Tehillim 26

1 6 (Of Dovid) Vindicate me, Hashem; for I have walked in mine tohm (guilelessness); I have trusted also in Hashem without wavering.
2 Examine me, Hashem, and prove me; try my heart and my mind.
3 For Thy chesed is before mine eyes; and I have walked in Thy emes.
4 I do not sit with meteishav (men of vanity), neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the kehal mere’im (congregation of evil doers); and will not sit with the resha’im.
6 I will wash mine hands in nikkayon (innocency, cleanness, freedom from punishment); so will I encompass Thine Mizbe’ach, Hashem;
7 That I may publish with the voice of todah, and tell of all Thy wondrous works.
8 Hashem, I have loved the ma’on of Thy Bais [HaMikdash], and the Mishkan where Thine kavod dwelleth.
9 Take not away my nefesh with chatta’im (sinners), nor my Chai (life) with anshei damim;
10 In whose hands is zimmah (wicked plans), and their right hand is full of shochad (bribery).
11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity; redeem me, v’chaneini (and be merciful and gracious unto me).
12 My regel standeth on level ground; in the great assemblies unto Hashem will I render brocha.

Tehillim 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.

Tehillim 26 Commentaries

The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.