I think what really grabs me about Psalm 26 is David’s invitation to God: “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my mind and my heart” (26:2). Chew on that for a bit. Talk about transparency . . . talk about opening the door and letting Him in! Scrutinize me God, put me on trial . . . test me like metal, assay me, determine my qualities . . . smelt me, put me in the refiners fire, flush out the impurities if they’re there. David is so opening himself up to God. And it’s not the perfection of his actions that David offers up for trial, but his heart and his mind . . . his motivations and his attitude . . . his desire, his internal GPS. I imagine uttering these words myself and, I confess, it’s a bit intimidating. So how can David do this? Why would he do this?

The how, I think, lies in David’s determination to pursue God with integrity. “I have walked in my integrity” (26:1) . . . “I have walked in Your truth” (26:3) . . . “I will walk in my integrity” (26:11) . . . “my foot stands in an even place” (26:12). I don’t think David’s claiming a perfect walk or a walk apart from failings and fallings or else he wouldn’t appeal to God to redeem him and be gracious to him (26:11). But David is saying that in simplicity, in wholeness of heart, in a straight up way, he has sought to walk the talk. He’s not tried to fake it. He’s declared his intention to be a follower of Yahweh and Him alone. He’s not playing both sides of the fence — “I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence” (26:4-6a). He had taken sides. What you saw on the Sabbath was what you saw throughout the week — a man whose heart and mind were set on walking in God’s truth.

And so, David trusting that the Lord honors a heart of integrity, says “Vindicate me, O Lord” (26:1) . . . judge me and see if it isn’t so. This isn’t the arrogant challenge of a blind, self-righteous, self-made man. Instead it’s the plea of one who desires truth in his most inner parts. He wants to be “the real meal deal.” In sincerity he has set his heart on pursuing the things of God and entreats God to help him through careful, divine examination. It’s not the only time in the Psalms we find this transparency in David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24). That’s how David could invite such examination . . . he sincerely had set his heart on walking in the way of everlasting.

So why take the chance? Why even risk inviting God to peek into places and uncover stuff that perhaps you’re not even aware of? As I noodle on this Psalm, I think it lies in not just wanting to be true to the walk, but also in experiencing the reward. With integrity of heart and with washed in innocence, David says, “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. LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells” (26:6b-8). A true walk leads to true worship. The lips that openly confess a determination to follow the way of truth, also proclaim with the thanksgiving the wonders of God. The heart sincerely set on seeking, finds its way to the place His glory dwells. An honest desire to follow the ways of God, leads to the holy of holies and the very presence of God.

That’s the reason for taking the risk and inviting the examination. It’s so that we can be in that place where the glory of God dwells . . . and to offer up to the Redeemer of our souls the honor, praise, and blessing due His name. Who wants to waste time playing games? What’s the point in faking it if it never gets you to the glory? Better to be laid bare before the God of grace and restoration and to end up at the altar of sacrifice, than to fool ourselves into thinking we can hide from Him and continue in a two-faced pursuit of God and the world and end up with nothing. It’s the passion for the presence of God which fuels the walk of integrity and the willingness for examination. Sure, it’s risky to take the Psalmists words as our own, “Examine me . . . prove me . . . try my mind and heart”, but the reward is worth it. Amen?