1 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity:
I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;
try my reins and my heart.
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes:
and I have walked in Thy truth.
4 I have not sat with vain persons,
neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers;
and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash mine hands in innocency:
so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all Thy wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house,
and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
9 Gather not my soul with sinners,
nor my life with bloody men:
10 In whose hands is mischief,
and their right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity:
redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
12 My foot standeth in an even place:
in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
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Comments by Joan Boney
Psalm 25 ... 4 I have not sat with vain persons,
vain persons: those persons having or showing an excessively high opinion of their own appearance, abilities or worth, thus producing "evil fruits" / useless works / works of no real results
( vain images which seem important without real substance)
Secular things may seem exciting at first but I find I quickly bore of them and want to return to things of God.
When I am with a vain person, I find I am often shaken by his/her statements of vanity. I want to flee that person.
Vain persons in the church congregation are even worse to me.
Why do we see the vanity? Vanity happens when humans trust in themselves.
True fruits happen when we abide in the Word of God and exalt the Word of God and delight in the Word of God.
So if I find myself in vanity, I have to deliberately put it away from me and choose to return to the Word of God.
Jn. 15 ... Jesus says ... 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
When we feel a little "dead" and "fruitless", verse 6 explains what has happened.
When we return to Bible life starts to come back into us. When we focus on the world and things of this world and delight in such we begin to feel dead.
We have therefore before us life and death. We have the way of life and the way of death.
I Cor. 15 ... 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (THE WORD).
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
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In Psalm 25, David says he will not sit in the congregation "of evil doers" ... with the "wicked"
4 I have not sat with vain persons,
neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers;
and will not sit with the wicked.
Wicked is defined as: evil or morally wrong ...
By the Bible, we know the "wicked" are the fornicators, the adulterers, the drunkards, the lesbians & homosexuals, the covetous, the idolaters, the extortioners and such.
If these are in the church group, Paul tells us to put such a person out of the church.
I Cor. 5 ... 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
I Cor. 6 ... 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you:but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery: "Go, and sin no more." (Jn. 8)
If we say we know God and continue in that sin, it is an extremely bad situation. We are told this is crucifying Jesus afresh and is like that dog that returns to his own vomit. It is a terrible thing and will bring terrible judgments upon persons who do this. If we see a "brother" (one who is called a Christian) do these sins after he becomes a Christian and knows such are sins, we must not choose to eat with him ... a little leaven leavens the whole lump (I Cor. 5) ... we will be hurt if we continue with him.
Heb. 10 ... 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses 'law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
II Peter 2 ... 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
I don't sit with Christians who do these evils. I just walk away from them as Paul said to do.
I can't help such persons and I know I can be hurt by them.
And what about those in the world who do these sins. Usually I find they do not choose to be around me for when they are around me they smell "death" (their own death) and they are troubled. They usually avoid me and even flee from me so they are not a real problem to me (usually) when they are of the world.
The people of the church are another matter. They are a very big problem to me when they continue in sin. I am grieved by their words. I am troubled by them. I find I can't go forward in things of God because of the concern for them. I have to put such away and go on. There will never be peace by trying to be around such. And I can't read the Bible and exhort the church when I am disturbed by sinners in the church. So I do what Paul said to do in I Cor. 5.
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Psalm 26 ... 6 I will wash mine hands in innocency:
so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works.
When we sit down to read the Bible ... when we gather with the church ... we must do such "in innocency", having a pure heart ...
I never go to a person or a church group looking for evil or expecting evil. But if I see evil I flee. I can't sit among them.
I work very hard to keep my heart pure so I can read the Word of God in a pure way. I can't live disturbed by unrepentant church people and live in peace. And I must keep myself in peace to go forward in ways of God and to speak of HIS "wondrous works".
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Psalm 26 ... 9 Gather not my soul with sinners,
nor my life with bloody men:
10 In whose hands is mischief,
and their right hand is full of bribes.
Mischief is an interesting word ... meaning ... Playful misbehavior or troublemaking ... Seems fairly innocent but this is deception.
Often TV characters seem relatively harmless in their teasing or mocking way. But is this cleverness a way of God? Or is this way something that appeals to our flesh and exalts flesh?
The way of God is to make ourselves of no reputation ... to lay down our life to serve God ... the way of the cross ...
The way of man draws man to himself. Whether we see this in real life or on TV, it is a lure when they seem relatively harmless as they go in a way not of God. (And on TV we can be pretty certain their way is not of God but we who are of God can recognize it if we are willing to see.)
Romans 1 ... 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
A dangerous way for us to go ...
I Jn. 5 ... 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.