Christ's Integrity

Christ's Integrity: The Power of Psalm 41 in Lent and Easter

Mar 31, 2024 – The Resurrection of Our Lord (10:30 a.m.) | Psalm 41:12-13

In Psalm 41, David expresses gratitude to the Lord of Hosts for upholding him because of his integrity and setting him in His presence forever. Integrity is a word that carries deep meaning and significance. It represents being whole and undivided, indicating an original unblemished condition. The concept of integrity encompasses beautiful qualities such as honesty, faithfulness, purity, reliability, upright honor, incorruptibility, and forthrightness.

David didn't write Psalm 41 solely for his personal use. He wrote it intending to invite others to join him in singing and praying these words. He wanted everyone to declare to God sincerely and truthfully, "You have upheld me because of my integrity." These words were incorporated into the Holy Scriptures because the Lord desires His people to pray to with honesty and sincerity.

You might question whether you can genuinely pray this prayer, especially if you feel that you don't possess all the qualities of integrity described in the Psalm. It is natural to recognize different qualities at work within ourselves. Sometimes, we feel troubled or doubtful instead of whole and undivided. However, David wrote this psalm not just for himself, but for all of us. The words of Psalm 41 are in the scriptures because the Lord desires us to join David in praying for the weak, impoverished, and less fortunate.

The Significance of Psalm 41 in the Season of Lent

Throughout the 2024 season of Lent, our midweek worship has focused on Psalm 41. It is crucial to understand two important points regarding this psalm. First, all the Psalms, including Psalm 41, speak about our Lord Jesus Christ and His work of salvation on our behalf. God included the Psalms in the scriptures to bear witness about Jesus. Second, the Psalms are also about us, the baptized children of Christ. Through baptism, we are miraculously united with Christ, becoming one with Him in His death and resurrection.

Baptism signifies that when Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him, and when He rose from the dead, we were raised with Him. Our union with Christ means that His perfection becomes ours. His strength replaces our weaknesses, and His unblemished integrity becomes ours. Any lack of integrity in us is covered by His perfect integrity.

Through our participation in the divine nature of Christ, as indicated by our baptism, every scripture passage that speaks about Jesus now speaks about us. Therefore, we can pray with faithfulness and honesty, "You have upheld me in my integrity."

The Power of Christ's Integrity

Jesus Christ, our Lord, could pray to the Father based on His own merit, saying, "You have upheld me by my integrity." Now, through our union with Christ, His integrity is given to us.

Our Lord's integrity has been delivered to us through the water of baptism, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. That is not just a symbolic action. It is a miraculous infusion of Christ's integrity, forgiveness, and life into our hearts, minds, and bodies.

With the power of Christ's integrity dwelling within us, we can confidently declare that as Christ lives, we live in Him. Death no longer has dominion over Him. Therefore, it has no dominion over us. Our ability to pray, "You have upheld me because of my integrity," is not based on our integrity but on the integrity of Christ, who is both the Son of God and our Lord.

Rejoicing in Christ's Integrity

We can join King David in rejoicing and proclaim, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen." This proclamation is possible because Christ is risen indeed!

His resurrection guarantees our eternal union with Him, and His integrity becomes our own. We can confidently pray the words of Psalm 41, knowing that David's prayer is our prayer and David's rejoicing in eternity is also our rejoicing.

Let us celebrate the power of Christ's integrity, knowing that we are partakers of the divine nature through baptismal participation in Him. May we pray with all godliness and honesty, declaring to the Lord, "You have upheld me because of my integrity," just as David did, relying not on our integrity but on the integrity of Christ. With hearts full of gratitude, let us rejoice in the everlasting faithfulness of our God. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!