If Psalm 25 teaches us the importance of humility in prayer, Psalm 26 points to the need for integrity, the need for a life in which our thoughts, desires, and deeds line up with our profession of faith. Now, this is not to say that we somehow earn God’s favor by our good works. After all, David remains focused on God’s lovingkindness – His steadfast, covenant-keeping love (verse 3). And in this season after Easter, we are especially mindful that God’s lovingkindness has been most clearly expressed on the cross of Christ. So, just as David “trusted in the Lord without wavering” (verse 1), we trust in Christ alone for our salvation.

But once we have been saved, once God has accepted the sacrifice Christ has made on our behalf, does it make sense to go on living in sin, to go on rebelling against the One Whose gracious pardon we have received? Does it make sense for us, by our thoughts, desires, and deeds, to push away the One Who has welcomed us into His presence?

No, and that’s why David points in this psalm to his integrity, to the way that his whole life illustrates his commitment to the Lord. It is because David is so thankful for what God has done for him (verse 7) that he seeks to bring his deeds into line with God’s will, avoiding the company of evildoers (verse 5), and trying to keep his own hands clean from sin (verse 6).

Moreover, David makes it clear that his desires are just as God-focused as his actions. For he insists that God’s presence is what he wants the most. Instead of seeing public worship as a burden or a chore, he loves the house of the Lord, the place where God’s glory dwells (verse 8).

So yes, we Christians say we love the Lord and that we trust in Him and that we are grateful for what He has done for us. But as we speak to God in prayer today, do our desires and our actions line up with our words? Are we living lives of integrity or of hypocrisy?

Psalm 26 (NASB)

A Psalm of David.
Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity; And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.
3 For Thy lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Thy truth.
4 I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Thine altar, O LORD,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And declare all Thy wonders.
8 O LORD, I love the habitation of Thy house, And the place where Thy glory dwells.
9 Do not take my soul away along with sinners, Nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10 In whose hands is a wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on a level place; In the congregations I shall bless the LORD.