◄ Psalm 26:11 ►
But I will walk with integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me.
Study Bible
But I will walk
The phrase "But I will walk" signifies a deliberate choice and commitment to a particular path or way of life. In the Hebrew context, the word "walk" (הָלַךְ, halak) often implies a manner of living or conducting oneself. It is not merely about physical movement but about one's journey in life. This choice to "walk" reflects a conscious decision to follow God's ways, contrasting with the paths of the wicked. Historically, walking in the ways of the Lord was a common metaphor in the Old Testament, symbolizing obedience and faithfulness to God's commandments.

in integrity
The term "integrity" (תֹּם, tom) in Hebrew conveys a sense of completeness, innocence, and moral uprightness. It suggests a life lived in accordance with God's standards, without hypocrisy or deceit. In the ancient Near Eastern context, integrity was highly valued, as it reflected the character of a person who was trustworthy and blameless. For the psalmist, walking in integrity is a declaration of his commitment to live a life pleasing to God, despite the surrounding corruption and temptation.

redeem me
The plea "redeem me" (פָּדָה, padah) is a request for deliverance and salvation. In the Hebrew tradition, redemption often involved the idea of being bought back or rescued from danger or bondage. This term is rich with theological significance, as it points to God's role as the Redeemer of His people, who delivers them from sin and its consequences. The psalmist's cry for redemption underscores his reliance on God's grace and mercy, acknowledging that only God can truly save and restore him.

and be merciful to me
The phrase "and be merciful to me" (חָנַן, chanan) is a heartfelt appeal for God's favor and compassion. Mercy, in the biblical sense, involves God's loving-kindness and willingness to forgive. The psalmist recognizes his need for God's mercy, understanding that human efforts alone are insufficient for righteousness. This request for mercy is a common theme throughout the Psalms, reflecting the deep understanding of God's character as compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. The psalmist's appeal is both humble and confident, trusting in God's unfailing love to guide and sustain him.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 26, David is expressing his commitment to living a life of integrity before God.

2. God
The ultimate judge and redeemer, to whom David appeals for mercy and redemption.

3. Temple
While not directly mentioned in this verse, the context of Psalm 26 suggests David's desire to worship in God's holy place, emphasizing his commitment to purity and integrity.
Teaching Points
Walking with Integrity
Integrity involves consistency in moral and ethical principles, aligning one's actions with God's standards.

It requires a conscious decision to live transparently before God and others, even when it is challenging.

Seeking Redemption and Mercy
Acknowledging our need for God's redemption and mercy is crucial, as human efforts alone cannot achieve righteousness.

This verse reminds us of the importance of humility and dependence on God's grace.

The Role of Faith in Integrity
Faith in God empowers believers to maintain integrity, trusting that He will redeem and show mercy.

Integrity is not just about external actions but is deeply rooted in one's relationship with God.

Practical Steps to Integrity
Regular self-examination and confession of sins help maintain a life of integrity.

Engaging in community and accountability with other believers supports a lifestyle of integrity.

Living as a Witness
Walking with integrity serves as a testimony to others, reflecting God's character and drawing others to Him.

Our integrity can influence and inspire those around us to seek God and His ways.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does David's commitment to walking with integrity challenge your own daily walk with God?

2. In what ways can you seek God's redemption and mercy in areas where you struggle with integrity?

3. How do the themes of integrity and mercy in Psalm 26:11 connect with the call to live as children of light in Ephesians 5:8-10?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your actions align with your faith and values?

5. How can your commitment to integrity serve as a witness to others in your community or workplace?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 15
This psalm also emphasizes walking with integrity and living a blameless life, providing a broader context for understanding the characteristics of a person who seeks to dwell in God's presence.

Proverbs 11:3
Highlights the importance of integrity, showing that it guides the upright, contrasting with the destruction that comes to the unfaithful.

Micah 6:8
Calls believers to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, echoing the themes of integrity and divine mercy found in Psalm 26:11.

Ephesians 5:8-10
Encourages believers to live as children of light, which involves walking with integrity and seeking what pleases the Lord.

1 John 1:7
Discusses walking in the light as God is in the light, which aligns with the call to integrity and the cleansing power of Jesus' blood.
Sermons
An Appeal Marked by Specific EntreatyC. Clemence, D. D.Psalm 26:1-12
Assailed Integrity's Final Appeal. F1C. Clemance Psalm 26:1-12
David's Appeal and its IssueBp. Wm. Nicholson.Psalm 26:1-12
David's IntegrityD. Caldwell, M. A.Psalm 26:1-12
IntegrityW. Forsyth Psalm 26:1-12
Leading Proofs of Personal PietyHomilistPsalm 26:1-12
The Character of an Upright Man Sketched by HimselfC. Clemence, D. D.Psalm 26:1-12
The Oppressed Righteous ManC. Short Psalm 26:1-12
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Blameless, Favour, Gracious, Integrity, Merciful, Mercy, Redeem, Saviour, Upright, Walk
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 26:11

     1315   God, as redeemer
     8306   mercifulness

Library
Question of the Comparison Between the Active and the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? Cardinal Cajetan, On Preparation for the Contemplative Life S. Augustine, Confessions, X., xliii. 70 " On Psalm xxvi. II. Is the Active Life more Meritorious than the Contemplative? III. Is the Active Life a Hindrance to the Contemplative Life? Cardinal Cajetan, On the True Interior Life S. Augustine, Sermon, CCLVI., v. 6 IV. Does the Active Life precede the Contemplative? I Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? The Lord …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Hezekiah, the Praying King
One can form a habit of study until the will seems to be at rest and only the intellect is engaged, the will having retired altogether from exercise. This is not true of real praying. If the affections are laggard, cold, indifferent, if the intellect is furnishing no material to clothe the petition with imagery and fervor, the prayer is a mere vaporing ofintellectual exercise, nothing being accomplished worth while.--Rev. Homer W. Hodge The great religious reformation under King Hezekiah and the …
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

The Courts of God
"Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth."--Ps. xxvi. 8. R. Rolle, 1349. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 O Lord, I have loved the fair beauty Of the house Thou hast chosen for Thee, The courts where Thy gladness rejoiceth, And where Thou delightest to be. For I love to be made the fair dwelling Where God in His grace may abide; I would cast forth whatever may grieve Thee, And welcome none other beside. Oh blessed the grace that has made me The home …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Epistle v. To Theoctista, Sister of the Emperor.
To Theoctista, Sister of the Emperor. Gregory to Theoctista, &c. With how great devotion my mind prostrates itself before your Venerableness I cannot fully express in words; nor yet do I labour to give utterance to it, since, even though I were silent, you read in your heart your own sense of my devotion. I wonder, however, that you withdrew your countenance, till of late bestowed on me, from this my recent engagement in the pastoral office; wherein, under colour of episcopacy, I have been brought …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Discourse of the Building, Nature, Excellency, and Government of the House of God; with Counsels and Directions to the Inhabitants Thereof.
BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. 'Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.'--Psalm 26:8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Beautiful in its simplicity is this treatise on the Church of Christ, by John Bunyan. He opens, with profound knowledge and eminent skill, all those portions of sacred writ which illustrate the nature, excellency, and government of the house of God, with the personal and relative duties of its inhabitants. It was originally published in …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Letter xxxix (A. D. 1137) to the Same.
To the Same. He expresses his regret at his very long absence from his beloved Clairvaux, and his desire to return to his dear sons. He tells them of the consolations that he feels nevertheless in his great labours for the Church. 1. My soul is sorrowful until I return, and it refuses to be comforted till it see you. For what is my consolation in the hour of evil, and in the place of my pilgrimage? Are not you in the Lord? Wherever I go, the sweet memory of you never leaves me; but the sweeter the …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

St. Augustine (Ad 354-430)
PART I The church in the north of Africa has hardly been mentioned since the time of St. Cyprian (Chapter VIII). But we must now look towards it again, since in the days of St. Chrysostom it produced a man who was perhaps the greatest of all the old Christian fathers--St. Augustine. Augustine was born at Thagaste, a city of Numidia, in the year 354. His mother, Monica, was a pious Christian, but his father, Patricius, was a heathen, and a man of no very good character. Monica was resolved to bring …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

A Treatise on Good Works
I. We ought first to know that there are no good works except those which God has commanded, even as there is no sin except that which God has forbidden. Therefore whoever wishes to know and to do good works needs nothing else than to know God's commandments. Thus Christ says, Matthew xix, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And when the young man asks Him, Matthew xix, what he shall do that he may inherit eternal life, Christ sets before him naught else but the Ten Commandments. …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Greatness of the Soul,
AND UNSPEAKABLENESS 0F THE LOSS THEREOF; WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT. FIRST PREACHED AT PINNER'S HALL and now ENLARGED AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. By JOHN BUNYAN, London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682 Faithfully reprinted from the Author's First Edition. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic, whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibility know …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Question of the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. 7 ad 3m II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? S. Augustine, Of the City of God, xix. 19 III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? S. Augustine, Of the Perfection of Human Righteousness, viii. 18 " Ep., cxxx. ad probam IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 26:11 NIV
Psalm 26:11 NLT
Psalm 26:11 ESV
Psalm 26:11 NASB
Psalm 26:11 KJV

Psalm 26:11 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 26:10
Top of Page
Top of Page