NOTES for Psa 26

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¹Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.

²Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

³For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

⁴I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

⁵I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:

⁷That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

⁸LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

⁹Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

¹⁰In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

¹²My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

Can everyone say with confidence that they are ready to stand before the Lord? Who among us would dare call their way blameless?

Yet the psalmist boldly declares his readiness to stand before God's judgment. He cites examples of his own integrity and hopes that his righteousness will vindicate him.

At first glance, such confidence may seem like excessive self-regard. But if we read the lines of the psalm carefully, we will see that the psalmist does not rely solely on his own merits. Indeed, he asks the Lord to forgive his sin precisely because it is great.

His confidence that, with the Lord's help, our earthly paths will be set right and that we ourselves will be delivered from the power of sin and saved is rooted in hope in the Lord and in His boundless mercy.

Other notes

For Psa 26:7

⁷That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

In all kinds of difficult circumstances we feel our defenselessness very sharply: so many enemies are around, and we have neither armor... Read more

In all kinds of difficult circumstances we feel our defenselessness very sharply: so many enemies are around, and we have neither armor nor claws. And in despair our heart clings to the last hope: God can give me protection, surround all who are dear to me with a fortress wall, and cover me myself with a shield. Such an appeal to God, when all one's own means of defense are exhausted, does not remain unanswered. That same God who placed hope in my heart stretches out His help. We see the problems that wound us go away, not because we solve them, but because God protects us from new wounds and heals the old ones. Then a state of inner harmony and peace settles in the healed heart, perfect joy, which can never close itself in, but seeks a way out, seeks the possibility of reaching someone else. Perhaps this is what is called "the soul sings," when one wants to glorify the One who gave this joy, and also to share it with those nearby. Does not Jesus' commandment "love one another" in the Gospel of John immediately follow His words about perfect joy (John 15:11-12)? So, from groaning to song, from fear to love, from defenselessness to openness.

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