“I Shall Not Slip” (Ps 26)

“Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip” (vs1)

The Lord Jesus has given us assurance before God. The Psalmist said, “I shall not slip”. He obeyed and stands perfect before the Father, and by faith, we do too. We trust the Son, are justified by faith alone, and the fruit of believing is holiness and love, whereby we're assured that we're God's children and draw near in prayer. 1 John 3:18-22) says, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him....And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight”.

Confidence and assurance is our right as holy people who believe in grace (vs1-5). We read, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth”. The Son had no sin of His own, and when He died for us, He cleansed us too. We've RECEIVED Him by faith, and thus, we walk uprightly by that faith, which works by love. Paul wrote, “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father” (1 Thess 3:3). As we're assured of our righteousness, we boldly approach the holy throne to receive goodness from the Lord. We have forsaken this present world by the God of glory giving us love in the place of sin. The Psalmist said, “I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked” (Ps 26:5).

Secondly, this assurance is the result of grace (vs6-10). We read, “I will wash my hands in innocence; so I will go about Your altar, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works”. In love unspeakable and full of glory, God predestined that we'd be saved, put us in the Lamb's book of life, and called us by the Spirit. He left nothing to us; instead, He did everything Himself FOR us, and so He is praised. Jesus, as a Man, leaned entirely upon God, and thus He gives Him thanks also. It was God's work, so He is loved for what He's done, and we're pleased to know Him. We wanted holiness, and He gave it to us freely, bringing us to Christ by faith, and then by faith into good works in the Holy Spirit's anointing, rather than the pride and failure of human strength.

Thirdly, the Lord gives us mercy to relieve our misery (vs11-12). We read, “But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me”. The Psalmist isn't merely praying to be poetic, but he has serious needs.

You and I are in distresses, and we use our access to God, like a hungry man uses food or a cold man uses clothing and shelter. We are not happy without holiness, and we use our holiness for happiness, asking God to rightfully bless us, for we are determined to walk with Him.

Hear the proclamation, “I will bless the Lord”, and know it is sure (vs12).