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Psalm 26 & Jeremiah 3:1-11
As we navigate the slippery slopes of life we need the Lord, through David, to teach us how to keep from backsliding!
Psalm 26 teaches us how to keep from backsliding. Notice the opening lines of the Psalm “I have walked…I have trusted…I do not slide…”. Now notice how the Psalm ends “My feet stand on level ground…”
In Psalm 25:21 David declares God’s integrity but in Psalm 26 David declares his own integrity. Because God is characterized by integrity we as His people can also be characterized by integrity! The way to victory over backsliding is to walk the pathway in integrity!
Illustration: of ice storm in 1998 and walking home. Illustration of falling back into sin…
1. Walk in Integrity in Verses 1 and 11
- The Prayer of Examination. In verse 2, I am an open book seeking God to put me into the refiner’s fire and purify me…both mind and heart…
- The walk is characterized by focusing the eye of faith upon God’s commitment to us and the unfailing, unfaltering truth of His Word-Note: “Steadfast Love” in verse 3.
- Walking in God’s faithfulness and not our own-Verse 3
- The walk of integrity is characterized by NOT making plans to break God’s laws. Moral Integrity.
- Walking closer and closer towards the Lord and further and further away from the parts of myself and anyone else who is not walking with God.
- it is a separation based, not on a sense of our being better than others but of not being good enough to survive in such company… “Many people have a very strong desire to meet celebrated or ‘important’ people, including those whom they disapprove.… But I am inclined to think a Christian would be wise to avoid, where he decently can, any meeting with people who are bullies, lascivious, cruel, dishonest, spiteful and so forth. Not because we are ‘too good’ for them. In a sense because we are not good enough. We are not good enough to cope with all the temptations, nor clever enough to cope with all the problems, which an evening spent in such society produces.”[1]
- Illustration: A jet moving through the air…Forward Motion!
- Walking and washing of hands suggests seeking God’s forgiving grace and becoming pure so that I can take part in worship…which is suggested by the altar in Verse 6.
- The natural resultant outcome of all this is proclamation of who God is and what He is like in verse 7
- A Healthy Fear of God. This point suggests brokenness. We know that God is just and He will take away the lives of those who break His laws and harm innocent people in verse 9-10. This portion is a plead with God for His justice to not swallow them up. NOTE: There is a powerful contrast between “hands” in verses 10 and 6.
- Walking to God’s house and loving every minute of it. -Verse 8
Conclusion: We can be filled with integrity because God is filled with integrity. The victory over backsliding is to walk, sit and stand with God and NOT the world around us. This is the way in which we can stand on level ground whilst navigating the slippery slopes of life.
[1] Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (pp. 233–234). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
