Psalms 26

1 Declare me innocent, O Lord, because I do what is right and trust you completely.
2 Examine me and test me, Lord; judge my desires and thoughts.
3 Your constant love is my guide; your faithfulness always leads me.
4 I do not keep company with worthless people; I have nothing to do with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of the evil and avoid the wicked.
6 Lord, I wash my hands to show that I am innocent and march in worship around your altar.
7 I sing a hymn of thanksgiving and tell of all your wonderful deeds.
8 I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not destroy me with the sinners; spare me from the fate of murderers -
10 those who do evil all the time and are always ready to take bribes.
11 As for me, I do what is right; be merciful to me and save me!
12 I am safe from all dangers; in the assembly of his people I praise the Lord.

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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. your faithfulness always leads me; [or] I live in loyalty to you.

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

Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.