Psalms 26:1-9

1 O Lord, be my judge, for my behaviour has been upright: I have put my faith in the Lord, I am not in danger of slipping.

2 Put me in the scales, O Lord, so that I may be tested; let the fire make clean my thoughts and my heart.

3 For your mercy is before my eyes; and I have gone in the way of your good faith.

4 I have not taken my seat with foolish persons, and I do not go with false men.

5 I have been a hater of the band of wrongdoers, and I will not be seated among sinners.

6 I will make my hands clean from sin; so will I go round your altar, O Lord;

7 That I may give out the voice of praise, and make public all the wonders which you have done.

8 Lord, your house has been dear to me, and the resting-place of your glory.

9 Let not my soul be numbered among sinners, or my life among men of blood;

Psalms 26:1-9 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.