Devotionals

---

Psalms 7:8
The LORD shall judge the peoples;
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me.
---

In between my two alarm clocks this morning, I had a brief dream. Usually when I wake up in the morning, I say a short prayer asking God what verses He would have me study. Well, in my dream this morning, I asked someone, "What would you have me tell you from God's Word?" And one replied and said, "Psalms 7, verse 8." And then I woke up.

On a conscious level, I didn't remember what that verse was about. However, once I looked it up, I knew the Holy Spirit had guided me once again, because integrity has been on my mind a lot lately. I'll let the psychologists and theologians try to pick apart my dream. My part this morning is simply to meditate on integrity.

In Hebrew, the word translated as "integrity" is "tôm," which means literally completeness, wholeness or perfection. David is asking to be judged according to his own integrity. He goes on to say:

---
Psalms 7:9-10
9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
10 My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
---

David's meditation in this psalm is not only upon how God is just in how He helps us stand in the face of evil, but also how God judges all men according to what is in their hearts.

This psalm is "a meditation of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite." (Psalms 7:1) According to the margin notes in my Bible, this "Cush" is actually Shimei, a Benjamite seer and a relative of Saul who came out and cursed David when Absalom had taken the kingdom and forced David to flee Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 16:5-14) David had mercy on Shimei both then and later, because he felt that the Lord Himself had prompted Shimei to speak thus. But when David thought about what Shimei had said, he appealed to the Lord to judge him and his enemies, and to thus restore the righteous king to the throne of Israel.

In my own reflections on this verse today, I have to wonder if any of us can be so bold as to ask God to judge us according to our own righteousness and integrity. I have to admit that I am hardly an exemplar when it comes to integrity, but I am trying. There still seems to be a split between my devotional life and some parts of my daily life. As I walk in the Lord, the gap is narrowing, but the gap does still exist. And if I were to ask the Lord to search my heart and judge me today on my own merits, I'd be dead. I praise God, then, for our Lord Jesus Christ, who has paid the price of my death already and makes even my tarnished heart appear as white as snow.

You see, the true integrity of a Christian believer is not so much in the completeness of their own righteousness, but in how Christ is central to their faith, how Christ MAKES us complete. It is by God's grace we have been saved, through faith in His Son Jesus, not by our own integrity, and certainly not through our own righteousness. We are all of us sinners, but as David notes, our defense is of God--i.e. Jesus Christ has come to our defense and saved us from the true judgment we deserve.

It is no coincidence that the Greek word for integrity also has to do with completeness and wholeness. God knows that the hearts of men are broken and deceitful, that we are not wholly His. And so, in His abundant love and mercy, the Lord sent His Son Jesus to make us complete in Himself.

---
Colossians 2:6-10
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
---

In speaking with a friend yesterday about how we are saved, he mentioned that some folks believe that if they just do enough good works, then they'll be fine and see heaven. But God doesn't judge on "enough," He judges on the whole package, judges us according to the integrity of our hearts and words, according to the fullness of our righteousness--or lack thereof. As Paul wrote, "For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged." (1 Corinthians 11:31) But because God searches out even the things we think are secret, because the Lord of Creation knows what is truly in our hearts, we do not stand a chance on our own.

---
Ephesians 2:4-7
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
---

Our integrity is in Christ, and that only through the grace of God. Without God's love and mercy, we could not claim complete righteousness in our lives. But because we can believe on Jesus as the Christ, the Anointed Lamb of God who has paid the price for our trespasses, we can now stand together with that same Jesus Christ, stand with Him in wholeness of faith and love. We can stand complete before he holy throne of God and say, "Judge me, O Lord, according to the righteousness of Your Son, and according to His integrity."

Like all men, I still struggle daily, and I pray that all me are like me in that I repent of sins every day. I am by no means complete and whole in the integrity of my Christian walk, but I know that Christ is working in me to perfect me, to make me complete. However, in one thing I am already complete: my faith in Jesus Christ. In Him I stand whole and hale. In Him I trust. In Him I have redemption. In Him I have all I need to live and breathe and to minister to others. In Him I have the security to ask God to judge me and know that I shall live in His eternal glory. In Christ is all my integrity. Praise God for His Son Jesus Christ!

Whatever we may do in our lives, whatever dreams may come our way in the dim hours of morning, let us always seek the integrity found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Holy Lord God, I know that on my own, I will never be complete, never be whole enough to stand before You and be judged worthy of Your kingdom. But I also know, gracious Lord, that in Jesus Christ, Your Son, I am made whole again. Therefore, Father, let me be found in Him complete. Let my heart and my mouth and my hands work as one for the One who paid the price for my salvation. Complete Your work in me, O Lord, for Your eternal glory and praise. Amen.

© 2010 Glenn A. Pettit-Noel

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE