Pursuing Personal Integrity

David desired to see holiness restored among God’s people, and so he decided to start it by focusing on himself. If we long to see revival, we must pursue our own personal integrity first.


Psalm 101

101 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
    to you, O Lord, I will make music.
I will ponder the way that is blameless.
    Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
    within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
    anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
    it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
    I will know nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
    I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
    I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
    shall minister to me.

No one who practices deceit
    shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
    shall continue before my eyes.

Morning by morning I will destroy
    all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
    from the city of the Lord.

Worshipful Soundtrack [Ps. 101:1]

  • God is deserving of our worship for both His mercy and His justice (101:1).
  • If God isn’t the audience for our singing, it isn’t worship (101:1).
  • As we make music, our souls attempt to express passionately our insufficient gratitude to God (101:1).

Personal Integrity [Ps. 101:2-4]

  • If God has shown us mercy (101:1), we should pursue integrity (101:2).
  • Any pursuit of personal integrity is desperately dependent upon the presence of God (101:2).
  • May those who know me the best see me at my best (101:2).
  • The way to stop doing worthless things is to stop looking at worthless things (101:3).
  • With your disgust of those who have fallen away, don’t neglect an opportunity to learn from their mistakes (101:3-4).

Faithful Friends [Ps. 101:5-8]

  • You can’t avoid sinful people altogether, but you don’t have to allow them open access to your life either (101:5).
  • Surround yourself with faithful people so you will be able to endure when you are faithless (101:6).
  • Distance yourself from people who attempt to distance you from God (101:7-8).
  • Don’t interact as a companion where you should think like a missionary.

Next Step

Check all that apply. For one week:

  • I’m not going to press play on a song that isn’t worshipful.
  • I am going to be the most self-controlled version of myself around my family.
  • I will not look at it if I am ashamed to have my pastor look at it with me.
  • I will evaluate the compromises of that person close to me who fell away from God.
  • I will distance myself from that friend I cannot trust.
  • I will draw closer to the people within a Gospel Group.