Psalms 26

1 O Lord, be my judge, for my behaviour has been upright: I have put my faith in the Lord, I am not in danger of slipping.
2 Put me in the scales, O Lord, so that I may be tested; let the fire make clean my thoughts and my heart.
3 For your mercy is before my eyes; and I have gone in the way of your good faith.
4 I have not taken my seat with foolish persons, and I do not go with false men.
5 I have been a hater of the band of wrongdoers, and I will not be seated among sinners.
6 I will make my hands clean from sin; so will I go round your altar, O Lord;
7 That I may give out the voice of praise, and make public all the wonders which you have done.
8 Lord, your house has been dear to me, and the resting-place of your glory.
9 Let not my soul be numbered among sinners, or my life among men of blood;
10 In whose hands are evil designs, and whose right hands take money for judging falsely.
11 But as for me, I will go on in my upright ways: be my saviour, and have mercy on me.
12 I have a safe resting-place for my feet; I will give praise to the Lord in the meetings of the people.

Psalms 26 Commentary

Chapter 26

David, in this psalm, appeals to God touching his integrity.

- David here, by the Spirit of prophecy, speaks of himself as a type of Christ, of whom what he here says of his spotless innocence was fully and eminently true, and of Christ only, and to Him we may apply it. We are complete in him. The man that walks in his integrity, yet trusting wholly in the grace of God, is in a state of acceptance, according to the covenant of which Jesus was the Mediator, in virtue of his spotless obedience even unto death. This man desires to have his inmost soul searched and proved by the Lord. He is aware of the deceitfulness of his own heart; he desires to detect and mortify every sin; and he longs to be satisfied of his being a true believer, and to practise the holy commands of God. Great care to avoid bad company, is both a good evidence of our integrity, and a good means to keep us in it. Hypocrites and dissemblers may be found attending on God's ordinances; but it is a good sign of sincerity, if we attend upon them, as the psalmist here tells us he did, in the exercise of repentance and conscientious obedience. He feels his ground firm under him; and, as he delights in blessing the Lord with his congregations on earth, he trusts that shortly he shall join the great assembly in heaven, in singing praises to God and to the Lamb for evermore.

Chapter Summary

Psalm of David. The occasion of this psalm seems to be the quarrel between Saul and David, the former listening to calumnies and reproaches cast upon the latter, and persecuting him in a violent manner. The argument of it is the same, in a great measure, with the seventh psalm, and is an appeal made to God, the Judge of the whole earth, by the psalmist, for his innocence and integrity; Theodoret thinks it was written by David when he fled from Saul.

Psalms 26 Commentaries

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