Psalms 26:1-8

1 {[A Psalm] of David.} Judge me, O Jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity, and I have confided in Jehovah: I shall not slip.

2 Prove me, Jehovah, and test me; try my reins and my heart:

3 For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes, and I have walked in thy truth.

4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither have I gone in with dissemblers;

5 I have hated the congregation of evil-doers, and I have not sat with the wicked.

6 I will wash my hands in innocency, and will encompass thine altar, O Jehovah,

7 That I may cause the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, and declare all thy marvellous works.

8 Jehovah, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth.

Psalms 26:1-8 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

• [a]. Or 'totter,' 'waver.'
• [b]. Or 'false.'
• [c]. Or 'I will not sit.'