Psalms 26:1-6

1 ¹Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have ²walked in my integrity, and I have ³trusted in the LORD without wavering.

2 ⁴Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and ⁵my mind.^[a]

3 For your ⁶steadfast love is before my eyes, and I ⁷walk in your ⁸faithfulness.

4 I do not ⁹sit with men of ¹⁰falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.

5 I ¹¹hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.

6 I ¹²wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O 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.

Cross References

• 1. See Psalms 7:8
• 2. ver. 11
• 3. See Psalms 11:1
• 4. See Psalms 7:9; Psalms 17:3; Psalms 139:23
• 5. Psalms 7:9
• 6. [Psalms 25:10]
• 7. 2 Kings 20:3; [Psalms 86:11]
• 8. [Psalms 25:10]
• 9. See Psalms 1:1
• 10. Job 11:11
• 11. Psalms 31:6; Psalms 139:21, 22
• 12. Psalms 73:13; [Exodus 30:19, 20; Deuteronomy 21:6]

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew test my kidneys and my heart