It is 2:59 AM. It is quiet in the house.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.

O give thanks unto the God of gods: for His mercy endureth forever.

O give thanks unto the Lord of lords: for His mercy endureth forever.

To Him alone who doeth great wonders: for His mercy endureth forever.

Psalm 136:1 – 4

 

Deliver Me From Evil

I did not sleep well. I woke up with anxious thoughts about work and the temptation to indulge sinful imaginations, the lure of escaping into a fantasy realm that is ultimately vain, empty, not satisfying, which ends up causing me shame and regret.

Then this Scripture entered my mind:

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

Proverbs 16:6

So I got out of bed. I would rather give up sleep, or the attempt at sleep – which wasn’t going to happen because the pull to indulge was growing. I got up to reflect on God’s mercy and indulge in His truth instead. In this manner I sought to have this particular iniquity purged from my heart. I departed from the evil that was embracing me as I lay in bed. “Up and at ’em, fella! Time to seek the Lord!”

 

Integrity

The first thing I turned to was Psalm 26, which was the next one on my list of random Psalms to read. (The second one was Psalm 136.)

Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.

Psalm 26:1

Oh! My integrity seems so flimsy compared to the statements that David confidently made! But in my weakness I did trust in the Lord. I did make an effort to maintain integrity. My track record in maintaining inner integrity – there in my heart where only God can see – is so very far from flawless. That’s for sure! There is no perfection here. But David had a questionable track record at times too. Didn’t he? He should have fled off his roof instead of indulging his lust for Bathsheba. (See 2 Samuel 11) “Flee fornication, David!” (1 Corinthians 6:18) I humbly thank God that He gave me grace to shut the eyes of my mind to the Bathshebas of fantasy and seek His word instead this morning.

As for my flimsy integrity,

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13, 14

It is God’s mercy that has purged me from iniquity this morning. “Therefore I shall not slide.” I cannot worry about later or tomorrow. I must look to Jesus. Just as the Israelites in the desert turned their eyes upon the brass serpent and were healed from the deadly venom of serpents, so I must look to Jesus only as the antivenom for my iniquity. (See Numbers 21 and John 3:14, 15)

 

Mercy and Truth

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth.

Psalm 26:2, 3

How similar in theme are these two verses and Proverbs 16:6.

EXAMINE me. PROVE me. TRY my reins and my heart.
By mercy and truth iniquity is PURGED.

Thy LOVINGKINDNESS is before mine eyes.
By MERCY… iniquity is purged.

I have walked in Thy TRUTH.
By… TRUTH iniquity is purged.

It is all so beautiful.

 

Redemption

But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

Psalm 26:11

David’s immediate flip from a declaration that he will walk in his integrity to a prayer for redemption and mecy causes me to see that integrity includes the acknowledgement that I need redemption. I need mercy. The act of turning from my self-confidence and relying on God’s redemption in Jesus Christ is fundamental, is necessary, is essential to my integrity – regardless of the stability of my integrity. Without this foundational acknowledgement of my need for salvation, I have no true integrity. Iniquity is still present with me. I can’t ignore that glaring fact of my daily experience. I can’t pretend that I don’t sin. I can’t pretend that I don’t struggle. I can’t pretend that I don’t often lose the struggle. To ignore the venom is to die. Both the need to live and the battle for integrity demand that I cry out to God for mercy and that I look to Jesus Christ as my Savior in this battle. He is my redemption – not just from the penalty of sin, which I deserve, but also from the ravages of this war with sin (aka – “sanctification”).

Of course, St. Paul said this so much better:

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

But I see another law in my members, WARRING against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

The last word:

O give thanks to the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever!

Psalm 136:1