Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 26:1
[A Psalm] of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; [therefore] I shall not slide.
1. Judge me ] Do me justice; shew me to be in the right; vindicate my integrity by discriminating between me and wicked men. Cp. Psa 7:8; Psa 35:24; Psa 43:1.
for I have walked in mine integrity ] Sincerity of purpose and single-heartedness of devotion have been the rule of his life. Cp. Psa 7:8; Psa 15:2; Psa 18:23; and Introd. p. lxxxvii.
therefore I shall not slide ] A possible rendering: but better, as R.V., without wavering. The context here requires a description of the character of his trust, rather than of its issue.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 3. The Psalmist’s plea for the recognition of his integrity.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Judge me, O Lord – That is, determine in regard to my case whether I am truly thy friend, or whether the evidences of my piety are genuine. The psalmist asks an examination of his own case; he brings the matter before God for Him to decide; he submits the facts in regard to himself to God, so that He may pronounce upon them whether they constitute evidence of real piety.
For I have walked in mine integrity – On the word walk, see the notes at Psa 1:1. The word integrity here is the same which is elsewhere rendered perfection. See the notes at Job 1:1. Compare Psa 37:37. See also Psa 7:8; Psa 25:21; where the word is rendered, as here, integrity. It means here uprightness, sincerity. This is the first thing which he brings before God for him to examine – the consciousness that he had endeavored to live an upright life; and yet it is referred to as if he was sensible that he might have deceived himself, and therefore, he prays that God would determine whether his life had been really upright.
I have trusted also in the Lord – Of this, likewise, he felt conscious; but this too he desired to submit to God. Trust in Yahweh, and an upright life, constituted the evidence of piety, or were the constituents of true religion according to the views of the Hebrews, as they are the constituents of true religion everywhere; and the purpose of the psalmist was to ascertain whether his piety was really of that character.
Therefore I shall not slide – If these are really traits of my character, if I really possess these, I shall not be moved. My feet will be firm, and I shall be secure. Or this may be regarded as a further declaration in regard to himself, as indicating firm confidence in God, and as meaning that he was conscious that he would not be moved, or would not swerve in this purpose of life. And yet the next verse shows that, with all this confidence as to his own character, he felt that there was a possibility of his having deceived himself; and, therefore, he pleaded that God would search and test him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 26:1-12
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity.
Leading proofs of personal piety
I. A strong craving for a knowledge of the real state of the character. Judge me, O Lord. Implying–
1. A belief in the possibility of being self-deceived.
2. A desire to be made right, at whatever cost.
II. A practical recognition of Gods mercy. For Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes. The life of the godly is marked by–
1. The strongest gratitude.
2. The highest courage.
III. A profound consciousness of sincerity of conduct. I have walked in Thy truth. The godly man hates hypocrisy and loathes shame.
IV. A strong repugnance to all ungodly society, I have not sat with vain persons, etc.
1. He declares that he never had any fellowship with them (Psa 26:4).
2. He expresses his hatred of them (Psa 26:5).
3. He prays that he may not be gathered to their company (Psa 26:9). Good men shun the society of the wicked, because
(1) it is wrong;
(2) because it is pernicious.
V. A delight in the public worship of God. I will wash mine hands in innocency, etc. True worship–
1. Requires personal preparation.
2. Consists in public acknowledgments.
3. Is inspired with the presence of God.
VI. A fixed determination to walk ever with the holy. But as for me, I will walk, etc. (Psa 26:11-12). (Homilist.)
The character of an upright man sketched by himself
To do this requires much introspection. Yet there may he circumstances when such work becomes necessary.
I. The Psalmist had a good foundation on which his life was built.
1. Trust in Jehovah (Psa 26:1).
2. Gods loving kindness (Psa 26:5).
3. Gods truth; that is, His faithfulness (Psa 26:3).
Note: all the supports of his integrity were outside himself. Happy the man that can stay his mind on Divine faithfulness and love! If these props cease to sustain, moral and spiritual worth pine from want of motive and hope.
II. The life built on this foundation is worthy of imitation. It was a life of–
1. Integrity (Psa 26:11).
2. Straightforward progress (Psa 26:1).
3. Avoiding evil associations (Psa 26:4-5).
4. Cultivation of holy worship, song, and thanksgiving (Psa 26:6-8; Psa 26:12).
Note–
(1) Those who have God as the support of their life will show a life worthy of such support.
(2) Those who most value communion with God will most freely appreciate and cultivate the stimulus and comfort to be obtained from united worship. (C. Clemence, D. D.)
An appeal marked by specific entreaty
Four lines of supplication.
I. That God would vindicate him and not let him be mixed up with those he hates (Psa 26:1; Psa 26:9-10).
II. That God would search and prove him (Psa 26:2).
III. That God would purify him (Psa 26:3). Upright before men, he does not pretend to be perfect before God.
IV. That God would entirely deliver him from the surroundings of ungenial and unholy men (Psa 26:9-10). (C. Clemence, D. D.)
Davids appeal and its issue
I. An appeal to God to be his judge.
II. The causes that induced him to it.
1. His faith and confidence in God.
2. His integrity.
(1) How he carried himself to men: abstaining from all association with wicked doers.
(2) How to God: showing marks of his piety.
III. The petition. That God would not suffer him to be polluted with the conversation of wicked men, nor involved in their punishment
IV. His gratitude. He will praise the Lord in the congregations. (Bp. Wm. Nicholson.)
Davids integrity
It would be madness in any man, however blameless his life may have been, to call upon God to enter into judgment with him for his offences against Him. It is, however, often otherwise in regard to many of our fellow mere We can safely invite the omniscient Judge to decide between us and them. We can say in regard to, them, as David does, Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity. Though Saul sought Davids life, and once with his own band hurled a javelin at him to slay him, David never for a moment swerved from the conduct of a dutiful subject, he still fought Sauls battles for him, and though Saul was pursuing him as an outlaw, spared him when it was in his power to kill him. He never raised his hand against the king, nor allowed those under his control to do so. Integrity had marked his whole conduct, so that Saul himself was obliged to acknowledge with tears, Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. So should it be with the Christian always. He should never allow the injustice of others to mar his integrity. Principle, not passion, should be the pole star of his course. (D. Caldwell, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
PSALM XXVI
The psalmist appeals to God for his integrity, and desires to
be brought to the Divine test in order to have his innocence
proved, 1-3;
shows that he had avoided all fellowship with the wicked, and
associated with the upright, 4-8;
prays that he may not have his final lot with the workers of
iniquity, 9, 10;
purposes to walk uprightly before God, 11, 12.
NOTES ON PSALM XXVI
This Psalm, and the two following, are supposed by Calmet to be all parts of one ode, and to relate to the time of the captivity, containing the prayers, supplications, complaints, and resolutions of the Israelites in Babylon. This is probable; but we have not evidence enough to authorize us to be nice on such points. See on the following verse.
Verse 1. Judge me, O Lord] There are so many strong assertions in this Psalm concerning the innocence and uprightness of its author, that many suppose he wrote it to vindicate himself from some severe reflections on his conduct, or accusations relative to plots, conspiracies, c. This seems to render the opinion probable that attributes it to David during his exile, when all manner of false accusations were brought against him at the court of Saul.
I have walked in mine integrity] I have never plotted against the life nor property of any man I have neither coveted nor endeavoured to possess myself of Saul’s crown.
I have trusted] Had I acted otherwise, I could not have been prosperous; for thou wouldst not have worked miracles for the preservation of a wicked man.
I shall not slide.] I shall be preserved from swerving from the paths of righteousness and truth.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Judge me, i.e. plead my cause, or give sentence for me; as this phrase is commonly used, as Psa 10:18; 43:1; 72:4; Isa 1:17. I can obtain no right from men. The supreme and subordinate magistrates are mine implacable and resolved enemies. Do thou therefore do me justice against them,
for I have walked in mine integrity; though they accuse me of many crimes, they can prove none of them, and thou and mine own conscience, and theirs too, are witnesses for me, that my carriage towards them hath been innocent and unblamable. I have committed my cause and affairs to thee, as to a just Judge and merciful Father, and my hope and trust is fixed upon thee alone; therefore thou wilt not deceive my trust, but will uphold me against all mine enemies; for thou hast promised to save those that trust in thee. Or, that
I shall not slide or fall. So this declares the matter of his trust.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Judgedecide on my case;the appeal of innocence.
in mine integrityfreedomfrom blemish (compare Ps 25:21).His confidence of perseverance results from trust in God’s sustaininggrace.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Judge me, O Lord,…. Meaning not that God would enter into judgment with him, in respect to the justification of his person in his sight, which he knew was not by his own righteousness and integrity, but by the righteousness of God; but his view is, to the justification of his cause before men; and particularly to the difference between Saul and him; and entreats that God would interpose, take his cause in hand, judge between them, and vindicate him;
for I have walked in mine integrity; or “perfection” o not that he thought himself free from sin; this would be contrary to the complaints, confessions, and petitions frequently made by him; but that in the affair with which he was accused, of seeking Saul’s harm,
1Sa 24:9; he was quite innocent: by his “integrity” he means the purity of his intentions and designs; the uprightness of his conduct, the simplicity and sincerity of his conduct towards all men, and especially his fidelity to his prince; but though he knew nothing by himself, and could not charge himself with any wrong action in this respect, and therefore ought to be acquitted before men; yet he did not expect hereby to be justified in the sight of God;
I have trusted also in the Lord; not in himself, in the sincerity of his heart, and the uprightness of his life; nor did he trust to the goodness of his cause; but he committed it to the Lord, who judgeth righteously; and trusted in him that he should not be ashamed and confounded: this shows from whence his integrity sprung, even from faith unfeigned; for, where that is true and genuine, there are works of righteousness, and integrity of life;
[therefore] I shall not slide; these words may be connected with the former, thus; “I have trusted also in the Lord, that I shall not slide” p; that is, shall not fail in judgment, or lose the cause; but shall stand and carry it, and not be confounded or condemned. Our version supplies the word “therefore”, making these words to be an inference from the former, that because he trusted in the Lord, therefore he should not slide, slip, and fall; not but that true believers may not only have their feet well nigh slipped, but altogether; yea, fall, and that sometimes into great sins, to the breaking of their bones; but then they shall not totally and finally fall; for they stand by faith, and are kept through it by the power of God. The words may be considered as a prayer, “let me not slide” q; being sensible of his own weakness, and of the necessity of being upheld in his uprightness, and in the ways of the Lord by him, that his footsteps might not slip; for though he walked in his uprightness, he was not self-sufficient and self-confident, but dependent on the Lord.
o “in perfectione mea”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so the Targum, Ainsworth. p “me non vacillaturum”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. q “Ne nutare me patiaris”, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Psa 26:1-2 The poet, as one who is persecuted, prays for the vindication of his rights and for rescue; and bases this petition upon the relation in which he stands to God. , as in Psa 7:9; Psa 35:24, cf. Psa 43:1. (synon. , which, however, does not take any suffix) is, according to Gen 20:5., 1Ki 22:34, perfect freedom from all sinful intent, purity of character, pureness, guilelessness ( , ). Upon the fact, that he has walked in a harmless mind, without cherishing or provoking enmity, and trusted unwaveringly ( , an adverbial circumstantial clause, cf. Psa 21:8) in Jahve, he bases the petition for the proving of his injured right. He does not self-righteously hold himself to be morally perfect, he appeals only to the fundamental tendency of his inmost nature, which is turned towards God and to Him only. Psa 26:2 also is not so much a challenge for God to satisfy Himself of his innocence, as rather a request to prove the state of his mind, and, if it be not as it appears to his consciousness, to make this clear to him (Psa 139:23.). is not used in this passage of proving by trouble, but by a penetrating glance into the inmost nature (Psa 11:5; Psa 17:3). , not in the sense of , but of . , to melt down, i.e., by the agency of fire, the precious metal, and separate the dross (Psa 12:7; Psa 66:10). The Chethb is not to be read (which would be in contradiction to the request), but , as it is out of pause also in Isa 32:11, cf. Jdg 9:8, Jdg 9:12; 1Sa 28:8. The reins are the seat of the emotions, the heart is the very centre of the life of the mind and soul.
Psa 26:3 Psa 26:3 tells how confidently and cheerfully he would set himself in the light of God. God’s grace or loving-kindness is the mark on which his eye is fixed, the desire of his eye, and he walks in God’s truth. is the divine love, condescending to His creatures, and more especially to sinners (Psa 25:7), in unmerited kindness; is the truth with which God adheres to and carries out the determination of His love and the word of His promise. This lovingkindness of God has been always hitherto the model of his life, this truth of God the determining line and the boundary of his walk.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Devout Appeals. | |
A psalm of David.
1 Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. 2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. 3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. 4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
It is probable that David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul and his party, who, to give some colour to their unjust rage, represented him as a very bad man, and falsely accused him of many high crimes and misdemeanors, dressed him up in the skins of wild beasts that they might bait him. Innocency itself is no fence to the name, though it is to the bosom, against the darts of calumny. Herein he was a type of Christ, who was made a reproach of men, and foretold to his followers that they also must have all manner of evil said against them falsely. Now see what David does in this case.
I. He appeals to God’s righteous sentence (v. 1): “Judge me, O God! be thou Judge between me and my accusers, between the persecutor and the poor prisoner; bring me off with honour, and put those to shame that falsely accuse me.” Saul, who was himself supreme judge in Israel, was his adversary, so that in a controversy with him he could appeal to no other then to God himself. As to his offences against God, he prays, Lord, enter not into judgment with me (Ps. cxliii. 2), remember not my transgressions (Ps. xxv. 7), in which he appeals to God’s mercy; but, as to his offences against Saul, he appeals to God’s justice and begs of him to judge for him, as Ps. xliii. 1. Or thus: he cannot justify himself against the charge of sin; he owns his iniquity is great and he is undone if God, in his infinite mercy, do not forgive him; but he can justify himself against the charge of hypocrisy, and has reason to hope that, according to the tenour of the covenant of grace, he is one of those that may expect to find favour with God. Thus holy Job often owns he has sinned and yet he holds fast his integrity. Note, It is a comfort to those who are falsely accused that there is a righteous God, who, sooner or later, will clear up their innocency, and a comfort to all who are sincere in religion that God himself is a witness to their sincerity.
II. He submits to his unerring search (v. 2): Examine me, O Lord! and prove me, as gold is proved, whether it be standard. God knows every man’s true character, for he knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, as sees through every disguise. David prays, Lord, examine me, which intimates that he was well pleased that God did know him and truly desirous that he would discover him to himself and discover him to all the world. So sincere was he in his devotion to his God and his loyalty to his prince (in both which he was suspected to be a pretender) that he wished he had a window in his bosom, that whoever would might look into his heart.
III. He solemnly protests his sincerity (v. 1): “I have walked in my integrity; my conversation had agreed with my profession, and one part of it has been of a piece with another.” It is vain to boast of our integrity unless we can make it out that by the grace of God we have walked in our integrity, and that our conversation in the world has been in simplicity and godly sincerity. He produces here several proofs of his integrity, which encouraged him to trust in the Lord as his righteous Judge, who would patronise and plead his righteous cause, with an assurance that he should come off with reputation (therefore I shall not slide), and that those should not prevail who consulted to cast him down from his excellency, to shake his faith, blemish his name, and prevent his coming to the crown, Ps. lxii. 4. Those that are sincere in religion may trust in God that they shall not slide, that is, that they shall not apostasize from their religion.
1. He had a constant regard to God and to his grace, v. 3. (1.) He aimed at God’s good favour as his end and chief good: Thy loving-kindness is before my eyes. This will be a good evidence of our sincerity, if what we do in religion we do from a principle of love to God, and good thoughts of him as the best of beings and the best of friends and benefactors, and from a grateful sense of God’s goodness to us in particular, which we have had the experience of all our days. If we set God’s loving-kindness before us as our pattern, to which we endeavour to conform ourselves, being followers of him that is good, in his goodness (1 Pet. iii. 13), –if we set it before us as our great engagement and encouragement to our duty, and are afraid of doing any thing to forfeit God’s favour and in care by all means to keep ourselves in his love,–this will not only be a good evidence of our integrity, but will have a great influence upon our perseverance in it. (2.) He governed himself by the word of God as his rule: “I have walked in thy truth, that is, according to thy law, for thy law is truth.” Note, Those only may expect the benefit of God’s loving-kindness that live up to his truths, and his laws that are grounded upon them. Some understand it of his conforming himself to God’s example in truth and faithfulness, as well as in goodness and loving-kindness. Those certainly walk well that are followers of God as dear children.
2. He had no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, nor with the workers of those works, Psa 26:4; Psa 26:5. By this it appeared he was truly loyal to his prince that he never associated with those that were disaffected to his government, with any of those sons of Belial that despised him, 1 Sam. x. 27. He was in none of their cabals, nor joined with them in any of their intrigues; he cursed not the king, no, not in his heart. And this also was an evidence of his faithfulness to his God, that he never associated with those who he had any reason to think were disaffected to religion, or were open enemies, or false friends, to its interests. Note, Great care to avoid bad company is both a good evidence of our integrity and a good means to preserve us in it. Now observe here, (1.) That this part of his protestation looks both backward upon the care he had hitherto taken in this matter, and forward upon the care he would still take: “I have not sat with them, and I will not go in with them.” Note, Our good practices hitherto are then evidence of our integrity when they are accompanied with resolutions, in God’s strength, to persevere in them to the end, and not to draw back; and our good resolutions for the future we may then take the comfort of when they are the continuation of our good practices hitherto. (2.) That David shunned the company, not only of wicked persons, but of vain persons, that were wholly addicted to mirth and gaiety and had nothing solid or serious in them. The company of such may perhaps be the more pernicious of the two to a good man because he will not be so ready to stand upon his guard against the contagion of vanity as against that of downright wickedness. (3.) That the company of dissemblers is as dangerous company as any, and as much to be shunned, in prudence as well as piety. Evil-doers pretend friendship to those whom they would decoy into their snares, but they dissemble. When they speak fair, believe them not. (4.) Though sometimes he could not avoid being in the company of bad people, yet he would not go in with them, he would not choose such for his companions nor seek an opportunity of acquaintance and converse with them. He might fall in with them, but he would not, by appointment and assignation, go in with them. Or, if he happened to be with them, he would not sit with them, he would not continue with them; he would be in their company no longer than his business made it necessary: he would not concur with them, not say as they said, nor do as they did, as those that sit in the seat of the scornful, Ps. i. 1. He would not sit in counsel with them upon ways and means to do mischief, nor sit in judgment with them to condemn the generation of the righteous. (5.) We must not only in our practice avoid bad company, but in our principles and affections we must have an aversion to it. David here says, not only “I have shunned it,” but, “I have hated it,” Ps. cxxxix. 21. (6.) The congregation of evil-doers, the club, the confederacy of them, is in a special manner hateful to good people. I have hated ecclesiam malignantium–the church of the malignant; so the vulgar Latin reads its. As good men, in concert, make one another better, and are enabled to do so much the more good, so bad men, in combination, make one another worse, and do so much the more mischief. In all this David was a type of Christ, who, though he received sinners and ate with them, to instruct them and do them good, yet, otherwise, was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, particularly from the Pharisees, those dissemblers. He was also an example to Christians, when they join themselves to Christ, to save themselves from this untoward generation, Acts ii. 40.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Psalms 26
DAVID’S INTEGRITY
Verses 1-12:
Verses 1, 2 relate Daniel’s petition for the Lord to judge him, examine him, and search his reigns or the purposes and intents of his heart. He calls for Divine judgment based on his habitual walk of integrity toward his fellowman, as required in the second half of the law. Exo 20:5-17; Psa 7:8. Having trusted in the Lord he affirms that in His care he will not slide, backslide, or fall away morally or ethically, Psa 25:2; Psa 28:7; Psa 31:14; Pro 29:25. He also asked the Lord to examine him, test him, or prove him, from the integrity or purposes of his heart, like metal is tested by the flame, Psa 66:10.
Verse 3 adds that he had walked in the truth of the Lord because His loving kindness, His faithfulness in His promises, were always before David, Psa 25:5; Psa 89:27-37.
Verses 4, 5 relate David’s assertion that, 1) He had not sat with vain persons, deceitful people, among scoffers, and scorners of the holy people, holy things, and the holy, living God; He added that neither would he “go in with,” in company with, “dissemblers,” trouble makers, faultfinders, complainers, Psa 1:1; Jer 15:17; 1Co 15:33. See also Gen 49:5.
Verse 5 adds, 2) that David hated the congregation (rabble assembly) of evil-doers who met for ulterior purposes, as described Psa 5:5; Psa 15:4; Psa 31:5; Psa 101:3-8; Psa 119:21-22. He declared that he would not sit around in company with the wicked, as if to give sanction to their thoughts and deeds, 1Co 6:9-10; 2Co 6:14-18.
Verses 6, 7 assert that David resolved to wash his hands in innocency (not in hypocrisy) to compass or go about the altar of the Lord, Exo 30:19; Psa 73:13; 1Ti 2:8; not as Pilate did, Mat 27:24.
Verse 7 declares David did this that he might publish abroad, testify of the wondrous works of God with much thanksgiving, from Egypt’s deliverance to this hour, Exo 14:25; Isa 63:7.
Verse 8 witnesses that David had loved the habitation, assembly of worship, in the Mosaic order of worship and service. It had been recently placed there where the Shekinah (glory) presence of the Lord appeared, as promised to Israel, under her covenant, and to His church, under the new covenant, as set forth, Psalms 27; Psalms 4; Exodus 40; Exodus 34, 35; Num 9:15-16; 2Sa 15:25; 2Ch 7:14-15; Luk 24:49; Joh 14:16-17; Act 1:8; Mat 28:20; Eph 3:21.
Verses 9, 10 appeal to the Lord to hold him back from identity in deed and in judgment with sinners, with men who survived through shedding the blood of others, 1Sa 25:29. For in the hands of such, he asserted, existed deceptive, scheming, mischief, even covetous bribes, for temporary gain for the wicked, as forbidden in the Law of God, expressed in the law of Moses, Exo 23:8; Deu 16:19; 1Sa 8:3; Psa 7:3; Psa 15:5; Isa 33:15.
Verse 11 relates David’s resolve to walk continually before God and men, in his integrity of heart, as stated v.1. His upright conduct stood in contrast with those who lived for bribes, willful premeditated breakers of the law of Moses, as thieves and robbers, Exo 20:15. He asked that the Lord “redeem” and be merciful to him, confessing his need of a redeemer, tho not so grave a transgressor as some. For “there is (exists) no man that sinneth not,” that does not need redemption, 1Ki 8:46; Exo 14:30; Isa 59:20.
Verse 12 concludes that David’s foot continually stood in an even (firm) place, not on slippery ground; For his faith was in the Lord, as his redeemer, Psa 46:1; 1Co 3:10-12; Isa 40:4; Isa 42:16; Psa 27:11; Psa 143:10. His final resolve was to bless the Lord, or praise Him, in the congregations, as they assembled, again and again, as called to do, Psa 107:2; Mat 5:15-16; Act 1:8; Heb 10:24-25; Eph 3:21.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. Judge me, O Jehovah! I have just said, that David betakes himself to the judgment of God, because he found neither equity nor humanity among men. The Hebrew word which is rendered to judge, signifies to undertake the cognisance of a cause. The meaning here, therefore, is as if David called upon God to be the defender of his right. (567) When God leaves us for a time to the injuries and petulance of our enemies, he seems to neglect our cause; but when he restrains them from assailing us at their pleasure he clearly demonstrates that the defense of our cause is the object of his care. Let us, therefore, learn from the example of David, when we are destitute of man’s aid, to have recourse to the judgment-seat of God, and to rely upon his protection. The clause which follows is variously explained by interpreters. Some read it in connection with the first clause, Judge me, O Jehovah! because I have walked in mine integrity; but others refer it to the last clause, Because I have walked in mine integrity, therefore I shall not stumble. In my opinion, it may be properly connected with both. As it is the proper work of God to maintain and defend righteous causes, the Psalmist, in constituting him his defender, summons him as the witness of his integrity and trust, and thus conceives the hope of obtaining his aid. If, on the other hand, any one thinks that the clauses should be separated, it seems most probable that this sentence, judge me, O Lord! should be read by itself; and then that the second prayer should follow, that God would not allow him to stumble, because he had behaved himself inoffensively and uprightly, etc. But there is a force in the possessive pronoun my, which interpreters have overlooked. For David does not simply aver that he had been upright, but that he had constantly proceeded in an upright course, without being driven from his purpose, however powerful the devices by which he had been assailed. When wicked men attack us with a view to overwhelm us, either by force or fraud, we know how difficult it is to preserve always the same fortitude. We place our hope of victory in endeavoring resolutely and vigorously to oppose force to force, and art to art. And this is a temptation which so much the more affects honest and steady men, who are otherwise zealous to do well, when the cruelty of their enemies compels them to turn aside from the right path. Let us, therefore, learn from the example of David, even when an opportunity of injuring our enemies is offered us, and when by various methods they force and provoke us, to remain firm in our course, and not suffer ourselves to be diverted in any manner from persevering in the path of our integrity.
(567) Hammond renders the original word, “Plead for, or defend me;” and Green, “Vindicate me.” The word denotes both the act of a judge and of an advocate. This last view agrees very well with the scope of the psalm, which, from the strong assertions of innocence with which it abounds, appears to have been written by David in vindication of himself from various crimes which had been alleged against him; although the particular events to which it refers are not indicated.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MESSIANIC SECTION
Psalms 26-31
IN the treatment of the chapters here named, we call attention to the unity of thought that binds them together. They are called, in the King James version, Psalms of David. The subject, however, of these Psalms is one and the same, namely, the Lord. That accounts for the fact that His Name appears in the first verse of each Psa 26:1, Judge me, O Lord; Psa 27:1, The Lord is my light and my salvation; Psa 28:1, Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord, my Rock; Psa 29:1, Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength; Psa 30:1, I will extol Thee, O Lord; Psa 31:1, In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
Paradoxical as it may sound, the appeal is to the Lord, and the prophetical element looks also to the same Lord.
First, we have His Personal Integrity discussed, then His Perfect Trust, and finally, His Psalms of Praise.
HIS PERSONAL INTEGRITY
The subject of these Psalms seeks Gods judgment.
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
For Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth (Psa 26:1-3).
But this could hardly be David, for this language is necessarily Messianic. If it referred to David, it would poorly comport with the 51st Psalm, for instance. Job, the righteous man as he was, when he faced God had to forfeit his egoism, and, facing his own sinfulness, say, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).
There has lived but one Man who could truthfully utter the above sentences, for the Man of Nazareth is the only Man that ever walked in His integrity, fully trusting in the Lord, and did not slide; the only Man who could be proved and tried, and by keeping Gods loving kindness before His eyes, walk in Gods truth. Of all others, these statements, if applied at all, would have to be qualified.
So the Psalmist anticipated the Christ, and spoke what the Spirit gave him concerning the coming One.
He disfellowships sinners.
I have not sat with vain persons; neither will I go in with dissemblers.
I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord:
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Thy wondrous works? (Psa 26:4-7).
Here again it stands alone. If one remind us that Christ was the Friend of sinners, we answer yes, that He was with them, but we still insist that He never participated in their spirit nor indulged their thoughts or ways. That was not true of David, but it was true of Davids greater Son.
He delighted in Gods house.
Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth.
Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
My foot standeth in an even place: In the congregations will I bless the Lord (Psa 26:8-12).
Here again is the truth of the Lord. How many times He was found in the sanctuary on the Sabbath! How sacredly did He esteem that place! What pleasure He took in it, and with what jealousy He guarded it! Who will ever forget the day when He scourged sinners from the synagogue, because in their hands was mischief and in their right hands bribes? And who can forget how, while His feet stood in that very place, He honored God before the congregation?
Passing to the 27th chapter, note
HIS PERFECT TRUST
He knew Gods sufficiency.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple (Psa 27:1-4).
Was this boast made good by Jesus? Did He never reveal any fear? Did He never quail before His foes? Did His confidence stand Him always instead? Did the face of the Father always shine for Him? There seems to have been a brief time of exception. That was when on Calvarys Cross, He cried, My God; my God; why hast Thou forsaken Me? That moment compared unfavorably with His courage in Gethsemane, when at the sight of His face, the enemies and foes stumbled, fell, and fled; unfavorably with His courage when He faced the host that had come out against Him; unfavorably with that same courage when they were effecting a farce of trial.
We have a statement concerning the English language that the exception proves the rule. This exception, however, was not to that end, but rather that He might taste death for every man; that He might be tried in all points as we are; and as Joseph Parker put it, that for one brief moment He might know the meaning of infidelity and even atheism, and consequently how to sympathize with and succor those who should be badgered by unbelief.
He trusted in Gods strength.
For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I mil sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, mil I seek.
Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger: Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (Psa 27:5-10).
There is a clear indication in this text that David foresaw the Lord whose time of trouble should come; whose hour of darkness should hang with heaviness; whose anguish cry, My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?? would necessitate mercy toward even the sinless one; so that the face hidden from Him because the sins of man rested upon Him, should not continue to be clouded, but brighten again, and prove that the Father had not forsaken Him; and that when all earthly friends and even the relatives of the flesh had fled or become the subjects of infidelity, then the Lord would take Him up.
In all of these respects, the Saviour has marked the path for the saint. It is not probable that His people will pass through life without times of trouble, without the sight of multiplied enemies; without the necessity of mercy; without the blindness of momentary or even more prolonged unbelief; without the sense of desertion on the part of friends and kindred. How good to know that, in it all, He has been before!
He asks for assistance.
Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and had me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee, when I lift up my hands toward Thy holy oracle.
Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.
Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them, and not build them up.
Blessed be the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplications.
The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him.
The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving strength of His anointed.
Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever (Psa 27:11 to Psa 28:9).
It was Christ who said that man ought always to pray and not to faint. His example and His precept are always in accord. It was Christ who prayed often. How sacred an example! If He, who knew all things, looked to the Father for all needful help, how wicked and unwise is the prayerlessness of man and how inexcusable the intermittent appeals of professed saints! It is little wonder that we fall into the power of enemies; that we are defamed by false witnesses; that we are breathed upon by cruelty; that we faint in the way; that we go down into the pit; that we are drawn away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity. When we forget the great truth that the Lord hears the voice of supplication and is our strength, our shield, our help, how much we need to pray again even in the language of the text itself, Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever (Psa 28:9).
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
INTRODUCTION
The date of this psalm is uncertain. It is supposed by some to refer to the assassination of Ishbosheth (2Sa. 4:5-12); and by others to the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa. 15:18); but it is more probable that it was composed, like many others, in the dark time of Sauls persecution (1Sa. 18:24.). It has some points of resemblance, both in thought and expression, to the last. Both open with the same declaration of trust in God (Psa. 25:2; Psa. 26:1); in both there is the same prayer that God would redeem (Psa. 25:22, Psa. 26:11), and be gracious (Psa. 25:16, Psa. 26:11) to His servants. Other points of contact may be found in Psa. 25:21, Psa. 26:11 and Psa. 25:5, Psa. 26:3. There is, however, this marked difference between the two, that there are wanting in this psalm those touching confessions of sinfulness and pleadings for forgiveness which in the other are thrice repeated. Here is only the avowal of conscious uprightness,an avowal made as in the sight of the searcher of hearts, and deriving, no doubt, much of its intensity and almost impassioned force from the desire on the part of the singer to declare his entire separation from and aversion to the vain and evil men by whom he was surrounded.Perowne.
THE UPRIGHT MAN PLEADING FOR JUSTICE IN THE COURT OF HEAVEN
(Psa. 26:1-12.)
Calumny has been common in all ages. Jesus Christ Himself was defamed, and His disciples are warned to expect similar treatment from their enemies (Joh. 15:20; Mat. 5:11). For such as suffer thus, the example of David is rich in counsel and comfort in time of trouble, he turns to God for redress and refuge. He appeals from a world where the foundations are out of course to a world where all is righteousness and peace. He appeals from man, whose judgments are false, to God, who judgeth righteously.
In considering Davids appeal, mark
I. That it was made to the rigth Judge (Psa. 26:1). Judge me, O Lord. He had been wronged. His enemies had suspected and denounced him. Even the very king, anointed to do justly and to defend the oppressed, had turned against him, and madly sought his life (1Sa. 24:11). But, though perplexed, he is not in despair; though persecuted, he is not forsaken. He appeals to God. Judge me, O Lord. Take up my cause, vindicate my character, deliver me from the machinations and malice of my foes. This is just like what he said to Saul at Engedi (1Sa. 24:12), The Lord judge between me and thee (1Sa. 24:15), The Lord be judge, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
It is a solemn thing to stand before an earthly judge, but it is a far more solemn thing to come before the judgment-seat of God. This is the court of last resort. Here the Judge is personally acquainted with all the facts and circumstances of the case, and His judgments are absolutely just and final (1Sa. 2:3).
II. It was presented in a proper spirit.
1. Deep seriousness. He feels that he is in the presence of the great Searcher of hearts. His very life is at stake; but there are two things which sustain him:
(1.) Conscious integrity. For I have walked in mine integrity. This is very bold. It startles us to hear such words from a sinful man. We are almost ready to say, Surely this is to err, and to fall into pride and self-righteousness. But the words are no boast. They have the ring of sincerity and truth. David does not claim moral perfection, but uprightness of heart. He felt that he had been true. In spite of sore provocations, he had not returned evil for evil; though coming short in many things, he had honestly endeavoured to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. Walked: this implied earnestness and definiteness of purpose, steadfast and delightsome progress in the right. Integrity was the air in which he had lived and moved. Innocency itself is no fence to the name, though it is to the bosom, against the darts of calumny.M. Henry.
(2.) Confidence in God. I have trusted also in the Lord: therefore I shall not slide. There was everything in God to inspire trust. He was infinitely just and good. In His laws and government He was wholly and eternally opposed to all evil. However it might be amongst men, the Judge of all the earth could not but do right. David had trusted in Him in the past, and he would trust in Him for ever. Had he been conscious of insincerity, he could not have acted thus. Guile puts a bar between the soul and God; whereas, when there is no guile, there can be frank and confiding approach, and unwavering confidence. What a comforting thought that there is a God in heaven who judgeth righteously! Happy are those who trust in Him.
True dignity abides with him alone
Who, in the silent hour of inward thought,
Can still suspect and still revere himself
In lowliness of heart.WORDSWORTH.
2. Readiness to submit to the most thorough investigation (Psa. 26:2). Examine me, O Lord, and prove me. The reference here is to the methods by which metals were tested (Psa. 12:6; Psa. 66:10). As gold and silver were tried in the furnace, as Israel had been tried in Egypt and the wilderness, so he was ready to be tried (Deu. 4:20; Deu. 8:2). Try my reins and my heart. The reins may refer to the lower, and the heart to the higher passions of the soul. He thus craves that not only the outward but the inner man should be tested. He would hide nothing. He desires to be perfectly open, and to have all laid bare and sifted to the very core of his being. Whatever the Lord saw to be just, let Him do. The deepest desire of his heart was to be right. Let all dross of self-deception and sin be purged away in the fire of the Great Refiner, and let the true and the good remain. The fining-pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord trieth the hearts (Pro. 17:3).
What lives by life that is not Thine,
I yield it to Thy righteous doom;
What yet resists Thy law Divine,
O may Thy fire of love consume.
3. Humble acquiescence in the result (Psa. 26:3). For Thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes, and I have walked in Thy truth. This implies that Gods love was the life of his heart. He understood and appreciated His loving-kindness. It was before his eyes (cf. Deu. 6:8). It was the object of his constant meditation and delight. When he thought thereon, he could not but give thanks and take courage. Perfect love casteth out fear (1Jn. 4:18). Gods will was the law of his life. That he might know and keep Gods commandments was his continual prayer. I have walked in Thy truth. This had been his habit. It was upon this principle that his life had been regulated. Hence he felt no fear. Whatever was brought to light, whether to his praise or to his blame, could not but be for his good. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart (Psa. 97:11). Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved; but he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God (Joh. 3:20-21). Blessed are they whose hearts are right with God. Let trials come, let them be subjected to sore discipline and heavy judgments, still they have peace within.
Whateer my God ordains is right,
My light, my life is He.
He cannot will me aught but good
I trust Him utterly;
For well I know,
In joy or woe,
We yet shall see as sunlight clear,
How faithful was our Guardian here.
III. Supported by ample evidence
1. Negative (Psa. 26:4-5). The wicked are here characterised as vain persons, dissemblers, evil-doers. These terms are terribly significant. They are revelations of the heart. They are proofs of a state of society utterly alien and hostile to the life of God. David, in vindication of himself, declares his entire separation from all such people. He expresses his repugnance to their society. A man is known by the company he keeps. There is a power, for good or for evil, in the society we love. To be allied with the good is a blessing and an honour, but to be confederate with the had is to be doomed to infamy. David could appeal to his past life. He had no relish for the society of the bad. I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. He expresses his hatred of their character. His language is very strong: I have hated the congregation of evil-doers. It was not that he hated them as men, but that he hated their spirit and conducttheir character. To hate the person, the existence, of any man, is wrong; it is to hate the workmanship of God. But to hate the character of a bad man is right, and even obligatory. God made the person, man made the character; and a bad character is an offence to the Almighty, and an injury to the universe: therefore it is holy to hate it.Dr. D. Thomas.
2. Positive (Psa. 26:6-8). I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord; that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Thy wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth. David here declares his love for Gods house and worship. Instead of consorting with the wicked, his delight was with the people of God. Mark his earnest preparation (Psa. 26:6), I will wash, &c. The expression is figurative (cf. Gen. 20:5; Deu. 21:6; Mat. 27:24). It is taken from Exo. 30:17-21, where Aaron and his sons are commanded to wash their hands and their feet before going into the tabernacle. David, willing to express his coming with a pure heart to pray to God, doth it by this similitude of a priest, that as a priest washes his hands, and then offers oblation, so had he constantly joined purity and devotion together.Hammond. Mark his devout attendance upon ordinances (Psa. 26:6-7). So will I compass, &c. The meaning is, that he will go round and round the altar, looking at it, looking at the blood on its base, and the blood on each of the four horns, towards north, south, east, and west, and beholding the smoke of the fire, and thinking of the sacrificial victim that has died there,all in the way of joyful thanks for salvation provided for men.A. A. Bonar. Mark his great delight in the public worship of God (Psa. 26:8). Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, &c. It was the place where Gods glory dwelt, where God made Himself known as a just God and a Saviour. Gods presence is the attraction and life of all true worship. We should attend upon Divine ordinances with diligence, preparation, and prayer. If you come to church fresh from the company of the gay and the thoughtless, and with no real seriousness of spirit, it is no wonder if you are not benefited. But come with humility, come with sincere love of truth, come with hope in the boundless mercy of God and the grace of Christ, and you will not come in vain. Instructed and refreshed, your grateful song will be, This is none other but the house of God, this is the gate of heaven (Gen. 28:17).
IV. Enforced by strong and impassioned arguments (Psa. 26:9-11). Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: in whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. He here prays that God would judge him (Psa. 26:1), i.e., declare what he is by separating him from the wicked. But, in fact, his prayer is an argument, intensely earnest and powerful. That he should be condemned with the wicked was
1. Contrary to the spirit of his past life. Sinners, bloody men, men whose evil designs led to violence and crime, and whose hands were full of bribes to corrupt and to betray, surrounded him. But though he could not altogether avoid them, he had always regarded them with aversion. Their character was hateful to him, and he abhorred their company as hell.
2. Revolting to his holiest aspirations and hopes. He was unchanged in his purpose. Truth was truth, and right was right, whatever men said or did. He was resolved to die as he had lived. His heart was fixed. But he shrank with horror from the doom of the wicked.
3. Inconsistent with his faith in Gods justice and mercy. Redeem me, and be merciful unto me. He is far from pride and presumption. He does not demand, but supplicates. His exclusive dependence is upon God. There was a moral impossibility in his being forsaken. As there is a gathering time for the fruits of the earth, so there is a gathering-time for men. Death is the reaper. With his scythe he mows down the generations, and Justice gathers whom he mows,some to misery, some to bliss. Who would be gathered with the sinners in the great world of retribution?Dr. D. Thomas.
V. Concludes with the expression of the most undoubting assurance (Psa. 26:12). My foot standeth in an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord. His prayer has been heard. He is safe. He stands on the open tableland, where he has room to move, and where his enemies cannot hem him in, and therefore he fulfils the resolve made before (Psa. 26:7), and publicly pours out his thanksgivings to God.Perowne. But the words of the Psalmist may be understood as looking further than this earth. They not only imply present sure standing in the love of God, but they breathe the spirit of holy joy, in view of the serene and blissful heights of heaven, where there shall be no possibility of danger or of falling any more.
A GLORIOUS PICTURE
(Psa. 26:3.)
I. The subject. Thy loving-kindness. Creation, providence, redemption. What subject could be more noble and attractive?
II. The position. Before mine eyes. Much depends on the placing of a picture. The most excellent should have the most honourable place. Before mine eyes. Before the mind, the conscience, the heart. To be studied with adoring love and delight.
III. The effect upon the beholders.
1. Quickening.
2. Illuminating.
3. Transforming. Soothes, strengthens, ennobles. Beholding as In a glass the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image. What interest has this picture for us? With what feelings do we regard it? We needs must love the highest when we see it.Tennyson.
SURVEY OF REDEMPTION WORK
(Psa. 26:6-7.)
I.
IT IS A FINISHED WORK.
II.
IT IS A WONDROUS WORK.
III.
IT IS AN INSPIRING WORK.
IV.
IT IS A GOD-GLORIFYING WORK.
LOVE OF GODS HOUSE
(Psa. 26:8.)
What the Tabernacle and the Temple were to the pious Jew, the house where we worship God should be to us. It should be dear because
I. Hallowed by the Divine presence (2Ch. 6:18; Act. 7:49; Exo. 25:21-22; Mat. 18:20).
II. Consecrated to the holiest fellowship. The congregation. More; though physically shut in by the walls, in spirit we enter into fellowship with all Gods saints.
III. Devoted to the cause of righteousness and love. Not sectarianism, but the truth as in Jesus. We preach Christ crucified. Our ceaseless prayer is Thy kingdom come.
IV. Endeared by the most sacred associations. Here our fathers worshipped. Here our hearts have often been revived by the word of truth, and regaled by the bread of life sent down from heaven (Psa. 87:2-5).
V. Suggestive of the noblest hopes and inspirations (Mat. 28:20; Heb. 12:22-29; and 1Th. 4:13-18).
PERDITION DREADFUL
(Psa. 26:9.)
I. The good man is chiefly concerned about his soul. Many anxious as to health, earthly comforts, the security of their goods, &c. But the cry of the godly is my soul. Not in selfishness.
1. The soul is the man.
2. The salvation of the soul is necessary for the glory of God and the true ends of our being.
3. The soul is in desperate peril, and none but Christ can save.
II. The good man knows that the destiny of the soul is settled at death. Gather not my soul, &c. Death comes to all. Gather (cf. Gen. 25:8; Gen. 35:29; Gen. 49:29-33; Num. 20:24; Num. 27:13. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Ecc. 12:7). Judgment. Inferred by reason. Foreboded by conscience. Revealed by Scripture (Heb. 9:27; Act. 17:31; 2Co. 5:10).
III. The good man recoils with horror from being associated in destiny with the wicked. Why?
1. Because he abhors their character.
2. Their society.
3. Their doom. Evil without restraint. Misery without relief. Eternity without hope. Would we shrink from the society of the false, the impure, the revengeful, the slaves of lust and selfishness, how much more should we recoil from eternal fellowship with these and such as these!
Psa. 26:9-10. Social degeneracy. A corrupt people makes a corrupt magistracy.
Psa. 26:12. The connection between private and public worship.
Psa. 26:12. Rectitude is an even place, as contrasted with the crooked paths of the false, the hard way of transgressors, the slippery places of the world. Certainly, it is heaven upon earth to have a mans mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth.Bacon.
SINCERITY NOT ENOUGH
(Psa. 26:1.)
It is a false and mistaken liberality to say, If a man be sincere, he is all right Sincerity is necessary. Unless a man is sincere, he cannot be truly religious. But sincerity is not enough. A man may be sincere in his opinions, and yet be grievously in error. So it was with Eli (1Sa. 1:14) when he called Hannah drunken. A man may be sincere in his religious beliefs, even to zealotism, and yet be far off from true godliness. So it was with Saul when he made havoc of the Church, and did things which he afterwards bitterly repented (Act. 26:9-10). Sincerity implies being true to conscience; but conscience is no safe guide by itself. It needs to be cultivated and controlled by the Spirit of God.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Psalms 26
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
An Ideal Levite’s Prayer for Vindication by the Prolongation of his Life.
ANALYSIS
An introductory Petition, ver. la, is sustained by six stanzas of protestations and prayers. Stanza I., Psa. 26:1 b, c, Psa. 26:2, A protest of blamelessness and trust, is sustained by Prayer for further Testing. Stanza II., Psa. 26:3-4, Protest continued, of right feeling, right conduct and avoidance of evil company, Stanza III., Psa. 26:5-6, Protest prolonged, and pointed towards worship! Stanza IV., Psa. 26:7-8, To proclaim Jehovahs wonders, his House is loved. Stanza V., Psa. 26:9-10, Plea for life, in contrast with evil doers. Stanza VI., Psa. 26:11-12, Blamelessness moves to prayer for redemption, and gives assurance of public praise.
(Lm.)By David,
1
Vindicate me[255] O Jehovah![256]
[255] Cp. Psa. 7:8, Psa. 43:1.
[256] Cp. short line for emphasis Psa. 1:1; Psa. 1:3, Psa. 8:1; Psa. 8:9.
For I in my blamelessness have walked,
and in Jehovah have I trusted without wavering:[257]
[257] Cp. 2Ki. 18:5.
2
Try me Jehovah and prove me,
test thou my motives and my mind.[258]
[258] U.: my reins and my heart. Cp. Intro., Chap. III., heart, reins.
3
For thy kindness hath been before mine eyes,
and I have walked to and fro in thy truth;[259]
[259] Cp. Isa. 38:3.
4
I have not sat with worthless men,[260]
[260] Insincere persons; (or frivolous persons: lit. men of unreality)Dr.
and with dissemblers would I not enter.
5
I have hated an assembly of evil-doers,
and with lawless men[261] would I not sit.[262]
[261] Implies disloyal association with the heathen, the impious outsidersThirtle, O.T.P., 106.
[262] Cp. Psa. 1:1.
6
I can bathe in pureness my palms,[263]
[263] Psa. 73:13.
and would fain march around thine altar O Jehovah.
7
To proclaim aloud[264] a thanksgiving,
[264] Ml. with voice.
and to tell of all thy wondrous works
8
Jehovah! I have loved the dwelling of thy house,
even the place of the habitation of thy glory.[265]
[265] Note the continued presence of the shekinah.
9
Do not take away with sinners my soul,
nor with men of bloodshed my life:
10
In whose hands is an evil device,
and their right-hand is filled with a bribe.
11
Since I in my blamelessness do walk[266]
[266] Cp. Psa. 26:3 and Isa. 38:3.
ransom me and be gracious unto me Jehovah.
12
My foot hath taken its stand in a level place,
in assemblies do I bless Jehovah.[267]
[267] Cp. Isa. 38:20. In the choirs of the congregation do I praise JahveDel. In full assemblies will I bless JehovahDr.
(Nm.)
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 26
Dismiss all the charges against me, Lord, for I have tried to keep Your laws and have trusted You without wavering.
2 Cross-examine me, O Lord, and see that this is so; test my motives and affections too.
3 For I have taken Your lovingkindness and Your truth as my ideals.
4 I do not have fellowship with tricky, two-faced men; they are false and hypocritical.
5 I hate the sinners hangouts and refuse to enter them.
6 I wash my hands to prove my innocence and come before Your altar
7 Singing a song of thanksgiving and telling about Your miracles.
8 Lord, I love Your home, this shrine where the brilliant, dazzling splendor of Your presence lives.
9, 10 Dont treat me as a common sinner or murderer who plots against the innocent and demands bribes.
11 No, I am not like that, O Lord; I try to walk a straight and narrow path of doing what is right; therefore in mercy save me.
12 I publicly praise the Lord for keeping me from slipping and falling.
EXPOSITION
This is a bright and beautiful psalm, with a ring of sincerity in it, and lighted up with a glowing hope of public blessing. The experiences of both David and Hezekiah lie behind it. Thirtle well says of it:Words in every sense suited to the times of either king. Psa. 26:8 recalls Hezekiahs love for the Temple, and Psa. 26:9 expresses his revulsion at the thought of dying the death of a sinner, which was his interpretation of the mortal sickness with which God had smitten him (Thirtle, O.T.P., 3156.) The references appended to the text will transport the reader into a realm of reality, and the Analysis prefixed to it will probably make detailed exposition appear unnecessary.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Integrity is a grand virtuehow can we plead it before an absolute holy God? Is this the circumstance of Psa. 26:1 through Psa. 26:7? Discuss.
2.
Can we really love God without truly hating sin?
3.
Before whom or to whom, is the psalmist trying to demonstrate his integrity? Is this normal? Discuss.
4.
The company we choose is always an index of our characterDiscuss.
5.
When cut loose from social or civilized restraintsto where do we gravitate? This is a revelation of our real selvesis this true? Discuss.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Judge mei.e., do me justice, vindicate me.
I shall not slide.Rather, I have trusted in Jehovah without wavering.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Judge me, O Lord He appeals directly to the omniscience and righteousness of God for vindication.
Integrity Wholeheartedness; the doing in good faith and whole consent what was believed to be right.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Judge me, O YHWH, for I have walked in my integrity,
I have trusted also in YHWH without wavering.
He is confident that having received the forgiveness that he had pleaded for in Psalms 25 he can now call on YHWH to judge him in the present as one who has been faithful, and has walked in integrity (compare Psa 25:21). He is ready to open his whole life to YHWH’s scrutiny. And he is not afraid, because he knows that he has trusted YHWH with an unwavering trust (compare Psa 25:2), a trust that does not slide about in constant changeableness, ‘none of his steps will slide’ (Psa 37:31). He has turned neither to left nor right (compare Isa 30:21). In all this he wants YHWH to shine His light on him so that he may ‘walk in the light’ before Him (compare 1Jn 1:7).
The request to be judged is also a prayer that God will stand on his side against his adversaries (Psa 43:1). He is aware that unless YHWH is satisfied with what he is he has no right to such protection and help.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psalms 26
Theme The theme of Psalms 26 declares that God shows mercy towards those who walk upright before Him. We must keep in mind that the Old Testament Scriptures are delivered and written as prophecy. No man has walked perfectly upright before the Lord all of His days. Therefore, only the man Jesus Christ has fulfilled the prophecy of Psalms 26. We have failed to fulfill Psalms 26 in our own goodness. Yet, there is hope; for in Christ Jesus we can now partake of the same upright before God described by the psalmist. We can rejoice in God’s mercy towards us. We can shout with thanksgiving for all His is doing for us, knowing that we are secure in God’s love because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on Calvary. Therefore, the psalmist was speaking prophetically both of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the believers put their trust in Him. We can walk upright before God because of Christ’s Atonement and Exaltation at the right hand of God the Father.
Literary Structure The psalmist opens this psalm with a cry for the Lord to be the judge of his right standing before God (Psa 26:1-2) based on God’s mercy and truth (Psa 26:3). He has separated himself from the lifestyle of the wicked (Psa 26:4-5). The sacrifice has been paid that atones for his sins and renders him innocent because his sins are no more (Psa 26:6). With his guilt washed away by the blood of the sacrifice, he rejoices with thanksgiving (Psa 26:7). His desire is in God’s presence (Psa 26:8). Still having a sense of his mortal frailty, the psalmist cries out to God to help him in his walk of integrity and deliver him from wickedness (Psa 26:9-10). His soul cries out for eternal redemption (Psa 26:11), which will be partially fulfilled for mankind as Calvary, when man is born again and his inner man made new; but complete redemption of man’s soul and body will not take place until the resurrection of the saints. However, in expectation of eternal redemption, his life is secure in God’s hands while he worships God with the congregation of saints (Psa 26:12).
Psa 26:1 (A Psalm of David.) Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
Psa 26:2 Psa 26:1-2
Psa 26:3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
Psa 26:3
[41] Carl Bernard Moll, The Psalms, trans. Charles A. Briggs, John Forsyth, James B. Hammond, and J. Fred McCurdy, in Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, vol. 9, ed. Philip Schaff (New York: Scribner, Armstrong and Co., 1892), 195.
Psa 26:4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
Psa 26:5 Psa 26:6 Psa 26:6
Scripture References – Note similar verses:
Deu 21:6-7, “And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.”
Psa 73:13, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency .”
Mat 27:24, “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.”
Psa 26:12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.
Psa 26:12
“My foot standeth in an even place” The psalmist had walked the hills of Palestine while tending his sheep and he knew how unstable and slippery were these rocky slopes. He makes an analogy of his carefulness to physically walk in this unstable, hilly land to the carefulness of his spiritual walk with God. The opening and closing verses of Psalms 26 offer poetic chiasm with parallel thoughts. He opened the psalm saying that he had walked in integrity and his feet will not slide (Psa 26:1), a walk that is comparable to walking on even, level soil. He will not stumble or fall if he walks with integrity, because the Lord will keep him from falling (Psa 26:12).
“in the congregations will I bless the LORD” – The parallel thoughts in Psa 26:1 and Psa 26:12 allow us to conclude that the Lord has vindicated the psalmist as a man of righteousness (Psa 26:1); therefore, he will bless the Lord in the congregations of other believers (Psa 26:12). He will testify with thanksgiving of God’s goodness towards him for walking upright (Psa 26:7).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Prayer of One Persecuted without Cause.
v. 1. Judge me, O God, v. 2. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me, v. 3. For Thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes, v. 4. I have not sat with vain persons, v. 5. I have hated the congregation of evil-doers, v. 6. I will wash mine hands in innocency, v. 7. that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, v. 8. Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, v. 9. Gather not my soul with sinners, v. 10. in whose hands is mischief, v. 11. But as for me, v. 12. My foot standeth in an even place,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
DAVID, about to sacrifice at God’s altar, protests his integrity, but still prays for God’s protection (Psa 26:9) and for his redeeming mercy (Psa 26:11). The psalm has all the notes of David’s style, is full of his thoughts and imagery, and is allowed to be his by almost all critics. It must belong to the time following the removal of the ark to Mount Zion, and preceding the committal of the great offence.
Psa 26:1
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity. It seems to Christians a bold act to call on God for judgment, but the saints of the earlier dispensation, having, perhaps, a less keen sense of human imperfection, were wont to do so. It is Job’s cry from his first utterance until his “words are ended;” and here we find David taking it up and re-echoing it. Man longs to hear the sentence of acquittal from the great Judge. Like Job, David asserts his “integrity,” and in the same qualified sense. He is sincere in his endeavours to do right. Yet still he needs mercy and redemption (see verse 11). I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. (comp. Psa 18:36; Psa 37:31). David is confident of his past; for the future he trusts in God to uphold his steps, and save him from slips and falls.
Psa 26:2
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me. He desires to be examined and provedtested, as a metal is tested (comp. Psa 17:3)that his sincerity may fully appear. Try my reins and my heart; i.e. my emotional and my intellectual natures.
Psa 26:3
For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes. The psalmist now enters upon an enumeration of the points of conduct on which his confidence in his integrity rests. They are sixthree positive and three negative. First of all, he keeps God’s loving-kindness, or mercy (), ever before his eyesreflects on it, meditates on it, presents it to his thoughtcontinually. And I have walked in thy truth. Secondly, he walkshe has always walkedin God s truth. God’s Law is the truth (Psa 119:42); and walking in God’s truth is walking in the Law which he has given to men; as Hitzig, Maurer, and others have seen. Hengstenberg’s exposition, “I have constantly thought upon thy faithfulness,” cannot be admitted.
Psa 26:4
I have not sat with vain persons. Thirdly, he has not sat with vain persons; literally, with men of vanity; i.e. he has not consorted (Psa 1:1) with light and frivolous personsthose whose hearts are set upon vain and worthless things (see Psa 24:4, and the comment). Neither will I go in with dissemblers. Nor will he go in with dissemblers, i.e. hypocrites. He has neither thrown in his lot with the light, vain persons who make no pretence to religion, nor with the pretenders, who “have the form of godliness, but deny the power thereof” (2Ti 3:5).
Psa 26:5
I have hated the congregation of evil-doers. Fifthly, he has hated, and hates, with a holy and strong abhorrence (comp. Psa 139:22), the congregation of evil-deersthe gatherings and assemblies of those who meet only for wicked purposesto sin themselves, and to draw others into like evil courses. This is a positive trait of a very marked character, and goes far beyond the explanation which has been given of it: “I take no part in assemblies for the ruin of others” (Hengstenberg). Sixthly and lastly, he will not sit with the wicked. This only goes beyond the declarations in Psa 26:4 by extending to all wicked persons of every kind the avoidance there limited to “vain persons,” and “dissemblers.” The spirit is that indicated by Jacob in Gen 49:6; by St. Paul, in 1Co 5:9-11 and Eph 5:7, Eph 5:11; and by St. John, on the celebrated occasion when he avoided contact with Cerinthus (Iren; 3.3, 4).
Psa 26:6
I will wash mine hands in innoceney; so will I compass thine altar, O Lord. This seems to be the key-note of the psalm. If not a necessary, it is at any rate a probable, exegesis, that David composed this psalm on an occasion when he was about to offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God for some mercy recently vouchsafed him (Psa 26:7). Before offering, he feels the necessity of doing spiritually that which the priest’ who officiated would have to do ceremonially (Exo 30:17-21)to “wash his hands in innocency, and so to go to God’s altar.” His self-justification from Psa 26:1 to Psa 26:5 has had for its object to clear him from guilt.
Psa 26:7
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving; rather, to sound forth the voice of thanksgiving (Kay); or, to make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard (Revised Version). And tell of all thy wondrous works; or, recount them, enumerate them.
Psa 26:8
Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house; i.e. “the home that thy house affords me.” It has been my delight to remain there, to pass long hours there, as it were to dwell there (comp. Psa 23:6; Psa 27:4; Psa 63:2). And the place where thine honour dwelleth; literally, the place of the tabernacling of thy glorythe place where thy glorythe Shechinahis enshrined and abides.
Psa 26:9
Gather not my soul with sinners. Unite me not in one doom with open sinnersthose with whom I have always refused to consort (Psa 26:4, Psa 26:5)whose congregation I have “hated.” “That the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:25). Nor my life with bloody men. Bloody menliterally, men of bloodsare the worst of wicked men, cut-throats, assassins, murderers. At any rate, put me not on a par with them. Little, probably, did the psalmist think at this time how soon he was to become, practically, a murderer, and to “slay Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the children of Ammon” (2Sa 12:9)
Psa 26:10
In whose hands is mischief; i.e. who are always occupied with some mischief or otheralways engaged in carrying out wicked devices (see Pro 12:2; Pro 14:17). And their right hand is full of bribes. Which they have taken to condemn the innocent (comp. Psa 15:5; Isa 1:23; Jer 22:17, Eze 22:12; Hos 4:10; Mic 3:11, etc.).
Psa 26:11
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity; i.e. I will continue to walk as I have walked hitherto (see Psa 26:1)I will be “integer vitae scelerisque purus“a brave and good resolve. Had he but kept to it! Redeem me, and be merciful unto me (compare the comment on Psa 26:1). Though hitherto he has walked innocently, and is resolved still to continue to walk innocently; he nevertheless feels that he has need of redeeming mercy. Though he “knows nothing by himself, yet he is not thereby justified” (1Co 4:4). Many, doubtless, are his “secret sins,” which God has “set in the light of his countenance” (Psa 90:8).
Psa 26:12
My foot standeth in an even place; or, on level groundwhere there is nothing to cause me to stumble (comp. Psa 27:11). In the congregations will I bless the Lord; i.e. in the assemblies of the people for public worship. David constantly acknowledges this duty (Psa 22:22, Psa 22:25 : Psa 27:6; Psa 35:18; Psa 40:9, Psa 40:10; Psa 68:26, etc.). Indeed, it is the general idea that underlies all his psalms of praise, since they wore composed to be recited in the congregation.
HOMILETICS
Psa 26:2
Faith’s bold request.
“Examine me,” etc. A very bold prayer. The image is taken from the testing and purifying of gold in the furnace, to which the word rendered “try” properly applies. It is as if the gold begged to be cast into the furnace (Job 23:10). Who can say, if this prayer is to be answered, how hot the furnace may need to be? But “we have boldness” (Eph 3:12). There are cases in which this bold prayer may be justifiable, wise, needful. It includes
I. A RECOGNITION OF GOD‘S ALL–SEARCHING KNOWLEDGE. (Psa 139:1; Jer 17:10; Rev 2:23.) God’s free, forgiving mercy is represented under the image of his forgetting our sins (Heb 8:12, etc.). This must not make us lose sight of the fact of his actual knowledge (Heb 4:13). If men see faults where God does not, it is their blindness, not their keenness.
II. THE APPEAL OF CONSCIOUS INTEGRITY, from men’s slander or misjudgment to the righteous judgment of God. Such an appeal is perfectly consistent with true humility and a deep sense of sinfulness before God (cf. Act 23:1; Act 24:16; 1Co 4:3-5 with 1Ti 1:12-15). At the same time, we can hardly suppose David could have composed this psalm after his great and shameful fall. Regarded apart from that dark passage of his life, we see a man, with the faults, it is true, of an ardent, passionate temperament, but conscious of honest purpose, high sense of duty, fervent love to God, and true desire to rule God’s people well; yet we must bear in mind (what Bishop Perowne has well expressed) that “the full depth and iniquity of sin was not disclosed to the saints of the Old Testament. Sin could only appear to be sin in all its blackness and malignity when it was brought into the full light of the cross of Christ. And it is only as any man grasps that cross that he can bear to look into the pollution which cleaves to his nature” (Perowne, ad loc.).
III. PRAYER AGAINST SELF–DECEPTION. An appeal not only from the unfair judgments of men, but from our own ignorance of ourselves (Psa 19:12; Psa 139:23, Psa 139:24). Peter’s boastful, self-ignorant self-confidence was the immediate forerunner of his fall (Mat 26:33, Mat 26:35).
IV. SUBMISSION TO GOD‘S METHODS OF TRIAL. These may be severe, the faithful severity of love. It needs the courage of faithundoubting confidence in God’s loveto enable us to offer this prayer with full thought of all it may mean in our case. Christ sits as a Refiner (Mal 3:2, Mal 3:3). God searches by his Word (Heb 4:12), by his Spirit (Joh 15:8), by the dealings of his providence and outward trials (1Pe 1:6, 1Pe 1:7), even by the permitted temptations of the evil one (Luk 22:31, Luk 22:32).
Thus a prayer which would be the height of rash presumption, offered in the spirit of self-righteous self-confidence, becomes a wise, safe, and fitting prayer, offered in the spirit of humble, childlike faith.
Psa 26:10
The sin of bribery.
“Their right hand is full of bribes.” Christians have undeniably a far higher standard of morality supplied by the gospel than was possible in earlier times under any other dispensation. How, then, is this paradox to be solvedthat we find Old Testament saints trying themselves by severer tests, and aiming at a higher level both of morality and of devotion than multitudes of professed Christians attempt to reach or even deem attainable? The practice of bribery has often attained, in nominally Christian commonwealths, such proportions as to endanger public welfare and honour, and this with the connivance of many religious people; yet it is here condemned as worthy to he classed with the worst crimes, utterly inconsistent with “innocency” and “integrity” (Psa 26:6, Psa 26:11; cf. Isa 35:1-10 :15). SubjectThe sin of bribery, and the duty of Christians to oppose it to the utmost of their power.
I. BRIBERY MEANS A BARGAIN TO BETRAY A SOLEMN PUBLIC TRUST. The constitution bestows the vote, not for the voter’s private benefit, but that fit men may be chosen to office; it is a trust for the community. Suppose a prime minister were to sell the offices at his disposal, or a jury to sell their verdict, or a judge his sentence, would not the world cry shame? The scale is different, but the principle is the same.
II. BRIBERY POWERFULLY CORRUPTS PUBLIC MORALITY AND NATIONAL CHARACTER. For patriotism and public spirit it substitutes selfishness; for honest, independent conviction, base disregard of principle. It destroys the sense of public honour; it degrades office by making the qualification, not fitness, but pelf; it puts the making of laws and ordering of justice in the hands of men who have begun by breaking the law and insulting justice; it degrades alike the giver and the receiver.
III. BRIBERY TENDS TO PRODUCE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT AND DISHONEST LEGISLATION. It is true a man’s conscience may allow him to give a bribe, yet forbid him to take one; hut how long would this inconsistency last if the innocency of giving bribes were generally allowed? If an elector may sell his vote, why not a member of parliament or of council? What right would an elector have to complain if his representative were to say, “I have bought my seat, and paid for it, and have a right to make a profit out of it”?
A Christian’s reputation should be dear to him, not for his own sake alone, hut for his Lord’s, for the gospel’s and the Church’s sake. He should he able to say, with St. Paul, Act 24:16 (cf. 1Ti 5:22; Php 4:8). Some excellent Christians, it is true, would limit “whatsoever things,” etc; to the concerns of private life. But by what right? A Christian, they say, is a citizen of the heavenly city, and has no concern with earthly politics. But he cannot help having concern. He is also a citizen of his earthly country, whether he will or no, and has all the privileges of a citizen and the benefits of the commonwealth. Privilege and benefit mean duty and responsibility. Love to our neighbour and care for the poor do not surely cease to be Christian duties when the welfare of a whole nation, and of other nations, or the care of the poor at home and the enslaved and oppressed in other lands, call for the strong arm of law and national government.
HOMILIES BY C. CLEMANCE
Psa 26:1-12
Assailed integrity’s final appeal
It seems evident that this psalm was written by some Old Testament saint who was surrounded by ungodly men, by whom he was assailed, reproached, and slandered. From them he appeals to God. By the heading of the psalm we are pointed to David as the author. And there is no reason for questioning that. Mr. Fausset, in his most suggestive book, ‘Horae Psalmicae,’ working along the line of “undesigned coincidences,” remarks, “Another feature of undesigned coincidence is the unmistakable identity of David’s character, as he reveals it in the Psalms, and as the independent historian describes it in the Books of Samuel and Chronicles. Thus the same ardent love to the house of God appears in both. How instinctively one feels the harmony between the character self-portrayed in Psa 26:8; Psa 27:4; and Psa 69:9! Compare the historian’s record of his words to Zadok (2Sa 15:25), and still more in 1Ch 29:2, 1Ch 29:3.” Undoubtedly, thus read and compared, the Psalms and the history mutually throw light upon and confirm each other. But in following out our plan in this sectionof dealing with each psalm as a unitywe find this, as well as all the rest, furnishing material for pulpit exposition, which we could ill afford to lose. Our topic isAssailed integrity‘s final appeal.
I. WE HAVE HERE THE CHARACTER OF AN UPRIGHT MAN, SKETCHED BY HIMSELF. It may not be a very wholesome exercise for a man to be engaged into sketch a moral portraiture of himself. Painters have often painted their own portraits; that requires but an outward gaze on one’s outer self; but to delineate one’s own likeness morally requires much introspection. Few can carry on much of that without becoming morbid through the process; and fewer still, perhaps, have fidelity enough to do it adequately and correctly. Yet there may be circumstances under which such abnormal work becomes even necessary (as we shall point out presently). And when such is the case, it is well if we can honestly point to such features of character and life as are presented to us here.
1. The psalmist has a goodly foundation on which his life was built up.
(1) Trust in Jehovah (verse 1).
(2) God’s loving-kindness (verse 3).
(3) God’s truth (verse 3); i.e. God’s faithfulness.
Note: That all the supports of the psalmist’s integrity were outside himself. Happy is the man that, under all the circumstances of life, can stay his mind and heart on Divine faithfulness and love. If such underlying props cease to sustain, moral and spiritual worth will soon pine from lack of motive and hope. It is one of the evils of the day that some of our most popular novelists delineate religion without God.
2. The life built up on this foundation was one which may with advantage be imitated. It was a life of:
(1) Integrity (verse 11).
(2) Straightforward progress (verse 1). No sliding.
(3) Avoidance of evil associations (verses 4, 5).
(4) Cultivation of holy worship, song, and thanksgiving in the sanctuary (verses 6-8, 12).
Note:
(a) Those to whom God is the support of their life, will show a life worthy of such support.
(b) Those who most value communion with God and a life hidden with him, will most fully appreciate and most diligently cultivate that stimulus and comfort which come from mingling with God’s people in the worship of the sanctuary.
II. THE MOST UPRIGHT OF MEN MAY BE MISUNDERSTOOD, UNAPPRECIATED, MISREPRESENTED, AND ASSAILED. Speaking roughly and generally, it is no doubt true that, on the whole, a man’s reputation will be the reflection of what he is, and that most men go for what they are worth. And yet, so long as there are envious hearts, jealous dispositions, unbridled tongues, few can be regarded as absolutely safe from detraction and slander. Our Lord Jesus implies and even states as much as this (cf. Mat 5:44; Mat 10:25; Mat 18:6, Mat 18:7; Joh 15:18). See Peter’s words (1Pe 2:12; 1Pe 4:14); see Paul’s words (Rom 12:18, Rom 12:19). Paul had to boar much in the way of depreciation from some who even denied his apostleship. Job was surrounded with “miserable comforters,” who thought, by defaming him, to defend God! Such trials are hard to bear. They may arise
(1) from the occasional foibles of a good man being magnified by the slanderer into sins;
(2) from the utter impossibility of bad men reading aright the character of the just and pure. Having no virtue themselves, they cannot credit others with any. “Doth Job fear God for nought?” “He hath a devil,” etc. Many can say the words in Psa 56:5.
III. IT IS AN INFINITE RELIEF, UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES, THAT THE RELIEVER CAN APPEAL TO HIS GOD. The whole psalm is such an appeal. True, the Infinite Eye can discern flaws and faults where we suspect none; but then the same perfect gaze discerns the desire after being right and pure and true, however far the believer may be from realizing his own ideal. The suppliant has to do, moreover, with One who never misunderstands, and whose glory is in his loving-kindness and truth. And from a Christian point of view we must remember that we have a High Priest who was in all points tried like as we are, yet without sin, and who can therefore pity what is frail, and pardon what is wrong. What a mercy to have such a throne of grace to which to flee
IV. THE APPEAL WILL BE MARKED BY SPECIFIC ENTREATY. Here there are four lines of supplication.
1. That God would vindicate him, and not let him be mixed up in confusion with the men whose sin he hates (Psa 56:1, Psa 56:9, Psa 56:10). He looks to God, as Job did, as his Vindicator (Job 19:25).
2. That God would search and prove him (verse 2; cf. Psa 139:23, Psa 139:24).
3. That God would purify him (verse 3). So the word here rendered “try” indicates. He is upright before men, but he does not pretend to be perfect before God.
4. That God would entirely deliver him from the surroundings of ungenial and unholy men (verses 9, 10). Whether the psalmist intended any reference to a future state or no, the believer now cannot help so applying the words. Who could endure the thought of evil and good always being mixed up together? The Divine mandate is, “Let both grow together until the harvest” (Mat 13:13). Then will come the final severance.
V. THE RESULT OF SUCH APPEAL WILL NOT BE FRUITLESS OR VAIN. (Verse 12.) “His prayer has been heard; he is safe; he stands on the open, level table-land, where he has room to move, and where his enemies cannot hem him in; and therefore he fulfils the resolve made before (verse 7), and publicly pours out his thanksgivings to God” (Perowne). Whoever thus lays his complaints before God will find deliverance in God’s own appointed time; we must leave, however, the “when” with the great Defender. Either
(1) on earth in our day,
(2) on earth after our day, or
(3) in heaven, God will bring us and our reputation out to the light.
“He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday” (Psa 37:5, Psa 37:6).C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH
Psa 26:1-12
Integrity.
All through the Scriptures “integrity” is commended. It is a characteristic of the saints. Whatever else they are, they must be men of integrity. This does not mean that they are morally perfect, or that they have any ground for trusting in their own righteousness; but it means that they have an “honest and good heart.” Whatever may have been their past life, or however much of imperfection may still cleave to them, they are conscious of a pure intent, a firm and steadfast resolve to trust only what is true, to do only what is right, and to order their whole conduct according to the holy will of God. They can say, as Joseph’s brethren did, “We be true men;” or with Paul, “We serve God with a pure conscience.”
I. INTEGRITY IS ESSENTIAL TO A RIGHT RELATION TO GOD. God desireth “truth in the inward parts.” All guile and falsehood are offensive to him. If we are to come to him, we must come just as we are; and if we are to abide with him, we must walk in the truth. Integrity lies at the very basis of faith, and “without faith it is impossible to please God.”
II. INTEGRITY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE POSSESSION OF A TRUE CHARACTER. “There is no redeeming efficacy in right intent; taken by itself, it would never vanquish the inward state of evil at all. And yet it is just that by which all evil will be vanquished, under Christ and by grace, because it puts the soul in such a state as makes the grace-power of Christ co-working with it effectual.” “The sinning man, who comes into integrity of aim, is put thereby at the very gate of faith, where all God’s helps are waiting for him” (Bushnell). There is a vital connection between “integrity” and “truth” (Psa 26:1, Psa 26:3). “Truth” is of God. “Integrity” belongs to us. We can only have truth, as we receive it from God. We can only have “integrity” as we allow God’s truth to rule our hearts and our lives. First the heart is made right by being directed into the love of God, and then the life is made holy and beautiful by being swayed by the will of God. This leads to unity and completeness of character.
III. INTEGRITY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE RIGHT DISCHARGE OF OUR SOCIAL DUTIES In society we meet with “vain persons,” “dissemblers,” and “evil-doers” (Psa 26:4-6). This is a test and an education. A man is known by his friends. There is a power for good in good companionships, and for evil in evil companionships. But if we are walking in truth, we cannot but hate all that is alien and hostile to truth. Our choice will be truth, and not vanity. Our delight will be in honesty, not in “dissemblers.” Our fellowship will be with the righteous, and not with “evil-doers” (Psa 119:63). It is only as we ourselves are true that we can commend the truth to others. It is only as we ourselves are upright in all our dealings that we can secure respect and confidence, and that we can best advance the interests of religion.
IV. INTEGRITY IS ESSENTIAL TO FULL DELIGHT IN RELIGIOUS ORDINANCES. (Psa 26:6 -8.) There are some who are neglectful (Heb 10:25); there are others who satisfy themselves with formal observances (2Ti 3:5). In these ends there can be no real pleasure in what is done. But where there is integrity, the heart is engaged, there will be diligence, preparation and prayer, and increasing joy in the worship and service of God (Psa 33:1-22 :31; Psa 119:2). God’s presence is the attraction and life of all true worship. The more deeply we feel our sinfulness, the more earnestly will be our cry for mercy. The more truly we realize that the will of God is “our sanctification,” the more fervently shall we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
V. THAT INTEGRITY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE ASSURED HOPE OF A BRIGHT FUTURE. (Psa 26:9-12.) The very fact of what we are is a prophecy as to destroy (Rom 5:10; Php 1:6). Looking to the past, we confess that it is wholly of grace that we have been turned unto God. Looking within, we are conscious of a sincere resolve to follow after holiness. Looking to the future, we are able to cast ourselves with implicit confidence on the care of God our Saviour. God is true, and he will not forsake. God is just, and he will never condemn the righteous with the wicked. It is only those whose hearts are right with God that can face the future without fear. When we commit ourselves to God we are safe. We have not only a sure standing, as accepted in Christ Jesus, but we are comforted by the fellowship of kindred hearts, and cheered by the hope of being kept from falling, and having in the end an “entrance ministered to us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2Pe 1:5-11).W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT
Psa 26:1-12
The oppressed righteous man.
It is impossible to say on what occasion the psalm was composed, or from what kind of trouble it prays to be delivered. The theme isOnly he who can say with truth, “I have walked in integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord,” may depend upon Divine aid in trouble; but we may do so with full confidence. In the first verse the whole psalm is summed up.
I. A PRAYER FOR HELP IN TROUBLE. “Judge me,” equivalent to “vindicate my rights and rescue me from injustice.” The only clue to the meaning of the prayer is in the ninth verse, “Take not my soul away with the wicked, and my life with men of blood.” He was in some way suffering; but he prays that he may not fall into the utter ruin which is the portion of the wickedthe penalty of daring sin, nor the fatherly chastisement of infirmity. The psalmist’s faith was that God could not involve the righteous in destruction with the ungodly, but would separate between them even in their outward lot. This in great part true. “Godliness has the promise of the life that now is “outwardly and inwardly. So far as we know, the psalmist did not know of any other world where God could interpose to show his approval of the righteous and his disapproval of the wicked.
II. THE GROUND OF THE PSALMIST‘S PRAYER. “I have walked in mine integrity, I have trusted in the Lord.” But if I have not, do thou show it me (Psa 26:2). But I think I have; for thy love has been before my eyes, and I continually thought upon thy truth, or faithfulness (Psa 26:3). The two main grounds on which he prays for help are his morality and pietyintegrity and trust, expanded further in the life (Psa 26:8).
1. His morality. “Integrity,” equivalent to “with the mind aiming at the right and true, and with an undivided purpose. He had avoided all voluntary association with the wicked (Psa 26:4, Psa 26:5). He would neither go (walk) nor sit with them. All his sympathies went against them, equivalent to “hated them.” The company we keep from choice is a true and strong indication of our character.
2. His piety. “I wash my hands,” etc. The hands the instruments of action. His actions are cleansed from defilement; and this is his preparation for worship. “If thy brother hath aught against thee first be reconciled unto thy brother,” etc. “I hold fast by thine altar.” This placed in opposition to the assembly of the wicked, which he shuns. The purifying of the heart and conduct is naturally followed by worship, and preceded by it. He would proclaim God‘s wondrous works to the people: only he whose heart is full of them can worthily and truly publish them. He shall come to share in new wonders. He loved the house of God, because there God manifested his glory to him (Psa 26:8). Manifested himself; and he sees him as Isaiah saw him, “high and lifted up.” He fully trusted in the deliverance he sought; for he expected to praise the Lord in the congregation (verse 12).S.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Psalms 26.
David resorteth unto God, in confidence of his integrity.
A Psalm of David.
Title. ledavid, in this psalm David asserts his innocence so strongly, that we may conclude it was made before the preceding psalm, agreeably to the observation made on the title of that psalm. Theodoret supposes that David wrote it while he was among the Philistines, or in some other strange country, into which he was for some time forced by the persecution of Saul.
Psa 26:1. Judge me, O Lord Plead for me, O Lord.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psalms 26
A Psalm of David
1Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in my integrity:
I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
2Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;
Try my reins and my heart.
3For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes:
And I have walked in thy truth.
4I have not sat with vain persons,
Neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5I have hated the congregation of evil doers;
And will not sit with the wicked.
6I will wash mine hands in innocency:
So will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
7That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all thy wondrous works.
8Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house,
And the place where thine honor dwelleth.
9Gather not my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloody men.
10In whose hands is mischief,
And their right hand is full of bribes.
11But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity:
Redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
12My foot standeth in an even place:
In the congregations will I bless the Lord.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Its Contents and Composition.The Psalmist declares not so much his honesty before God connected with prayer for the actual recognition of it, and that be may be distinguished from the ungodly (Hupf.); but he bases his prayer for help (Psa 26:1; Psa 26:11), and for preservation from the fate of the wicked (Psa 26:9), on the government of God which surely does justice to the righteous. This he claims, because he not only is convinced that he personally belongs to the number of the righteous, but in this respect, with entire confidence, puts himself under the Divine judgment internally and externally (Psa 26:1-2). Yet he does this, not in the sense of self-righteousness and righteousness of works, but with the express confession, that his dependence on the grace (Psa 26:3 a) and truth (Psa 26:3 b) of God, constitutes the basis of the position of his heart and life, whereby he has hitherto separated himself from hypocrites and wicked persons (Psa 26:4-5), and likewise in the future would, in love to the sanctuary of God (Psa 26:6; Psa 26:8) remain separate from them. He concludes with an expression of pious confidence and joy, as well with reference to his lot as his conduct (Psa 26:9; Psa 26:11), and therefore embracing both sides of the relation (Psa 26:12). The priestly expressions in Psa 26:6 sq., do not compel us to the conclusion that the author was a man of the priestly order (Hitzig); they merely attest his priestly disposition, and likewise his intimate acquaintance with the worship of God in the life of Israel, as well as his longing after renewed participation in it, in the holy place of the sanctuary. This is sufficient to lead us to think of the time of the rebellion of Absalom, in connection with David as the author, which has nothing against it; comp. 2Sa 15:25.1
Str. I. Psa 26:1. Do me justice, for,etc.According to the mere words we might translate, judge (= prove) me, that. Then Psa 26:1 would be parallel with Psa 26:2. But usage decides either for the meaning declare righteous, speak the pious and oppressed free by a judicial sentence; or for the meaning, do justice, in the execution of the sentence, and thus helping, and delivering, and treating the innocent in accordance with justice. The latter meaning is the usual one, when Gods judgment is referred to; here it is made especially appropriate by Psa 26:11 and the tone of the entire Psalm.For I have walked in my integrity. (in the full form ), here connected with the suffix of the first person, in order to emphasize the habitual and personal characteristic, indicates not the perfection of the walk, but the purity of the heart (Gen 20:5 sq.; 1Ki 22:34), the honesty and of the soul, which characteristic is accompanied by an unwavering trust in God.2And in Jehovah have I trusted without wavering. [Without wavering is an adverbial clause according to Moll, Delitzsch, Perowne, et al., and not a dependent clause in the future (A. V., therefore I shall not slide) or a clause in the future, expressing confident anticipation (Alexander).C. A. B.]
Psa 26:2. Since the Psalmist is speaking of the inner man, a prayer to God follows for examination, investigation, searching of the heart and reins.[Try me, Jehovah, and prove me; assay my reins and my heart.Alexander: The first verb is supposed by etymologists to signify, originally, trial by touch, the second by smell, and the third by fire. In usage, however, the second is constantly applied to moral trial or temptation, while the other two are frequently applied to the testing of metals by the touchstone of the furnace. This is indeed the predominant usage of the third verb, which may therefore be represented by the technical metallurgic term assay. Perowne: The reins, as the seat of the lower animal passions; the heart, as comprising not only the higher affections, but also the will and the conscience. He thus desires to keep nothing back; he will submit himself to the searching flame of the Great Refiner, that all dross of self-deception may be purged away.C. A. B.] The reading adopted by Hengst., , refined that is, verified, found pure and genuine, is not appropriate to the context. The kethibh is to be retained, which is an unusual imperative form, the usual being lengthened by the and accordingly receiving the tone. Forms entirely parallel with this are found, Jdg 9:8; Jdg 9:12; 1Sa 28:8; Psa 38:21; Isa 18:4.
[Psa 26:3. For Thy grace is before my eyes, and I walk in Thy truth.Delitzsch: Gods grace is his aim, the delight of his eyes, and he walks in Gods truth. is the Divine love condescending to His creatures, especially to sinners, in undeserved advances, the truth with which God maintains the will of His love, and the Word of His promise, and executes them. This kindness of God has been constantly the model of his life, this truth of God the rule and limitation of his walk.C. A. B.]
[Str. II. Psa 26:4. Men of falsehood.So Moll., Hupf., Alexander, et al. Alexander: = Liars and deceivers, which appears to suit the context better than the wider sense of vain men (A. V.), i.e., destitute of moral goodness, good for nothing, worthless. The same class of persons are described in the last clause as masked, disguised, or hypocritical.C. A. B.]
Str. III. Psa 26:6. I wash my hands in innocency.Originally this was a symbolical action connected with a rite of atonement, to declare innocency of a murder (Deu 21:6 sq.; Mat 27:24); then in general a figure of speech to attest innocent conduct and warranted purity (Job 9:30; Psa 73:13; Eze 36:25); here the more appropriate, as there is directly a reference to an entrance into the sanctuary, which was in ancient times always preceded by lustrations. Comp. the action of the priests who were to wash themselves before performing their service, Exo 30:20 sq.And would compass Thine altar.Olshausen and Delitzsch regard this clause as optative, but it is rather cohortative [Perowne]. This is not to be understood merely of surrounding = being near as an expression of dependence (Luther), in contrast with the assembly of the ungodly (Hengst.), or as a privilege of the pure and pious (Hupf.), but it is in connection with the loud thanksgiving with which the delivered Psalmist would praise the Lord in the house of God, in the congregation of the pious (Psa 26:12). Thanksgiving is an offering, hence the mention of the altar. The compassing of the altar, like the washing of the hands, is not to be taken literally. Moreover, there is still less reason for a reference to priestly and Levitical functions, since such a solemn procession about the altar is not mentioned in the Old Testament. [Perowne: I am disposed to think that the whole passage is figurative and amounts to this, I would fain give myself to Thy service even as Thy priests do, just as in Psa 23:6, he utters the wish to dwell in the house of Jehovah forever.C. A. B.]
[Psa 26:8. Alexander: This verse expresses more directly and literally the idea of Psa 26:6 above, and shows that his compassing the altar was intended to denote his love for the earthly residence of God, the altar being there put for the whole sanctuary, which is here distinctly mentioned. The habitation of Thy house might be understood to mean a residence in it; but the usage of the first noun and the parallelism show that it rather means the place where Thy house dwells, perhaps in allusion to the migratory movements of the ark before the time of David. So too in the last clause, Hebrew usage would admit of the translation, Thy glorious dwelling-place, as in Psa 20:7 (6); but the use of in the Pentateuch to signify the visible presence of Jehovah (Exo 24:16; Exo 40:34-35) seems decisive in favor of explaining it, the place where Thy glory dwells, i.e., where the glorious God is pleased to manifest His presence. Hupfeld: This is particularly the Holy of Holies, where the ark of the covenant was the throne of His majesty in its earthly manifestation.C. A. B.]
[Str. IV. Psa 26:9. Gather not my soul with sinners.Wordsworth: Bind me not up in the same bundle with them, like tares for the fire (Mat 13:30). The contrast to this is seen in the following Psalm (Psa 26:10), When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up; literally, will gather me to His fold.Men of blood.Alexander: Literally bloods, i.e., murderers either in the strict sense or by metonymy for sinners of the worst class, probably the latter.
Psa 26:10. In whose hands is crime.Alexander: The word is a very strong one, used in the law to denote specifically acts of gross impurity, but signifying really any wicked act or purpose. The common version mischief is too weak. The last word in the verse denotes especially a judicial bribe (Psa 15:5), and may be intended to suggest that the whole description has reference to unrighteous rulers, or to wicked men in public office.C. A. B.]
Str. V. Psa 26:12. My foot standeth upon the plain, [A. V., even place].The plain is not a figure of righteousness but of safety. [Perowne: His prayer has been heard. He is safe. He stands in the open, level table-land, where he has room to move, and where his enemies cannot hem him in, and therefore he fulfils the resolve made before (Psa 26:7), and publicly pours out his thanksgiving to God.C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1.When the walk of a man is the expression of the purity of heart which is his own and inseparable from him, and this purity is accompanied with an unshaken trust in God, then he may confidently make the righteousness of God the foundation of his hope of a favorable turn in his fortunes, and may lay direct claim to it, in order that its holy government may do justice to the innocent in this unrighteous world. In this is expressed not the boldness of self-righteousness, but faith in the righteousness of God, and the confidence of a good conscience. The righteousness of faith of the Scriptures is not the enemy of righteousness of life, but its mother. (Hengstenberg).
2. Now he who has no reason to fear the external judgment of God, but rather desires to be protected from his enemies by its operation, must with all the more earnestness let the searching judgment of God execute itself in his own inmost soul, the more emphatically sincere his protestations are, that he has kept himself as far away from false and hypocritical men as from bold and wanton sinners, and that he in future no less than in the past designs to keep, in the congregation of the pious, to the institutions and means of salvation
3. But where piety and righteousness go hand in hand, and the use of the means of grace assists to walk in purity and without punishment, there the prayer may be made with comforted spirit, on the one side for preservation according to Gods righteousness from the fate of those with whom the suppliant has no communion of disposition or walk; on the other side for redemption from all evil by Gods mercy. It might seem at the first view as an absurd prayer, that God should not involve the righteous in the ruin of the ungodly, but God allows according to His paternal indulgence His own children to make such free expressions of their feelings, in order that their apprehensions may be quieted by the prayer itself. For David, whilst he expresses this wish, places before his eyes the righteous judgment of God, in order to free himself from apprehension and fear, because nothing is more foreign to God than to mix good and evil together (Calvin).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
A good conscience is essentially different from the imagination of self-righteousness, and from the pride of righteousness of works as well in its expressions as in the foundations of the confidence.He who would walk in the truth of God, must not lose sight of the grace of God.No one can be better advised than to hold on to Gods people, Gods house, Gods altar.In the irreproachableness of a walk is shown 1) the purity of piety, and 2) its power.The righteous may appeal to the righteousness of God, but they can never do without Gods mercy.True morality and sincere piety condition one another, and are thereby distinguished from legal righteousness.He who would not share the lot of the ungodly, must not only separate himself from them in disposition; he must also not only remain a stranger to their evil doings; he must not even share their company.He who allows himself to be judged by God internally, need not fear the punishment of God, and yet daily has to implore redemption and Gods mercy.It is becoming to no one to have a hierarchical disposition and life.
Starke: How beautiful it is, when man can appeal with certainty to Gods judgment, and when his heart does not condemn him. Let every one strive to attain such innocence.He who is earnest in avoiding sin, let him avoid likewise all that could give opportunity and inducement to sin.The true worship of God has this sure fruit, that a soul knows the wonders of grace, and thereby is awakened to heartfelt thanks.He who despises the assemblage of the congregation, what else is to be seen than that he has very little care for the glory of God and his own salvation (Pro 13:13).Not to be involved in the plagues of the ungodly is a great grace of God, since the pious, especially the faint-hearted, are not without sensible pain, as well on account of the assaults of Satan as on account of the wicked judgments of the world.The hands which gladly take rewards cannot certainly wash in innocency but are instruments of unrighteousness.With the greatest application to an innocent walk we are not to boast of it before God, but rather to pray for His grace, for before Him there is no living being righteous in and for himself.
Luther: I should hate what I cannot love with God.When now they preach anything that is against God, all love and friendship are gone.Gods house and assembly are where Gods word is and nowhere else; for there God Himself dwells. Therefore David praises the house of God with so much joy on account of the Word of God.Arndt: The true Church of God looks not at the visible, and depends not upon the temporal, but seeks the future native land, and has its glory, honor, and riches in heavenly possessions.Frisch: Be not slothful in attending church, appear there with holy reverence; think why you are there; and do what you have come to do.Von Gerlach: Where the Lord reveals Himself as graciously near, where He exhibits His glory, where He expressly declares that He will be found, where He puts visible pledges in which He may be known, apprehended and possessed, there the heart and inclination of believers love to be.Tholuck: In circumstances, where among men no justice is to be found, we learn to properly value the consolation that there is a Judge in heaven above all the judges of earth.Stiller: The Christian houses of God are houses of thanksgiving, in which the praise of God sounds; they are likewise memorial houses to reflect upon the Divine wonders.
[Matth. Henry: It is a comfort to those who are falsely accused that there is a righteous God, who sooner or later will clear up their innocency; and a comfort to all that are sincere in religion that God Himself is a witness to their sincerity:Great care to avoid bad company is both a good evidence of our integrity, and a good means to preserve us in it.All who truly love God truly love the ordinances of God, and therefore love them, because in them He manifests His honor, and they have an opportunity of honoring Him.Barnes: The whole Psalm should lead us carefully to examine the evidences of our piety; to bring before God all that we rely on as proof that we are His friends; and to pray that He will enable us to examine it aright; and when the result is, as it was in the case of the Psalmistwhen we can feel that we have reached a level place and found a smooth path, then we should go, as he did, and offer hearty thanks to God that we have reason to believe we are His children, and are heirs of salvation.Spurgeon: Worried and worn out by the injustice of men, the innocent spirit flies from its false accusers to the throne of the Eternal right.What a comfort it is to have the approbation of ones own conscience! If there be peace within the soul, the blustering storms of slander which howl around us are of little consideration. When the little bird in my bosom sings a merry song, it is no matter to me if a thousand owls hoot at me from without.The doubtful ways of policy are sure sooner or later to give a fall to those who run therein, but the ways of honesty, though often rough, are always safe.A man who does not hate evil terribly, does not love good heartily.What God hates we must hate.Let each reader see well to his company, for such as we keep in this world, we are likely to keep in the next.Each saint is a witness to Divine faithfulness, and should be ready with his testimony.C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
[1][Perowne: This Psalm has some points of resemblance, both in thought and expression, to the last. Both open with the same declaration of trust in God (Psa 25:2; Psa 26:1); in both there is the same prayer that God would redeem (Psa 25:22; and Psa 26:11) and be gracious (Psa 25:16; Psa 26:11) to His servants. Other points of contact may be found in Psa 25:21; Psa 26:11; and Psa 25:5; Psa 26:3. There is, however, this marked difference between the two, that there are wanting, in this Psalm, those touching confessions of sinfulness and pleadings for forgiveness which in the other are thrice repeated.C. A. B.]
[2][Delitzsch: is according to Gen 20:5 sq.; 1Ki 22:34, entire freedom from sinful intention, unity of character, purity, simplicity (, ).C. A. B.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
Under the spirit of prophecy, the Psalmist in this Psalm describes the Lord Jesus as his church’s representative, making an appeal to God’s justice, in the consciousness of his own integrity. He implores deliverance from unjust accusation, and closeth with praises.
A Psalm of David.
Psa 26:1
That the Lord Jesus Christ, and not David, is the person here to be kept in view, is most evident, not only from the expressions contained in what is here said, but also from the general tenor of David King of Israel’s demeanour, as it referred to God. When David was unjustly accused by men, as in the case of Shimei, he could and did appeal to God. But when God takes up the cause, as referring to his sins before God, he deprecates divine judgment. Psa 51:1-19 etc.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
PSALMS
XI
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS
According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:
1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.
2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.
3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.
4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.
5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.
6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.
7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.
At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.
The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.
The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.
They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”
The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:
1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.
2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.
3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .
In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.
It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.
There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.
The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.
The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.
The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:
Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)
Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)
Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)
Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)
Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)
They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.
There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:
Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.
Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:
1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.
2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.
3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.
4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.
5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.
All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:
In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).
In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).
In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).
In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).
The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .
QUESTIONS
1. What books are commended on the Psalms?
2. What is a psalm?
3. What is the Psalter?
4. What is the range of time in composition?
5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?
6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?
7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?
8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.
9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?
10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?
11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?
12. How many psalms in our collection?
13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?
14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?
15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?
16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?
17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?
18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?
19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?
20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?
21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?
22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?
23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?
24. How many of the psalms have no titles?
25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?
26. How do later Jews supply these titles?
27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?
XII
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)
The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:
1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).
2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).
3. The nature, or character, of the poem:
(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).
(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).
4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).
5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).
6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).
7. The kind of musical instrument:
(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).
(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).
(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).
8. A special choir:
(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).
(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).
(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).
9. The keynote, or tune:
(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).
(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).
(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).
(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).
(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).
(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.
(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.
(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.
10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).
11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)
12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).
The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.
The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.
David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:
1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.
2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.
3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.
4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.
5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:
1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.
2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.
3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.
4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.
5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.
6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.
The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.
Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.
Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:
I. By books
1. Psalms 1-41 (41)
2. Psalms 42-72 (31)
3. Psalms 73-89 (17)
4. Psalms 90-106 (17)
5. Psalms 107-150 (44)
II. According to date and authorship
1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )
2. Psalms of David:
(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).
(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).
(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).
3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).
4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).
5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).
6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )
7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )
8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)
III. By groups
1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.
2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )
3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)
4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )
5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”
IV. Doctrines of the Psalms
1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.
2. The covenant, the basis of worship.
3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.
4. The pardon of sin and justification.
5. The Messiah.
6. The future life, pro and con.
7. The imprecations.
8. Other doctrines.
V. The New Testament use of the Psalms
1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.
2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.
We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:
1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )
2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )
3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )
4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )
5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )
6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )
7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )
8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )
9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )
The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.
There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.
It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.
The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.
Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:
1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.
2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.
3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.
The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.
QUESTIONS
1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.
2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?
3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?
4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?
5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.
6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?
7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?
8. What other authors are named in the titles?
9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?
10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.
11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?
12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.
13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?
14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?
15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?
16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?
17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.
18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?
19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?
20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?
XVII
THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS
A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.
Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.
The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:
1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.
2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.
3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.
In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).
This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.
It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:
1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.
2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.
We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.
1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.
The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.
The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).
But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .
Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).
This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.
2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:
(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).
(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .
(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”
(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).
What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!
3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.
(1) His divinity,
(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;
(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .
(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .
(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .
(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .
(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .
(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.
(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .
4. His offices.
(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).
(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).
(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).
(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).
(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).
5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:
(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .
(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.
(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .
(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).
And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).
These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .
(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).
(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .
(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).
(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).
(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).
(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).
(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).
The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).
The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).
The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).
His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).
In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).
His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).
Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).
With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).
We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.
QUESTIONS
1. What is a good text for this chapter?
2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?
3. What is the last division called and why?
4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?
5. To what three things is the purpose limited?
6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?
7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?
8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?
9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?
10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?
11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.
12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?
13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?
14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?
15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.
16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.
17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.
18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Psa 26:1 [A Psalm] of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; [therefore] I shall not slide.
Ver. 1. Judge me, O Lord ] i.e. Judge between me and mine enemies; not between me and thee, as R. David expoundeth it, for then I am sure to be found faulty.
For I have walked in mine integrity
Therefore I shall not slide
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Of David.” Integrity is the inseparable accompaniment of pardon. So will it be with the Jews in the end of the age: so it is with the Christian now. If there is faith, there is also repentance. The least of unleavened bread goes with the paschal lamb, roast with fire, and eaten with bitter herbs. Thus sense of the need of grace is thereby deepened, not lost or lowered, for all born of God.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 26:1-7
1Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2Examine me, O Lord, and try me;
Test my mind and my heart.
3For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
4I do not sit with deceitful men,
Nor will I go with pretenders.
5I hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
6I shall wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
7That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving
And declare all Your wonders.
Psa 26:1-7 This strophe asserts the psalmist’s desire to be vindicated by YHWH. He has been accused of some evil, possibly idolatry.
1. vindicate BDB 1047, KB1022, Qal imperative, cf. Psa 7:8; Psa 17:2-3; Psa 35:24; Psa 43:1; YHWH tests His people, cf. Jer 11:20; Jer 12:3; Jer 20:12; see SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD TESTS HIS PEOPLE at Psa 11:4 b
2. examine me BDB 103, KB 119, Qal imperative, cf. Psa 139:23
3. test my mind BDB 650, KB 707, Piel imperative, cf. Psa 7:9; the mind (lit. kidneys) and heart were idioms for the whole person (i.e., thoughts, motives, actions)
The author then lists the reasons why he should be vindicated.
1. I have walked in my integrity BDB 229, KB 246, Qal perfect, cf. Psa 26:3 b and Psa 26:11 a; Job 4:6; Psa 7:8; Psa 25:21; Psa 41:12; Psa 78:72; Psa 101:2; Pro 2:7; Pro 19:1; Pro 20:7; Pro 28:6
2. I have trusted in YHWH without wavering notice the two verbs.
a. trusted BDB 105, KB 120, Qal perfect, cf. Psa 13:5; Psa 52:8; this is a settled condition
b. without wavering BDB 588, KB 609, Qal imperfect which is an ongoing need (cf. Heb 10:23); similar imagery occurs in Psa 5:8; Psa 18:36
3. I have walked in Your truth BDB 229, KB 246, Hithpael perfect with waw; truth here means faithfulness, not creedal
4. I do not sit with deceitful men BDB 442, KB 444, Qal perfect, cf. Psa 1:1 (this may refer to idolatry, cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 54)
5. I do not go with pretenders BDB 97, KB 112, Qal imperfect
6. I hate the assembly of evil doers BDB 971, KB 1338, Qal perfect, cf. Psa 31:6; Psa 139:21
7. I will not sit with the wicked BDB 442, KB 444, Qal imperfect
8. I will wash my hands in innocence BDB 934, KB 1220, Qal imperfect, cf. Psa 73:13; Numbers 8, 9 are ritual acts performed in national worship events (cf. Deu 21:6)
9. I will go about Your altar BDB 685, KB 738, Poel cohortative, this refers to some kind of ritual dance or march, cf. Jos 6:3-15; Psa 43:3-4; Psa 48:12
10. I will proclaim all Your wonders (see Special Topic: Wonderful Things)
a. singing aloud BDB 1033, KB 1570, Hiphil infinitive construct
b. proclaim BDB 707, KB 765, Piel infinitive construct, cf. Psa 9:1; Psa 40:5; Psa 75:1
Notice the variations between perfects and imperfects. Remember time is not part of Hebrew verbs, just completed or ongoing action.
Notice how the opponents of faithful followers are characterized.
1. deceitful men (i.e., idolators, worthless, BDB 996, see SPECIAL TOPIC: EMPTY, VAIN, FALSE, NOTHINGNESS )
2. pretenders (i.e., hypocrites, BDB 761, KB 824, Niphal participle)
3. the assembly of evil doers (BDB 949, KB 1269, Hiphil participle)
4. wicked (BDB 957)
Also, all the psalmist’s positive actions could be understood as not performed by his opponents. He is innocent and asks for vindication. They are guilty and deserve condemnation.
The list of descriptive terms for his opponents (cf. Psa 1:5; Psa 5:10; Psa 15:2-5) is expanded in the next strophe.
5. sinners (BDB 308)
6. men of bloodshed (BDB 60 construct BDB 196, cf. Psa 5:6; Psa 55:23; Psa 139:19)
7. wicked schemers (BDB 273, cf. Psa 37:7), AB suggests this refers to idols (p. 163)
8. offer bribes (BDB 1005), cf. Exo 23:8; Deu 16:19; Psa 15:5
One wonders who these people are. Are they covenant people who live faithless lives or non-covenant people with no light? God help us, they seem to be people who had light, truth, and revelation but chose to reject it!
Psa 26:3 lovingkindness See SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED) .
Psa 26:5 the assembly of evildoers The word assembly (qahal, BDB 874) is the OT background to the NT designation of the church, ekklesia (lit. the called out ones, i.e., the church) used in the LXX to translate qahal.
The idea is that there are two kinds of assemblies (cf. Mat 7:13-14)
1. the faithful people of God Psa 22:22; Psa 22:25; Psa 35:18; Psa 40:9-10; Psa 89:5; Psa 107:32; Psa 149:1
2. the evildoers (i.e., idolaters, cf. Psa 31:6)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Title. of David = by David, or concerning the true David.
Judge me = Vindicate me, or Do me justice.
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
trusted = confided. Hebrew. batah. App-69.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 26:1-12
In Psa 26:1-12 , another psalm of David. The first is,
Judge me, O LORD; I have walked in my integrity ( Psa 26:1 ):
The second:
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For thy loving-kindness is before my eyes: and I have walked in your truth. And I have not sat with vain persons, neither do I go in with dissemblers [with disgruntles]. I have hated the congregation of evildoers; I will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocency ( Psa 26:2-6 ):
In the seventy-third psalm he said, “I have cleansed my hands in vain in innocency.” But here, “I will wash my hands and”
so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of your wondrous works. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where your honor dwells. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with murderous men: In whose hands is mischief, in their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot stands in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD ( Psa 26:6-12 ). “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
No doubt this Psalm was written by David when his cruel persecutor Saul, the more effectually to stab at him, spread false reports concerning his character. When the wicked can use no other weapons, they always have their quivers full of slanderous reports. Let us learn here that the best of men must expect to be misrepresented, and to have the worst of crimes laid to their charge. Let us learn, also, from the example of David, to carry our case to the highest court at once, not to meddle with the lower courts of earth, but to go at once to the Court of Kings Bench in heaven, and there plead our cause before the eternal throne.
Psa 26:1. Judge me, O LORD;
As if he turned away from all other judges, bribed and false as they had proved themselves to be in his ease, and put himself on trial before God: Judge me, O Lord; –
Psa 26:1.For I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
He pleads two things: first, the outward life and second, the inward faith, which, as it is the main-spring and source of the outer life of integrity, is also the more important of the two. Remark, that as the case is between himself and his accusers he pleads his life, for though we are justified before God by faith and not by works, yet before men we must be justified by our works, rather than by our faith. It is in vain for me to plead my faith when I am slandered. The only answer that can effectually shut the mouth of the adversary, is to point to a blameless life. Hence in this case he not only brings his faith before his God, but he also brings the fruit of his faith. Note, the inference which he draws from Gods mercy to him in enabling him to walk uprightly and to trust him- therefore I shall not slide. He rests for the future upon his God. His position was slippery, his enemies were always busy trying to trip up his heels, but saith he- I shall not slide.
Psa 26:2. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
This is a wonderful verse. One would hardly dare to pray it. Here are three kinds of trial. According to the etymology of the Hebrew the first is the trial by touch- Examine me ; the next is the trial by smell- Prove me ; and the next is the trial by fire- Assay my reins and my heart. You see how anxious he is really to have the matter decided by God. Lord, search me through and through; thou knowest I am not a hypocrite. Now who dares to say this but that true man of God whose soul is wholly fixed upon the Lord? The reins and the heart are mentioned because those were believed to be the seat of the affections, and when the affections are right the whole man is right. The heart is the fountain from which issue streams of life, and if the fountain be pure, the streams cannot be impure; hence he asks chiefly that the examination may be directed to his reins and to his heart.
Psa 26:3. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes:-
Right straight before his eyes, he had Gods lovingkindness. Some people appear to have their miseries, their sorrows, their sins, before their eyes but happy is that believer who always has Gods lovingkindness before him!Come, my brother, forget for a little while the burden of your business cares; now for a little season let the sickness that is in your house be left in the hand of your God, and let his lovingkindness be before your eyes. Lovingkindness-pull the word to pieces. Remember the ancientness of it, the constancy of it, the variety of ways in which it shows itself, and the lavish bounties which it bestows upon you. Do not turn your back to Gods goodness, but now, right straight before you set the lovingkindness of your God.
Psa 26:3. And I have walked in thy truth.
By which he may mean two things, first that he endeavored to hold fast to truth both in doctrine and in practice; or, secondly, that by Gods truthfulness in giving him the promised grace, he had been enabled to walk uprightly.
Psa 26:4. I have not sat with vain persons,-
I never took counsel with them; they never were my choice companions.
Psa 26:4. Neither will I go in with dissemblers.
He makes a vow for the future that all crafty, lying, and foolish men shall never have his companionship.
Psa 26:5. I have hated the congregation of evil doers, and will not sit with the wicked.
By which he does not mean that he does not associate with them in any way for we must needs go out of the world if we will not have communion with sinners; but he means that he did not seek their company, found no pleasure in it, and never went in it to abet them in their evil deeds.
Psa 26:6. I will wash mine hands in innocency:
Pilate did this, but alas! the water was very dirty in which he washed his hands. This was an old Jewish rite when a man was found murdered; if the people in the valley in which he was found would be free from the crime of murder they took a heifer, slew it, and then washed their hands in water over the head of the victim. They were then clear. So here he says- I will wash mine hands in innocency:
Psa 26:6. So will I compass thine altar, O LORD:
He is innocent far as men are concerned, but he still confesses that he is a sinner, for he goes to Gods altar. Perfect men need no altars. It is the sinner that needs a sacrifice. So let the saint ever know that though he can plead innocency against the charges of men yet before God, his hope lies in the blood-besprinkled altar of which Jesus Christ is the great High Priest.
Psa 26:7-8. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
I am sure many of us can say this, that when the Sabbath comes round, it is the best day of all the week, and that hour in the week-night when we can get to the house of God-what an inexpressible relief is that! It is to us like a green oasis in the midst of the sandy desert. There are no beauties in nature and no changes to be perceived in traveling that I think can ever compensate for the loss of the constant means of grace, after all Gods house is the fairest spot of earth. Zion, I will prefer thee above my chief joy! If I forget thee let my right hand forget her cunning. I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where shine honour dwelleth.
Psa 26:9-10. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: in whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
See, he so loves Gods house that he cannot bear the thought of being shut in with sinners; and this is our comfort, that if we have loved Gods house on earth we shall dwell in his house for ever.
Psa 26:11. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
See again, my beloved, how in the Christians practice good works and faith are seen happily blended. He declares that he will walk in his integrity, but still, still note, he prays as one that is conscious of a thousand imperfections-Redeem me and be merciful unto me. We do rest on Christ alone, but still we desire to walk in holiness with as much exactness as though our salvation depended upon our good works.
Psa 26:12. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Psa 26:1-8
A PLEA FOR VINDICATION AND PROTECTION
The title we have chosen for this psalm is that assigned by Leupold. The great problem confronted here is the authorship, which according to the ancient ascription is “A Psalm of David.” “The psalm has all the notes of David’s style, is full of his thoughts and imagery, and is allowed to be his by almost all critics.
What then constitutes the problem? It is simply this: `There is an innocence, integrity and sinlessness depicted in this psalm that never pertained to any mortal being, much less the Jewish King David.’
On this account, some respected-writers have rejected the Davidic authorship, claiming that, “The author is unknown, that “The psalmist was a Levite, “A Davidic king after David, “Some innocent person, or some other worshipper.
Certain others scale down the meaning of the extravagant protestations of innocence by supposing that, “David does not maintain here that he never sins, but that he is innocent of the accusations brought against him at that particular time. Rawlinson also, allowing the Davidic authorship, assigned it to that period of David’s life “Before his great sin with Bathsheba. Kidner pointed out that:
“God Himself used the word integrity of David in 1Ki 9:4 – `If thou wilt walk before me, As David thy father walked in integrity, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded, etc.’ (1Ki 9:4). The basic meaning, therefore, (of integrity, etc.) is wholeness, usually in the sense of wholeheartedness, or sincerity, rather than faultlessness.
Certainly, some such accommodation of the language must be adopted if indeed David was the author and that he was here speaking of himself.
Since God Himself allowed that David had walked before him in integrity and uprightness, we should, ourselves, do nothing less than this.
“Yes, David walked in integrity, although sinful, and far from being perfect; however, his son Solomon miserably failed to do any such thing. But there is another Son of David, who is both the root and the offspring of David, both David’s Son and David’s Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is of that Greater Son of David that these words are true in their fullest and most exalted meaning.
Perhaps we have in the psalm a statement of David’s integrity, innocence and uprightness “in a relative sense,” as contrasted with the generation in which he lived. The same kind of statement was made in the Bible concerning Noah, of whom God said, “Thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Gen 7:1). This never meant that Noah was either righteous or perfect, but that he was so in contrast with the rest of mankind in his day. We may also understand this limitation as implied in the words of this psalm as they are applied to David.
As Leupold noted, “David is not here placing himself over against God, but over against certain accusers. As a matter of fact, it may be that David was not here speaking of his entire life as absolutely blameless, but of his innocence and blamelessness in regard to the source of the trouble then confronting him. It appears to us that this is the best explanation of the passage.
As to what situation that may have been, we cannot be certain. Adam Clarke applied the psalm to the time when David was fleeing from the wrath of Saul, an episode in which David indeed was without any blame whatever. He paraphrased Psa 26:1, thus, “I have never plotted against the life or property of any man; I have neither coveted nor endeavored to possess myself of Saul’s crown. Behold here the skill of the Holy Spirit. Although David used the glorious protestations of innocence in this psalm in the limited sense of their application to a certain event, nevertheless, they also stand in the sacred text where they also speak of Him in whom there was no guile or sin whatever. Christ alone, of all who ever trod the earth was “Without Sin”!
The two divisions of this psalm are (1) A plea for vindication (Psa 26:1-8), and (2) A plea to be spared the fate of evil-doers (Psa 26:9-12).
Psa 26:1-8
“Judge me, O Jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity:
I have trusted also in Jehovah without wavering.
Examine me, O Jehovah, and prove me;
Try my heart and my mind.
For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes;
And I have walked in thy truth.
I have not sat with men of falsehood;
Neither will I go in with dissemblers.
I hate the assembly of evil-doers,
And will not sit with the wicked.
I will wash my hands in innocency:
So will I compass thy alter, O Jehovah;
That I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard,
And tell all thy wondrous works.
Jehovah, I love the habitation of thy house,
And the place where thy glory dwelleth.”
As Maclaren said, such extravagant claims of integrity and innocence, “Grate upon the ears of one accustomed to the tone of the New Testament. Such a view fails to take in consideration of the fact that David is not here speaking of “his sinless life,” but of his innocence in a given situation, and as contrasted with the wickedness of his enemies.
The absolute certainty of David’s confidence regarding his innocence in this situation is emphasized by such words as “Judge me,” “Prove me” and “Try me.”
Psa 26:3-5 give five masons why the psalmist believes God will vindicate him against all charges of wrong doing:
(1) “Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes” (Psa 26:3). He does this continually, never allowing it out of his sight.
(2) “I have walked in thy truth” (Psa 26:3). He clings to faith in God.
(3) “I have not sat with men of falsehood” (Psa 26:4). He has not cultivated nor received the friendship of wicked men. The word here rendered “falsehood” in the Hebrew is “vanity.
(4) “Neither will I go in with dissemblers” (Psa 26:4). This is a reference to hypocrites (dissemblers). “This verse (Psa 26:4) argues that the psalmist, has neither thrown in his lot with light, vain persons who make no presence of religion, nor with the hypocrites, the pretenders, who have a form of religion but who have denied the power thereof.
(5) “I hate the assembly of evil-doers” (Psa 26:5). As Spurgeon interpreted these verses, “We must needs see, and speak, and trade with the men of this world, but we must on no account take our rest and solace in their empty society. Not only the profane, but the vain are to be shunned by us. All those who live for this life only are vain, chaffy, frothy men, quite unworthy of a Christian’s friendship.
“I will wash my hands in innocency” (Psa 26:6). “This figure is probably taken from the practice of the priests (Exo 30:17-21) or from that of the city elders (Deu 21:6-7). We recall also the maneuver of Pilate (Mat 27:4).
“So will I compass thine altar O Jehovah” (Psa 26:6). The psalmist truly desires to worship God, but here he may only contemplate such worship as something that he will do in the future. This fits the thought that David was at that time fleeing either from King Saul, or because of the rebellion of Absalom.
“The voice of thanksgiving … all thy wondrous works” (Psa 26:7). Again, these words envision a time when the psalmist will again be privileged to come to God’s altar with a sacrifice, shouting his words of thanksgiving and telling of God’s wonderful works.
“Jehovah, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth” (Psa 26:8). Delitzsch noted that, “The poet supports his position by declaring his motive to be his love for the sanctuary of God, from which he is now far removed, without any fault of his own. See additional note on this at the end of the chapter.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 26:1. Judge me indicated he was ready to be examined as to his conduct and then humbly submit to whatever decision the Lord would make against David. He was confident of the result should the Lord make such a test of him. That was because he had walked in his integrity or innocence. To slide means to slip or waver. David’s trust in God gave him confidence against the pitfalls along the way.
Psa 26:2. The confidence felt by David was so great that he would willingly submit to an examination for the purpose of proving or testing him. That is the attitude of all persons who are sincere in their professions. If a man evades the attempts to investigate him he shows evidence of being wrong knowingly. This idea is taught in Joh 3:19-20. There is not much difference between reins and heart, and they may ordinarily be used interchangeably. But when the two are employed in the same sentence the first refers especially to the mind as the director of a man’s actions, and the second has more application to the feelings or emotions of the mind. David invited an examination of his entire inner being.
Psa 26:3. It was not the sentiment of dread or terror that prompted David to walk according to truth. He was drawn along his pathway of life by the lovingkindness, which means the same as just “kindness,” of God.
Psa 26:4. In Psa 1:1 David has expressed his disapproval of those who sat with the wrong kind of persons. In this psalm he affirms he has not done so himself. The dissemblers were men who practiced hypocrisy in their plans. Psa 26:5. Congregation also means company, and David hated all such associations. He had the same idea that is expressed in 1Co 15:33.
Psa 26:6. Wash mine hands is a figurative reference to Deu 21:6-8. An innocent man had the right to practice that, and David claimed to be innocent. It also is related to Exo 30:18-21, which is why he added so will I compass thine altar.
Psa 26:7. Having prepared himself according to the law, David was ready to make an offering. Not of an animal, however, but of a devotional service to God in appreciation for his wondrous works.
Psa 26:8. Habitation means abode or a place to stay. House is from BAYITH and has been rendered in the Authorized Version by house over 1900 times, also by such words as court, door, family, home, household, palace, place and temple. The clause means David loved to spend time in the Lord’s temple. The reason given for it was the fact that God’s honor dwelt there. We will find many instances where David expressed his pleasure in the Lord’s house.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The central word of the song may be said to be, So will I compass Thine altar, O Jehovah (v.. Psa 26:6). On either side conditions of worship are described. First the conditions of personal life necessary to worship (vv. Psa 26:1-6). Afterwards the true exercise of worship is described (vv. Psa 26:7-8). Then the psalm becomes a prayer for preparation (vv. Psa 26:9-11); and ends with the declaration of assurance (v.. Psa 26:12).
As to conditions of personal life fitting for worship, they may be described as complete separation from evil ways and evil persons. Fellowship with Jehovah is only possible when there is no fellowship with the wicked. Moreover, the Judge must be Jehovah Himself. To Him the singer makes his appeal. In this fact there is great solemnity and great comfort. Jehovahs standards are high, but they are ever far more reasonable than those of men. The exercise of worship at its highest is that of praise, issuing from delight in the dwelling-place and glory of God. The prayer for preparation explains the opening words. In its light they are seen to be of the nature of appeal to Jehovahs decision rather than boasting in His presence. The final prayer for preparation is, Redeem me and be merciful unto me. Such a prayer is immediately answered, and this the last verse makes plain.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
a Declaration of Loyalty to God
Psa 26:1-12
In some respects this psalm resembles the previous one, only, instead of entreaties for forgiveness, there are protestations of innocence. It may have been composed during Absaloms rebellion, and contains a strenuous protest against the dissembling and hypocrisy upon which that revolt was based. In these avowals of conscious rectitude, it should be borne in mind that David did not mean to claim absolute sinlessness, but rather to declare his innocence of the specific charges with which he had been assailed.
We all need the laver of purification mentioned in Psa 26:6-7. Or better, let us repair to our Lord, who still washes the feet of His disciples, as in Joh 13:1-38. Hatred to evil men is one side of the coin; love to Gods house, the reverse. Either implies the other. However firm our foot seems to stand, we all need the redeeming mercy and grace of God. Ah, the riches of His gentle goodness! Eph 2:7.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
The 26th Psalm continues the same subject but emphasizes separation to the Lord from the evil on every side, and so the soul calls upon God, Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. There is a sense of conscious uprightness. You cannot pray with assurance unless you have that. If you go to God about something and have not a good conscience you cannot pray. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psa 66:18). I have known what it was to go along, thinking everything was all right, and yet not have much realization of the presence of God, and suddenly I was called to a dear one in whom I was intensely interested, and who was suffering illness. The request had come, Will you go and pray with this one? And as I would kneel to pray the thought would come, I am not in a condition to pray. I have not been living close enough to the Lord. I have been too careless about things, letting things go instead of dealing with them before God, and so I could not pray. There would have to be a facing of failure before God, and only when I knew that things were dealt with could I pray with any sense of assurance. David is not boasting of any goodness but says to the One who knows all the secrets of the heart, I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide, and then he cries, in case the Lord should see something he does not, Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. In other words, I want Thee to search me through and through, and if there is anything hindering fellowship, anything keeping me from being on praying ground, make it manifest for I want to be right with Thee.
For Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth. I have not sat with vain persons. There has been conscious separation from the ungodly. Neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord. What offerings of praise and thanksgiving we would bring to God if every one of us, as we drew near His altar, could say, Lord, I have washed mine hands in innocency-I have judged everything; I have been cleansed by the washing of water by the Word, so that I know of nothing in my heart or life that hinders communion with Thee. How we could pray and work and count on God to intervene! So will I compass Thine altar, O Lord: That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Thy wondrous works.
And just as he has expressed his detestation of the evil doer he expresses his deep affection for the house of God, Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men. He cannot get near the house of God, and enemies are around him. In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord. And he looks on in faith believing that God is indeed going to give deliverance.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Psa 26:2
Self-examination must be accomplished under and through the scrutiny or inspecting power of God. We truly prove ourselves when He proves us, and may rightly approve ourselves only when He approves us.
I. God certainly can examine us, and we cannot in any way but the most superficial and incomplete way examine ourselves. (1) For our memory is too short and scant to restore or recall the conception of one in a hundred millions of our acts. (2) If we could recall them every one, we could never go over the survey of a material so vast and multiplicities so nearly infinite in a way to make up any judgment of them, or of ourselves as represented in them. (3) Since the understanding of our present state is impossible without understanding all the causes in our action that have been fashioning the character and shaping the figure of it, our faculty is even shorter here than before. It is plain, whichever way we look, that God only is able really and discerningly to examine the human soul or spirit.
II. In what is frequently understood by self-examination, there is something mistaken or deceitful, which needs to be carefully resisted. It is a kind of artificial state in which the soul is drawn off from its objects, and works, and its calls of love and sacrifice to engage itself in acts of self-inspection. We may be so far engrossed in this matter of self-examination, as to become thoroughly and even morbidly selfish in it; for what can be more selfish than to be always poring into one’s self?
III. It is important also as regards a right impression of this subject to observe how much is implied in a hearty willingness or desire to have God examine us and prove us. If we are ready to have God examine us, and bring us to an exactly right verdict, that is a state so simple, so honest, so impartial, so protected against every false influence, that we scarcely need look any further; we are already in a right mind, ready to receive the truth.
IV. There is a way of coming at the verdict of God, whatever it may be. God designs to give us, and has planned to give us always, the benefit of His own knowledge of our state. God is manifested always in the consciousness of them that love Him and are right towards Him. They will have His Spirit witnessing with theirs. In their simple love they will know God’s love to them; for he that loveth knoweth God.
H. Bussnell, Sermons on Living Subjects, p. 224.
References: Psa 26:3.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvi., No. 956. Psa 26:6-7.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 253.
Psa 26:8
I. In the days of David, as well as of Solomon and his descendants, pious Jews looked to the local habitation of God’s house as the place where His honour dwelt, and this place the Psalmist in the text says he loved. Pious Jews indeed knew that heaven was God’s throne and earth His footstool, and that therefore no house built with hands could really contain Him; but still it was part of the religious system of the Law to regard this centre as the peculiar abode of God, and therefore all Jews said that Jerusalem was the place where men ought to worship. The breaking up of the old Law, we know, changed this. Pure, hearty Christian worship is acceptable to God everywhere, and no distinct place can make worship acceptable which is not pure and hearty.
II. If there is to be a real, lasting love for our churches in the hearts of Christian men, it must be because we believe them to be centres of Christian life through the grace of God. No external beauty, no desire to improve the outside of religion, can avail if there be rottenness within. To love the Lord Jesus Christ, to adhere to those plain, simple Gospel doctrines which are set forth in the New Testament-this must be the strength of our reformed Church. To this its ministers and people are pledged by their very declaration that they rest all their hopes on the pure word of God.
A. C. Tait, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 33.
Psa 26:8
I. “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house,” for there I first learned to know myself and Thee.
II. There I have learned most richly the meaning of Thy discipline, and found strength to endure.
III. There I was guided to the most noble, blessed, and fruitful labour, to the service which is absolute freedom, to the work which is perfect rest.
IV. There I and those whom I have loved best have held sweet and fruitful fellowship; and there we cemented a union which, when the family on earth breaks up, will renew itself eternally in heaven.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, p. 141.
References: Psa 26:8.-J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, pp. 133, 150; J. Aldis, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 273; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 250. Psa 26:9.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ix., No. 524; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 267; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 243. Psalm 26-I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 454.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Psalm 26
An Appeal on Account of Righteousness
1. Pleading integrity (Psa 26:1-5)
2. Separated unto the Lord (Psa 26:6-8)
3. Be gracious unto Me (Psa 36:9-12)
Psa 26:1-5. The opening verses remind us of the First Psalm and well may we put these words into the lips of the perfect man, who walked in integrity and was separate from sinners. Here we find no confessions of sin, no pleadings for forgiveness, but instead an avowal of conscious uprightness and separation from wicked men as well as love for His house and for the place where His honour dwells. It is the godly remnant pleading not exactly moral perfection, but uprightness of heart, which has led them apart from the apostate part of the nation. They hate the congregation of evil doers, and on account of this they look for divine vindication. No Christian believer pleads on such grounds with God. We plead that worthy Name, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psa 26:6-8. The washing of the hands in innocency is a Jewish figure. See Deu 21:6. They cleanse themselves from defilement to approach His altar as the priests had to wash their hands and feet (Exo 30:17-21).
Psa 26:9-12. Then their prayer–redeem me and be merciful unto me–gather not my soul with sinners–all the pleading of integrity of heart and separation from evil-doers has not produced assurance of acceptance, though in hope they look forward to the day when in the congregations they will bless the Lord. How different the assurance which grace gives to us, that we are redeemed and the fullest mercy is on our side.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
trusted
(See Scofield “Psa 2:12”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Judge: Psa 7:8, Psa 35:24, Psa 43:1, Psa 54:1, 1Sa 24:15, *marg. 1Co 4:3-6
for: Psa 26:11, Psa 15:2, Psa 25:21, 2Ki 20:3, Pro 20:7, 2Co 1:12
trusted: Psa 4:5, Psa 25:2, Psa 28:7, Psa 31:14, Pro 29:25
I shall: Psa 21:7, Psa 37:31, Psa 62:2, Psa 62:6, Psa 94:18, Psa 121:3, Psa 121:7, Psa 121:8, 1Sa 2:9, 1Pe 1:5, 2Pe 1:10
Reciprocal: Deu 26:13 – I have not 1Sa 30:6 – David 1Ki 9:4 – And if thou Job 2:3 – holdeth Job 10:7 – Thou knowest Job 31:6 – Let me be weighed in an even balance Job 31:35 – General Psa 7:1 – in Psa 18:21 – For I Pro 11:3 – The integrity Pro 13:6 – Righteousness Pro 20:28 – his Isa 33:15 – that walketh Jer 12:3 – knowest Lam 3:59 – judge 3Jo 1:4 – walk
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psalms 24
Proper Psalm for Ascension Day (Evening).
Psalms 24-26 = Day 5 (Morning).
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Separation from sinners.
[A psalm] of David.
The twenty-sixth psalm is much shorter, much simpler in character, and in every way less attractive in its theme. Yet it has its place, and fills it, in the divine wisdom -a place the importance of which is seen in its being only next to the very first. We must, first of all, necessarily, learn the grace which alone gives confidence to lay hold of God at all; but having learned this, we have thus passed the line which divides the world into two companies. We have become His, and the mass of men are, alas, hostile to Him. Henceforth separation from evil-doers becomes the necessary condition of going on with God. This is the principle of the psalm before us, conformity to it the plea advanced by the soul: I have separated myself from sinners; unite me not with them: -a true ground of confidence before God, although plainly secondary only. Association is made much of in Scripture, though even Christians (save with the grossest forms of evil) make light of it today. Yet “Scripture cannot be broken:” God will be found to be what His word declares Him.
The twelve verses again show the soul under divine government, although there is once more, as we found in the case of the fifth psalm, a departure from the usual 3 x 4 division. This time it is the second section which is shortened by one verse, in order to supply a fifth section at the end. Governmental ways are thus emphasized, as well as the fact that God has become Lord, in the heart made captive by the grace exhibited.
1. The psalm is so simple as not to need lengthened comment. We have first the plea of integrity which is the accompaniment and fruit also of faith. With the conviction that this is truly his condition, he can appeal to God to try him: to make proof of his reins, (his inmost thoughts,) and his heart. He has learned in the mercy of God to fear Him, and in the truth which he realizes in Him he has walked himself.
2. Hence of necessity his path is now with those only who follow what is true. With the false and dissembling he does not go; and gatherings of evil-doers, brought together by their common wickedness, he refuses and abhors.
Scripture, whether in the Old Testament or the New, makes much of association, and necessarily, for it is a principle of the greatest moral significance, and the world notes it after its manner, and comments upon it as the Scripture does. “Birds of a feather flock together.” “Tell me who are your companions, and I will tell you who you are.” Our associations are thus a kind of self-classification; and the spiritual life is specially sensitive to the air it breathes. We all know that in Christ’s name, and for His sake, we may enter boldly the worst dens of iniquity, if He call us to it; and we all know enough to distinguish this from association with evil. But the least voluntary link is a most serious thing. The two verses of this section may remind us of testimony; which equally defines our liberty and its restrictions.
3. The third section is a very clearly marked Levitical one. It shows the nature of the separation just declared and the spirit in which alone it can be rightly observed. We cannot bring defilement into the presence of God. We cannot force the holy into communion with the unholy. We can, alas, in the effort to do so, fall ourselves from communion. True separation from evil is in order to separation to God. It springs out of and unites itself with all real sanctification.
The first point then here is “innocency,” the washing of the hands being an expression derived from the ordinance in Deuteronomy (Deu 21:6), where the elders wash their hands to attest their innocence of a murder in the neighborhood of their city. The psalmist means therefore to assert his readiness to pledge himself in like manner that he is not bringing defilement to Jehovah’s altar, where his praise-offering is to be offered (Lev 7:11, sq.). But who could praise Jehovah, lifting up unclean hands to Him? And this is with the psalmist no mere outward homage. His heart is won: he has loved the habitation of Jehovah’s house, and the place where His glory dwells.
4. On this the plea is based: unite me not then with those from whom I have separated myself; “gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with the very men that would destroy my life: whose hands are full of mischief to those who refuse their alliance, or whose spoil they crave; -full of bribes to those whom they would corrupt.” The practical test gives clear result in their case: it is as clear, he says, in his own: “As for me, I walk in mine integrity: redeem me and be gracious unto me.”
5. The psalm closes with the answer declared. The issue is found; the government of God manifests itself: the foot of the suppliant is made to stand in an even place (mishor), the word, however, having special and significant relation to the portion of Reuben,* -in type the “upland” pastures of faith (Jos 13:1-33, notes). There, in the sunny and unobstructed high levels in which the child of God finds his inheritance and blessing, the foot that goes not in the company of evil-doers stands firm now; and in the congregations of Jehovah’s people the soul can freely praise the One in unchangeable covenant with them all. Thus he has his company, and, choosing where God has chosen, his voice is heard in the concert of praise where none can be silent, -where every separate note is in harmony with the universal song.
{*”It occurs in the Bible in the following passages: -Deu 3:10, Deu 4:43; Jos 13:9; Jos 13:16-17; Jos 13:21; Jos 20:8; 1Ki 20:23; 1Ki 20:25; 2Ch 26:10; Jer 48:8; Jer 48:21. In each of these, with one exception, it is used for the district in the neighborhood of Heshbon and Dibon -the Belka of the modern Arabs, their most noted pasture-ground.” (Grove, in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.)}
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Psa 26:1. Judge me, O Lord Plead my cause, or, give sentence for me. I can obtain no right from men. The supreme and subordinate magistrates are my implacable and resolved enemies: do thou, therefore, do me justice against them. For I have walked in my integrity Though they accuse me of many crimes, they can prove none of them, and thou and mine own conscience, and theirs also, are witnesses for me, that my conduct toward them hath been innocent and unblameable. I have trusted also in the Lord I have committed my cause and affairs to thee, as to a just and merciful Father, and my hope and trust are fixed upon thee alone. Therefore I shall not slide Thou wilt not deceive my trust, but wilt uphold me against all my enemies, for thou hast promised to save those that trust in thee.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS.This Psalm is Davids appeal to heaven, under the unjust and injurious imputations of Saul and his court. Judge me, oh Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity, with loyalty towards my king, in purity and uprightness before thee. He had not sat with cabals of insidious rebels and evil doers, as had been insinuated.
He had not trodden the polluted ground of idolatry, but had entertained exalted ideas of the sanctuary, and would wash his hands in innocence. The apostates who had offered their children to Moloch, are justly prohibited and repelled from approaching God in the day of trouble with bloody hands. Isa 1:15. Oh that those who now frequent places of worship in their sins, would properly think of this. Their prayers are abominable, because they ask grace of heaven to return to their sins with the greater zest.
On the contrary, David had, and with unwavering heart, loved the habitation of his holiness, the place where the Lords honour dwelt. To love God, to love his word, to love his saints, are among the most consoling marks that we belong to the family of heaven.
Men who worship in purity can ask with filial confidence, that God would preserve them in all the future dangers and difficulties of life, and redeem them from all evil and mischief. To them the promises are sure; call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee. Psa 50:15.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
XXVI. A persecuted man protests his absolute innocence, his avoidance of unfaithful Jews, his joy in the Temple service. The claim to innocence is repugnant to Christian feeling, scarcely less so than the imprecations upon enemies which occur frequently in other Pss. Men become humble in the Christian sense through the vision of Him in whom there was no sin.
Psa 26:3. in thy truth: i.e. in the confidence that Thou art faithful.
Psa 26:6. This is the only direct evidence in the Bible for the festal procession round Yahwehs altar.
Psa 26:12. congregations: probably guilds of singers, etc.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
PSALM 26
The integrity of the godly man inviting the searchings of God, that, separate from sinners, he may worship at God’s altar, and witness to God’s wondrous works before the world.
In Psalm 25, there is confidence in the grace and righteousness of God with the consequent confession of sins. The result is seen in this psalm. Sins confessed, there is the consciousness of integrity before God; separation from evil associations; worship and witness.
(vv. 1-2) Conscious of uprightness of heart, the godly man trusts in the Lord, and invites the Lord to search his thoughts and affections, so that proved and tested by the Lord, all self-deception in his motives and affections may be purged away.
(vv. 3-5) The psalmist then states the grounds on which he invites the searchings of the Lord. First, the loving kindness of the Lord is before his soul. He realizes that there is grace with the Lord to meet all that the searchings of the Lord may discover. Secondly, his practical ways are such as become a godly man: he can say, I have walked in Thy truth. Thirdly, he had maintained practical separation from sinners.
(vv. 6-8) In verses 6 to 8 the psalmist speaks of the results that flow from walking in the truth, and in maintaining separation from evil. First, he can, with clean hands, approach God’s altar for worship; secondly, he can bear witness before the world of all God’s wondrous works.
(vv. 9-10) Separation from evil, devotedness to God, and witnessing for God will call forth opposition from sinners and violent men, with their evil devices and corruptions. Thus the soul prays to be kept from such.
(vv. 11-12) Thus kept from evil, walking in integrity, redeemed from his enemies, and with the mercy of God surrounding him, the godly man, standing in an even place, would bless the Lord in the company of God’s people.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
26:1 [[A Psalm] of David.] Judge me, {a} O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; [therefore] I shall not slide.
(a) He flees to God to be the judge of his just cause, seeing there is no equity among men.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Psalms 26
In this individual lament psalm, which is similar to Psalms 25 but does not contain confession, David asked for God’s vindication because of his personal integrity. Psalms 26 (Psa 26:6-8), 27 (Psa 26:4-7), and 28 (Psa 26:2) all reveal David’s love for God’s sanctuary and so uncover his love for the Lord.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. Assertion of integrity 26:1-3
When David asked God to vindicate him, he was praying that the Lord would show to others that he had not been guilty of things with which others had charged him. To prove him guiltless, the psalmist asked God to be fair with him, and he invited Him to examine his claim. He was confident that when the Lord did this He would find David not guilty.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 26:1-12
THE image of “the way” which is characteristic of Psa 25:1-22 reappears in a modified form in this psalm, which speaks of “walking in integrity” and truth and of “feet standing in an even place.” Other resemblances to the preceding psalm are the use of “redeem,” “be merciful”; the references to Gods lovingkindness and truth, in which the psalmist walks, and to his own integrity. These similarities may or may not indicate common authorship, but probably guided the compilers in placing the psalm here. It has not clear marks of date or of the writers circumstances. Its two ground tones are profession of integrity and of revulsion from the society of the wicked and prayer for vindication of innocence by the fact of deliverance. The verses are usually grouped in couples, but with some irregularity.
The two keynotes are both struck in the first group of three verses, in which Psa 26:2 and Psa 26:3 are substantially an expansion of Psa 26:1. The prayer, “Judge me,” asks for a Divine act of deliverance based upon a Divine recognition of the psalmists sincerity and unwavering trust. Both the prayer and its ground are startling. It grates upon ears accustomed to the tone of the New Testament that a suppliant should allege his single eyed simplicity and steadfast faith as pleas with God, and the strange tone sounds on through the whole psalm. The threefold prayer in Psa 26:2 courts Divine scrutiny, as conscious of innocence, and bares, the inmost recesses of affection and impulse for testing, proving by circumstances, and smelting by any fire. The psalmist is ready for the ordeal, because he has kept Gods “lovingkindness” steadily in sight through all the glamour of earthly brightnesses, and his outward life has been all, as it were, transacted in the sphere of Gods truthfulness; i.e., the inward contemplation of His mercy and faithfulness has been the active principle of his life. Such self-consciousness is strange enough to us, but, strange as it is, it cannot fairly be stigmatised as Pharisaic self-righteousness. The psalmist knows that all goodness comes from God, and he clings to God in childlike trust. The humblest Christian heart might venture in similar language to declare its recoil from evil-doers and its deepest spring of action as being trust. Such professions are not inconsistent with consciousness of sin, which is, in fact, often associated with them in other psalms (Psa 25:20-21; Psa 7:11; Psalms 7:18). They do indicate a lower stage of religious development, a less keen sense of sinfulness and of sins. a less clear recognition of the worthlessness before God of all mans goodness, than belong to Christian feeling. The same language when spoken at one stage of revelation may be childlike and lowly, and be swelling arrogance and self-righteous self-ignorance, if spoken at another.
Such high and sweet communion cannot but breed profound distaste for the society of evildoers. The eyes which have Gods lovingkindness ever before them are endowed with penetrative clearness of vision into the true hollowness of most of the objects pursued by men, and with a terrible sagacity which detects hypocrisy and shams. Association with such men is necessary, else we must needs go out of the world, and leaven must be in contact with dough in order to do its transforming work; but it is impossible for a man whose heart is truly in touch with God not to feel ill at ease when brought into contact with those who have no share in his deepest convictions and emotions. “Men of vanity” is a general designation for the ungodly, pronouncing on every such life the sentence that it is devoted to empty unrealities and partakes of the nature of that to which it is given up. One who has Jehovahs lovingkindness before his eyes cannot “sit” with such men in friendly association, as if sharing their ways of thinking, nor “go” with them in their course of conduct. “Those who mask themselves” are another class, namely hypocrites who conceal their pursuit of vanity under the show of religion. The psalmists revulsion is intensified in Psa 26:5 into “hate,” because the evil-doers and sinners spoken of there are of a deeper tint of blackness, and are banded together in a “congregation,” the opposite and parody of the assemblies of the righteous, whom he feels to be his kindred. No doubt separateness from evil-doers is but part of a godly mans duty, and has often been exaggerated into selfish withdrawal, from a world which needs good mens presence all the more the worse it is; but it is a part of his duty, and “Come out from among them and be separate” is not yet an abrogated command. No man will ever mingle with “men of vanity,” so as to draw them from the shadows of earth to the substance in God, unless his loving association with them rests on profound revulsion from their principles of action. None comes so near to sinful men as the sinless Christ; and if He had not been ever “separate from sinners,” He would never have been near enough to redeem them. We may safely imitate His free companionship, which earned Him His glorious name of their Friend, if we imitate His remoteness from their evil.
From the uncongenial companionship of the wicked the psalmists yearnings instinctively turn to his hearts home, the sanctuary. The more a man feels out of sympathy with a godless world, the more longingly he presses into the depths of communion with God; and, conversely, the more he feels at home in still communion, the more does the tumult of sense-bound crowds grate on his soul. The psalmist, then, in the next group of verses (Psa 26:6-7), opposes access to the house of God and the solemn joy of thankful praises sounding there to the loathed consorting with evil. He will not sit with men of vanity because he will enter the sanctuary. Outward participation in its worship may be included in his vows and wishes, but the tone of the verses rather points to a symbolical use of the externalities of ritual. Cleansing the hands alludes to priestly lustration; compassing the altar is not known to have been a Jewish practice, and probably is to be taken as simply a picturesque way of describing himself as one of the joyous circle of worshippers; the sacrifice is praise. The psalmist rises to the height of the true Israelites priestly vocation, and ritual has become transparent to him. None the less may he have clung to the outwardnesses of ceremonial worship, because he apprehended them in their highest significance and had learned that the qualification of the worshipper was purity, and the best offering praise. Well for those who, like him, are driven to the sanctuary by the revulsion from vanities and from those who pursue them!
Psa 26:8 is closely connected with the two preceding, but is perhaps best united with the following verse, as being the ground of the prayer there. Hate of the congregation of evil-doers has love to Gods house for its complement or foundation. The measure of attachment is that of detachment. The designations of the sanctuary in Psa 26:8 show the aspects in which it drew the psalmists love. It was “the shelter of Thy house,” where he could hide himself from the strife of tongues and escape the pain of herding with evil-doers: it was “the place of the dwelling of Thy glory.” the abode of that symbol of Divine presence which flamed between the cherubim and lit the darkness of the innermost shrine. Because the sinner felt his true home to be there, he prayed that his soul might not be gathered with sinners, i.e., that he might not be involved in their fate. He has had no fellowship with them in their evil, and therefore he asks that he may be separate from them in their punishment. To “gather the soul” is equivalent to taking away the life. Gods judgments sort out characters and bring like to like, as the tares are bound in bundles or as, with so different a purpose, Christ made the multitudes sit down by companies on the green sward. General judgments are not indiscriminate. The prayer of the psalmist may not have looked beyond exemption from calamities or from death, but the essence of the faith which it expresses is eternally true: that distinction of attitude towards God and goodness must secure distinction of lot, even though external circumstances are identical. The same things are not the same to men so profoundly different. The picture of the evil-doers from whom the psalmist recoils is darker in these last verses than before. It is evidently a portrait and points to a state of society in winch violence, outrage, and corruption were rampant. The psalmist washed his hands in innocency, but these men had violence and bribes in theirs. They were therefore persons in authority, prostituting justice. The description fits too many periods too well to give a clue to the date of the psalm.
Once more the consciousness of difference and the resolve not to be like such men break forth in the closing couple of verses. The psalm began with the profession that he had walked in his integrity; it ends with the vow that he will. It had begun with the prayer “Judge me”; it ends with the expansion of it into “Redeem me”-i.e., from existing dangers, from evildoers, or from their fate-and “Be gracious unto me,” the positive side of the same petition. He who purposes to walk uprightly has the right to expect Gods delivering and giving hand to be extended to him. The resolve to walk uprightly unaccompanied with the prayer for that hand to hold up is as rash as the prayer without the resolve is vain. But if these two go together, quiet confidence will steal into the heart; and though there be no change in circumstances, the mood of mind will be so soothed and lightened that the suppliant will feel that he has suddenly emerged from the steep gorge where he had been struggling and shut up, and stands on the level ground of the “shining table lands, whereof our God Himself is sun and moon.” Such peaceful foretaste of coming security is the forerunner which visits the faithful heart. Gladdened by it, the psalmist is sure that his desire of compassing Gods altar with praise will be fulfilled, and that, instead of compulsory association with the “congregation of evil-doers,” he will bless Jehovah “in the congregations” where His name is loved and find himself among those who, like himself, delight in His praise.