Psalms 26:1-6

Prayer for Vindication

1

Davidic.

1 Vindicate me, Lord, because I have lived with integrity and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Test me, Lord, and try me; examine my heart and mind.
3 For Your faithful love is before my eyes, and I live by Your truth.
4 I do not sit with the worthless or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers, and I do not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands[a] in innocence and go around Your altar, Lord,

Psalms 26:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. A ritual or ceremonial washing to express innocence
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