Psalm 26 reads as follows, the
Psalm of David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have
walked in mine integrity. I have trusted also in the Lord,
therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O Lord, and prove
me. Try my reins and my heart, for
thy loving kindness is before mine eyes, and I have walked
in thy truth. I have not sat with vain persons,
neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation
of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash
mine hands in innocency, so will I compass thine altar, O Lord,
that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of
all thy wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation
of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth. Gather
not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men, in whose
hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity. Redeem me, and
be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place. In the congregations will I bless
the Lord. But as for me, I will walk in
mine integrity. Redeem me and be merciful unto
me. This is a psalm of contrast as
indicated by that 11th verse, but as for me. There's a great
contrast between the psalmist and his walk, his desire, his
love, his integrity, and that of those around him of whom he
speaks. There's a contrast here between
the precious and the vile between the righteous and the wicked
between the child of God and the children of the devil a contrast
and in this great contrast we're reminded very plainly that there
are indeed two types of people in this world Those who are gods. Those who
are born of God. Those who love God and walk in
His ways. Those who were chosen of God
unto salvation. And those who are the children
of the devil. All of whom are born of Adam. all of whom are born men, women
and children, all when they are born appearing the same, children
of wrath, having the same evil heart, the same rebellious nature,
all of whom have fallen when Adam fell in sin and disobeyed
God and went away from God, all of whom are born speaking lies,
all by nature in appearance the same. And yet there are some
amongst that number whom God has chosen before ever they were
born and said this one is mine and this one will in time be
born again because I have chosen him in Christ. He is mine. I have loved Him with an everlasting
salvation. I have set Him apart for me.
I have redeemed Him by offering up my son. He will be mine. He will follow me. There is a
people in this world who are set apart from others. And it's
not because of any good in them. because of that grace and mercy
which they find in their God and their Saviour. As for me,
I will walk in my integrity, redeem me and be merciful unto
me. David writes. David's integrity
was not natural to himself as a man. As a man, he was a sinner
as all others. But because of the mercy and
the grace of his God under him, he had been called to walk another
way. His integrity was found in his
Lord. And he's always mindful of that
redemption and that mercy which God has given unto him. But as
for me, Now amongst which people are you? When you read David's words here,
can they describe you? Or are they words that are foreign
unto you? Judge me, O Lord, for I have
walked in mine integrity. I have trusted also in the Lord,
therefore I shall not slide. 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. Well, is that you? Or is that
a million miles away from where you are and where you have walked?
If God judged you, what would He find? If He looked within,
what would He see? If he looked upon not just your
outward conduct, but your speech and your thoughts and your heart
within, what would God find? Would you stand? David writes,
I have trusted also in the Lord, therefore I shall not slide.
Will you slide? Where is your trust? Have you
trusted in the Lord? Or do you trust in riches? and in the strength and the will
of man? Do you trust in your own goodness,
in your own righteousness? Do you trust in religion? Do you trust in this world? Do you trust in the pleasures
of this world? Do you trust in the wisdom of
this world? Where is your trust? David says,
I have trusted also in the Lord, therefore I shall not slide.
If you trust in riches, if you trust in your own wisdom, if
you trust in the entertainment and the pleasures and the careers
and the prospects of this world, you will slide. Examine me, O Lord, and prove
me. Try my reins and my heart. Oh, what will God find if He
examines you and tries your reins and your heart? What will He
find within? Could you ever get to a place
like David and write such things and think that God will be pleased? I think not. We're all sinners. We've all gone astray. Not one
of us has done good. Not one of us has sought the
Lord. And if you're honest with yourself,
you'd say the same. By nature, you never sought him.
You know the sin within. Even if you're religious, even
if you go to the meeting, even if you read the scriptures, even
if you seek to walk right, even if you seek to do what's good
before God, you know within the heart that there's so much filth
and wretchedness. That if God looked within, you'd
never stand. You might be able to put an appearance
on before others and try to stand before them in their sight. You
might be able to hide all the evil from others and try to pass
in the courts of this world as it were, but you know that within,
if God saw what's hidden from others within you, that you'd
never stand. How could you possibly say unto
God, examine me, O Lord, and prove me? Try my reins and my
heart. You know if he did that, he'd
find you wanting. And his judgment and his wrath
would pour forth and you'd be burnt up. Then how can David
write in such a way? For he's a man like you and I. He was a sinner like you and
I. David fell greatly. What David did with Bathsheba
in having her husband slain in battle that he might have his
wife, what David did was a great evil. And yet it's that man who
says here, judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity. What kind of integrity have you
got, David? By nature, no greater than yours
or mine. then he must be looking somewhere
else. He cannot be speaking of his
own natural integrity because it was in tatters. And he writes
elsewhere, he writes in Psalm 51, he writes elsewhere in the
scriptures of his own sin, and his own evil, and his own need
of forgiveness. Then how can he hear in the 26th
Psalm, saying to his Lord, judge me. I've walked in mine integrity. Examine me, look within. But
I love in kindnesses before mine eyes and I have walked in thy
truth. How can he write that? He can write it because it's
not regarding him himself. It's regarding His Saviour and
what He is through His Saviour. These words are the words that
describe Christ. If Christ the Son of God was
writing this psalm, He could write these words and they'd
be true of Him. And when David writes the psalm
regarding himself, he's speaking of his position in Christ. It's because he's in Christ that
he can ask the Lord to judge him. It's because he's in Christ
that he has walked in integrity. It's because he's in Christ that
he's trusted the Lord. It's because he's in Christ that
he will not slide. It's because he's in Christ that
the Lord can examine him, prove him, try his reins and try his
heart and find him not guilty. It's because he's in Christ that
the Lord's loving kindness is before David's eyes and he has
walked in his truth. It's what he is in Christ. Christ has taken all that David
was by nature. All the wretchedness, all the
rebellion, all the evil, all the deceit, all the lies, all
the hatred. God has taken all of that. and
placed it upon Jesus Christ. And Christ took all of that to
the cross. And Christ looked up to his Father
as one who was made to be what David was. Christ in David's place, in David's
stead, in David's shoes, bearing David's sins. made to be what
David was, said unto God, judge me, O Lord. Judge me, O Lord. And when God looked upon the
Son of God in that state, his judgment was not not guilty.
His judgment was not to see one who would stand in integrity.
But he saw the sinner David. And he slew the sinner David
in his own son, Jesus Christ. And Christ died. And Christ's
blood was shed. And Christ felt the fires of
God's wrath for David. That David, as a result, could
say, Judge me, O Lord, for I have wrought in mine integrity. because
he knew that through Christ and his death and his blood, all
that he was, all that he had done, was washed away. And he knew by faith that if
his Lord examined him, he'd find within no sin, no spot, no blemish. It was all gone. all that he
was was all gone all that he had done had been blotted out
he was righteous and he was righteous because his God had shown mercy
under him and redeemed him and set him free because his God
had taken his sin and blotted it out because his God had loved
him and shown great mercy under him. Thy lovingkindness is before
mine eyes and I have walked in thy truth. It's what David is
in Christ and that's what set David apart from his peers. That's what set David apart from
the wicked men of whom he speaks. That's where the difference is,
not in David himself, not because of something David did, or some
wisdom David had, or some decision David made, but because God set
his love upon him, took his sin and blotted it out. And David
having come to know this, David having heard the Gospel, David
having been led by faith to Jesus Christ his Saviour, could look
under him and know that before God he stood righteous. And he could go on to say, I
have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation
of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash
mine hands in innocency. So will I compass thine altar,
O Lord. He knew he'd been separated from
all that he was. It's not that he didn't have
anything to do with Others like him around and about, but he'd
been separated. He'd been delivered from what
he was. And he no longer went with vain
persons to indulge in their evil. He no longer loved the congregation
of evildoers. He loved the congregation of
the Lord. He'd no longer sit with the wicked and indulge in
their wickedness. He'd been set apart from them
and he desired the company of his fellow brethren in Christ. So will I compass thine altar,
O Lord, that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and
tell of all thy wondrous works. This is where David's been brought
to a point of having heard that Gospel that delivered him, that
set him free, that took the chains upon his hands and broke them
away, that released him, having been delivered, having been freed,
having been brought to peace with Almighty God. All he can
do, all he wants to do is publish with his voice. the wondrous
works of God in Jesus Christ. He wants to tell others of this
almighty God that set him free, that set his love upon him, that
said, David, thy sins be forgiven thee, that I may publish with
the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Now have you, like David, being brought there. Now, like David,
by nature, there's no way that you could say, judge me, O Lord,
for I've walked in mine integrity. There's no way that you could
ask God to examine you and prove you and try your reins in your
heart. There's no way that you could say that you have walked
in God's truth. And like David, there's no way
that you could say that you've not sat with vain persons because
you have. And you've not gone with dissemblers
because you have. And you've not hated the congregation
of the evildoers because you've loved their congregation. You've
loved their company. You've loved their entertainment.
You've loved the pleasures of this world. You've loved the
sin of this world. You've sat with the wicked daily.
You know you've done all those things. but if like David you've
come to know this saviour and this salvation then you will
be brought to the same point as David where having known that
you can now say unto God judge me prove me look within and find
any evil thing look at my heart I have walked with thee I no
longer love the company of the wicked I no longer love the wisdom
of this world. I want to publish with the voice
of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works. Have you
been brought there? Lord, I have loved the habitation
of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth, as with
David, so with all the children of God. Gather not my soul with
sinners, nor my life with bloody men, in whose hands is mischief,
and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will
walk in mine integrity. Redeem me. and be merciful unto
me. My foot standeth in an even place,
in the congregations will I bless the Lord. Can you say, with David,
with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but as for me, but as
for me, is there a contrast? Were you once a child of wrath,
even as others? And are you now a child of God,
delivered from what you once were, what you once did, and
the judgment of God against it, and set apart by the grace and
the love of God, and the salvation? Are you a child of God, or are
you a child of the devil? But as for me, I will walk in
mine integrity. Redeem me and be merciful unto
me. It's a psalm of contrast. And this is a word of contrast,
but, we read a number of buts in the scriptures. Wonderful
turning point and hinges where God takes and contrasts the way
of darkness with the way of the gospel. But now the righteousness
of God is revealed. This is how it was in this world.
This is the sin of all men. Paul says in Romans, he proves
all men to be sinners, Jews and Greeks, religious and irreligious,
whatever you are, wherever you are. Whatever your birth, whatever
your location, whether you're rich or poor, black or white,
wherever, whatever, we're all sinners and we're all condemned
and the law rings out its judgment and condemnation against us.
We're all under wrath by nature. But now, in the gospel, the righteousness
of God is revealed. But there's a point, there's
a change, there's a contrast. And there's a contrast in this
psalm between the psalmist in Christ, between his saviour and
his people, and all those outside. All those wicked who were never
brought to know Jesus Christ, who've never been chosen like
David, under salvation. But as for me, as for me, David, as it was, stood alone
here. The contrast is rarely of a thousand with a thousand. It usually comes across as one
in contrast to many. The multitudes will go their
way. But if I stand alone, even if
I'm the only one, David says, I am going to go this way. This
might put me on my own. I might be alone. I might be
persecuted and scorned and cast out for this. But I know my God
and I know His loving kindness and I know His mercy and I cannot
go any other way. Everyone else might be going
this way. Everyone else might advise me
to go this way. Everyone else might say I'm a
fool for the gospel that I speak of. Everyone else might reject
all my publishing of the wondrous works of God. They might laugh
at me and scoff at me and cast me out and try to put me to death,
but I can do nothing else as for me, but as for me. i will walk in my integrity i
will stand for these things i will speak of them i will walk by
faith i can do nothing else because i have a god who has redeemed
me and show me his mercy and he's put me upon an even place. He's taken me and made me to
stand upon the rock. My foot standeth in an even place. In the congregations will I bless
the Lord. It doesn't matter if I'm on my
own. It doesn't matter if I'm gathered with just one or two.
I know my God and I will speak of His gospel. But as for me... But as for me... But... We have this contrast
in a number of places in the scriptures, but, but as for me,
Joshua knew it. Joshua, picture of Christ again,
stood up before the people of Israel and said, and if it seem
evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will
serve. Whether the gods which your fathers
served at were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of
the Amorites in whose land ye dwell, whatever them, whatever
the gods, choose whether you're going to serve them, or whether
you're going to serve the Lord. Choose you this day whom ye will
serve. But as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord. If it seem evil unto you to serve
the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve. But as for
me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Where do you stand
with that? What gods are you serving? What
gods do you love? Do you love the god of mammon?
Do you love the god of riches? Do you love the god of entertainment?
The god of pleasure? Do you love the hedonistic god
of this day and this age? Do you love the god of music?
And the god of television? And the god of movies? And the
god of shows? And the god of all sorts of distraction? The god of sport? You'll have
all the pleasures that this world can bring your way, but you never
think of the living God. And you never consider your soul. And you never consider the passing
of time. And you never consider where
you stand before a holy God. There are many gods to distract
us. Many idols of the imagination. Many things that take up our
thoughts and attention. Many things which seem legitimate. Many which have formed part of
the practice and the pathway of our lives. We have to work,
but work can become a God. We have to eat, but food can
become a God. We have to drink, but drink can
become a God. We have families, but our families
can become a God. We live in this world, but the
world around us, where we live, can become a God. We have work
to do, but our work can become a God. We have study, but study
can become a God. There are so many things, so
much that takes our time up, much of which is just what we
have to do, but it can become a God. You worship it, you're
taken up with it, you never think beyond it. And I have to consider
Jesus Christ and His Gospel is merely a distraction to you,
something you've no time for, no desire for, no care for. If it seem evil unto you to serve
the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. Whether
the gods which your father served that were on the other side of
the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whom's land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord. Don't think that you are in some
state of neutrality. You're serving something. You've
got your gods that you serve. Every day you're serving something
and it's either the gods of this world or it's the one true and
living God that Joshua served. But as for me, David in the Psalms in various
places picks up this but. Psalm 5, My voice that shalt
thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I direct
my prayer unto thee and will look up. For thou art not a God
that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with
thee. The foolish shall not stand in
thy sight, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy
them that speak leasing. The Lord will abhor the bloody
and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into
thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will
I worship toward thy holy temple. Psalm mirroring much of what
we see in Psalm 26. In Psalm 35 we read, verse 9,
My soul shall be joyful in the Lord, it shall rejoice in his
salvation. All my bones shall say, Lord,
who is like unto thee which delivereth the poor from him that is too
strong for him? Yea, the poor and the needy from
him that spoileth him. False witnesses did rise up. They laid to my charge things
that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good
to the spoiling of my soul. But as for me, when they were
sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting,
and my prayer returned into my own bosom. I behaved myself as
though he had been my friend or brother. I bowed down heavily
as one that mourned for his mother, but in mine adversary they rejoiced
and gathered themselves together. Yea, the abjects gathered themselves
together against me, and I knew it not. They did tear me and
cease not. Oh, the contrast between David
here and his enemies. When trouble came his way, they
rejoiced. When trouble came their way,
he was full of compassion for them. What a difference there is in
the character and the heart of the child of God as he is in
Jesus Christ. What a difference. The wicked
of this world rejoice in the downfall of God's people. They
rejoice in the downfall of others. The Lord's people are full of
compassion. They forgive much because they've
been forgiven much. In Psalm 69, we read in verse 5, O God, thou
knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee. Let
not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for
my sake. Let not those that seek thee
be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake
I have borne reproach. Shame hath covered my face. I
am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my
mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are
fallen upon me. When I wept and chastened my
soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth
also my garment, and I became a proverb to them. They that
sit in the gates speak against me, and I was the song of the
drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto
Thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time. O God, in the multitude
of Thy mercy hear me, in the truth of Thy salvation. Deliver
me out of the mire, and let me not sink. Let me be delivered
from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the
water flood overflow me, neither let the steep swallow me up,
and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord,
for thy loving kindness is good. Turn unto me according to the
multitude of thy tender mercies. So again he echoes the same truth. His enemies speak evil of him,
but he trusts in the Lord. His trust is in the Lord. And
again in Psalm 73, this time a Psalm of Asaph. He writes, But as for me, my feet were almost
gone. My steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no
bands in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not
in trouble as other men, neither are they played like other men.
Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain. Violence covereth
them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could
wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression.
They speak loftily. They set their mouth against
the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore
his people return hither, and waters of a full cup are wrung
out to them. And they say, How doth God know? And is their knowledge in the
Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the
world, they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart
in vain and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long
have I been plagued and chastened every morning. If I say I will
speak thus, behold, I shall defend against the generation of thy
children. When I thought to know this,
it was too painful for me. Until I went into the sanctuary
of God, then understood I their end. Surely thou did set them
in slippery places, thou castest them down into destruction. How
are they brought into desolation as in a moment? They are utterly
consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh,
so, O Lord, when thou awakest thou shalt despise their image.
Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So
foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee.
Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast held me
by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven
but thee? And there is none upon earth
that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth. My God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever. For lo! They that are far from
thee shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all them
that go a-whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw
near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord
God that I may declare all thy works. So here Asaph, this psalmist
presents the contrast between him and the wicked in that he
sees the wicked all around him and as a man he sees how they
prosper and how they have it easy despite their wickedness
and his natural doubts and fears come upon him that he looks upon
them and sees how they prosper but he's reminded that their
prosperity is for a moment they seem to have it easier whereas
he who loves God is brought through all manner of trial and difficulty.
They seem to have it easy. But their end is destruction. Their end is destruction. So
it often is. Those who hate God, the wicked,
seem to have the pleasures and the riches and the ease of this
world. But their life is but a moment.
And then they're judged and destroyed. And you may go after the pleasure
that the wicked have all around you. You may be distracted by
them. But be reminded that their lives
are but a vapour and moment. And then they are judged. Asaph,
despite all his troubles, despite the loneliness of a child of
God, Despite the persecution he comes unto, despite the fact
that everyone mocks him and scoffs at him and says unto him, where's
your God? Look at him, why has he left
you like this? If your God's so great, why does
he seem to bless others and not you? Despite all outward appearances,
he knows in the end that his hope is in heaven. Whom have
I in heaven but thee? there is none upon earth that
I desire beside thee but as for me but as for me can you say
but as for me can you say that God has done something for you
and changed you and put a different desire in your heart that he
could judge you and look at you and find you not guilty because
you are in Christ. But as for me, me, in many respects,
who is the me here? As we've said in himself, David
was guilty. By nature, David was guilty.
By nature, if God judged and looked upon David, he'd find
all manner of evil. But because Christ had taken
David's sin, and taken it away. In Christ, David could say, judge
me, O Lord. In Christ, David could say, but
as for me, I will walk in mine integrity. In Christ, he is redeemed. In Christ, he knows mercy, because
the me, truly, is Christ. We see the contrast in this psalms
and in other psalms, between the wicked and the ways of the
wicked. And the righteous, the character, the walk, the desire,
the heart of the righteous. And there is only one righteous,
Jesus Christ. Child of God, we are righteous
in Him, but He is our righteousness. There is only one righteous.
We have His righteousness, we have the righteousness of God
in Jesus Christ through faith. It's faith which weds us to Him.
For He is the righteousness of God. There is only one whom God
can judge and find perfect. And David knew that one. David knew his Saviour. David
knew this salvation. David knew this righteousness
and could speak of it in relation to himself. Could speak of it
experimentally. because his God had looked upon
him in his sin and chosen him. And chosen him. Who maketh thee
to differ? Paul asks in Corinthians. Who maketh thee to differ? What
brings someone to the point where they can say, as for me, I will
follow the Lord. As for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord. When once they went the same
way that everyone else went. What makes them to differ? What
changes them? Who maketh thee to differ from
another? Paul asks. And what hast thou
that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou, glorious, if thou hadst not received it? What makes
thee to differ? God makes thee to differ. God
made David to differ. There was nothing in David by
nature that set him apart from the wicked all around him. But
God set his love upon him. God chose him. God said, David's
mine. And despite all that David is
and all that David has done, I am going to forgive him. I'm going to set him apart. I'm
going to take his sin and lay it upon my son, Jesus Christ.
He's going to be the sacrifice. He's going to be his priest.
He's going to offer himself. in David's place. God made David
to differ. And if you differ, it's God's
grace and mercy in his gospel in Jesus Christ that has made
you to differ. It's His electing grace, His
salvation, His choice. It's because God said, before
ever you were born, before ever the world was created, before
ever you came forth from the womb, God said, you are mine. And I will save you and cleanse
you and wash you. As Paul makes plain in Romans
9. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption,
and the glory, and the covenant, and the giving of the law, and
the service of God, and the promises, who are the fathers, and of whom,
as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all. God bless forever. Amen. Not
as though the word of God have taken none effect, for they are
not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God. But the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word
of promise. At this time will I come and
Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand
not of works but of him that calleth it was said under her
the elder shall serve the younger as it is written Jacob have I
loved but Esau have I hated What shall we say then, is there unrighteousness
with God? God forbid, for he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Why was Isaac chosen? Why was
Jacob chosen? Why was David chosen? Because
before any of them were born, God said, I love them, and I
will show them mercy. Do you know this love? Is there
a but as for me regarding you? Esau went this way, but Jacob
was loved. Esau was hated, but Jacob was
loved. But as for me? Can you say, but
as for me? Can you say, but as for me? God
looked upon me in my wretchedness, in my filth, in my depravity,
in my rebellion, in my sin, in the darkness, in the cold, and
said, I love you. And he called me forth, and he
sent unto me his gospel. and He led me by the Spirit of
God, by that Gospel, outside of the camp, outside of religion,
out apart from the world and its ways, out from the wisdom
of man, out of the darkness, He led me forth to the cross
and opened my eyes and gave me faith to look up and to see a
Saviour, a Redeemer, who was slain in the place of sinners.
who was slain for me. He gave me faith to look and
to stand in an even place in the congregations where I blessed
the Lord and to set mine eyes upon the loving kindness of God
as seen in Jesus Christ, as seen in that Saviour who suffered
and bled upon that cross for me. that one who gave himself
for me that I should live but as for me I will walk in mine
integrity redeem me and be merciful unto me redeem me but as for
me