4. He has hated the assembly of evildoers

Psalm 26:9-10

  1. David asks the Lord not to remove him together with sinful and bloody men who make evil plans and bribes

Principles of Separation

  1. Evil company corrupts morals (1 Cor 15:33). The Word of God instructs you not to be yoked together with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14-18) and to have fellowship with them (Rom 16:17-18, 2 John 1:10-11).
  2. Many times, both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach this principle. However, for lack of understanding, today often believers neglect it with great negative consequences. The environment and people we associate with have a strong influence on us. From birth, we assimilate and learn language, way of thinking and behavior by exposure. Just as our physical condition depends on the physical environment we live in, so our spiritual condition depends on the spiritual environment.
  3. God wants you to reach out to the world to spread the gospel. However, He does not want you to participate in its system and ways (John 8:23).
  4. Do not let those who are in idolatry, hypocrisy, injustice and all forms of wickedness influence you (Rom 12:2). The influences to accept are the Word of God and the ideas agreeing with it.
  5. You should hate to associate with evil doers and ask God to help you to keep separate from them because they have a hopeless future.
  6. Holiness comes from separation (2 Cor 6:16-18, 1 Pet 1:16, Heb 12:14).

His love for the house of the Lord

Psalm 26:6-8

  1. David commits to
    • clean his hands with innocence
    • go around God’s altar
    • give thanks to God
    • tell of the wonderful works of God
  2. He loves God’s house, where God’s presence dwells

Psalm 26:11-12

  1. David has confidence in standing in the assembly of believers
  2. He will bless the Lord

Principles of Fellowship

  1. God’s house is where His presence dwells. If we love Him, we will love and be comfortable in His presence.
  2. God lives in the believers, therefore believers will also love to fellowship with other believers (Heb 10:15).
  3. Great confidence and assurance come from fellowship with God and others of the same mind. When believers are together in unity, they will manifest God’s presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in their midst.
  4. True worship in spirit and truth is what God wants from you (John 4:24). It results from living according to the principles presented in this Psalm.

The Example of the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus’ life demonstrates a life of integrity.

  1. In Him was no compromise or hypocrisy.
  2. Nothing separated Him from the Father.
  3. He was obedient unto the point of death.
  4. Sinners did not influence Him. The sinners who came to Him, repented and their life was changed.
  5. He loved and had fellowship with those who loved God. This is true also today.
  6. He loved and worshiped God with all His heart.
  7. He manifested God’s presence and the power of the Holy Spirit wherever He went by healing the sick and delivering the oppressed (Acts 10:38)

As we will live according to these principles, we will be like Jesus.

Being a Doer of the Word

Understanding these principles and agreeing with them is the beginning, but the execution produces the results.

No one is perfect. Ask God to search your heart and show you where His Spirit is calling your attention.

  • Integrity
  • Separation
  • Fellowship

Do not take this lightly. Listen and apply the revelation to your life. Listening and obeying will bless you greatly.

Give glory to God and bless others by sharing your experiences.

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About Pastor Maurizio

Maurizio Mingardi, in 1972, had an encounter with God that totally changed his life. From a scientist doing research in Quantum Mechanics and an atheist, Maurizio became a believer and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Then a spiritual journey began. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and later started Mount Zion Church of the Firstborn in Ottawa, Ontario. Maurizio has been in the ministry for more than 30 years and is presently the Senior Pastor of Mount Zion Church. He has also filled a number of executive positions in public and religious organizations. He has been elected President of the Evangelical Church Alliance Ministerial Fellowship of Canada. His goal is to help people to know God, discover and use their gifts and fulfill their destiny.
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1 Response to Trusting in God to Walk in Integrity – Psalm – 26

  1. Charlette says:
    August 10, 2014 at 5:48 am

    David was a man of high integrity. God had to call him “the man according to his heart”. Though he received the anointing oil from Samuel before Saul death, he did not claim his royalty right away. He ran away from this one and refused to listen to his friends that advices him to kill Saul when the opportunity came. He preferred to obey God not to kill the ruling king but waited patiently for God’s time for him to be inthroned. This Psalm shows that he was really a man of prayer, relying on God who knows all heart intentions. Fellowship with God is more than a source of wisdom for sure.

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