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Psalm Twenty-six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 26
Psalm of David. The occasion of this psalm seems to be the
quarrel between Saul and David
the former listening to calumnies and
reproaches cast upon the latter
and persecuting him in a violent manner. The
argument of it is the same
in a great measure
with the seventh psalm
and is
an appeal made to God
the Judge of the whole earth
by the psalmist
for his
innocence and integrity; Theodoret thinks it was written by David when he fled
from Saul.
Psalm 26:1 Vindicate
me
O Lord
For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not
slip.
YLT
1By David. Judge me
O
Jehovah
for I in mine integrity have walked
And in Jehovah I have trusted
I
slide not.
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"F15בתמי "in
perfectione mea"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus; so the Targum
Ainsworth.
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
1 Samuel 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"F16לא אמעד "me non
vacillaturum"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ; 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"F17"Ne nutare me patiaris"
Gejerus. ; 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.
Psalm 26:2 2 Examine me
O Lord
and prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
YLT
2Try me
O Jehovah
and
prove me
Purified [are] my reins and my heart.
Examine me
O Lord
.... His
cause
his integrity
and trust in the Lord
as silver and gold are examined by
the touchstone
the word of God
which is the standard of faith and practice;
and prove me; or "tempt me"F18נסני "tenta me"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius &
Tremellius
&c. ; as Abraham was tempted by the Lord; and his faith in him
and fear of him
and love to him
were proved to be true and genuine;
try my reins and my heart; the thoughts
desires
and affections of it
as gold and silver are tried in the furnace; and so God
sometimes tries the faith and patience of his people by afflictive providences;
and this examination
probation
and trial
are made by him
not for his own
sake
who knows the hearts and ways of all men; but for the sake of others
to
make known either to themselves or others the truth of grace that is in them
and the uprightness of their hearts and ways; and it was on this account the
psalmist desired to pass under such an examination.
Psalm 26:3 3 For Your lovingkindness is
before my eyes
And I have walked in Your truth.
YLT
3For Thy kindness [is]
before mine eyes
And I have walked habitually in Thy truth.
For thy lovingkindness is
before mine eyes
.... The special lovingkindness of God
shown in the choice of
him in Christ
in the provision of a Saviour for him
and in the effectual
calling of him; which lovingkindness is unmerited
free
and sovereign
is from
everlasting and to everlasting; it is better than life
excellent beyond expression
and marvellous: and this may be said to be "before his eyes";
because it was now in sight; he had a comfortable view of interest in it
and
was persuaded nothing should separate him from it; it was upon his heart
shed
abroad in it
and he was affected with it; it was in his mind
and in his
thoughts
and they were employed about it; he had it in remembrance
and was
comfortably refreshed with it: and this he mentions as the reason of his laying
his cause before the Lord
as the ground of his trust in him
and why he
desired to be examined
proved
and tried by him;
and I have walked in thy truth; by faith in Christ
who
is the truth of all promises
prophecies
types
and figures; in the word of
truth
by abiding by it
and walking according to it; and in the truth of
worship
in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord; and to walk herein
he used himself to
and was constant in
as the wordF19התהלכתי "ambulavi indesinenter et sedulo"
Gejerus; so Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. signifies: and nothing more
engages to walk on in Christ
as he has been received and to walk as becomes
his Gospel
and in all holy conversation and godliness
than the love of God
manifested to the soul; this being set continually before our eyes encourages
faith and hope
and influences a holy life and cheerful obedience to the will
of God.
Psalm 26:4 4 I have not sat with
idolatrous mortals
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
YLT
4I have not sat with vain
men
And with dissemblers I enter not.
I have not sat with vain persons
.... Or "men of
vanity"F20עם מתי
שוא "cum hominibus vanitatis"
Gejerus
Michaelis. ; who are full of it; who are addicted to the vanities of the world;
who pursue the riches
honours
pleasures
and profits of it; which is no other
than walking in a vain show: whose thoughts
words
and actions are vain; who
are vainly puffed up in their fleshly mind
and walk in the vanity of it; who
take the name of God in vain
and whose common discourse is foolish
frothy
light
and empty; and who are men of a vain conversation
and are rash
imprudent
and deceitful: men of bad principles may very well go by this name
who are
vain and unruly talkers
and whose doctrines are doctrines of vanity
and no
other than vain babbling; and also men guilty of idolatrous practices
who
observe lying vanities
and worship them
and lift up their souls unto them;
with such vain men
in any of these senses
the psalmist would have nothing to
do; he would not keep company with them
nor have any communion
consultation
and conversation with them; it may be
he may have some respect to the men that
were about Saul
to whom such a character agreed; or he may say this
and what
follows
to remove a calumny cast upon him and his friends; as if they that
were with him were such men as here described
and in Psalm 26:5;
neither will I go in with dissemblers: or
"hidden" or "unknown" personsF21עם נעלמים "cum
occultis"
Vatablus
Michaelis; "absconditis"
Gejerus; so
Ainsworth.
who lie in private lurking places
to murder the innocent
or
secretly take away the good names and characters of men
and it is not known
who they are; or who commit sin secretly; go into secret places to do their
works in the dark
and hide themselves to do evil; as the Targum
Jarchi
Kimchi
and Ben Melech
interpret it; who love darkness rather than light
because their deeds are evil; or who cover themselves with lying and flattering
words
that it is not known what their real intentions be; they speak one
thing
and mean another; are an assembly of treacherous men: such are all
deceitful workers
who lie in wait to deceive
and walk in craftiness; and
hypocrites
who have the form of religion
but are strangers to the power of
it; and who are to be turned away from
and avoided; the houses
assemblies
cabals
and company of such
are to be shunned; see Genesis 49:6; or
such as are "signed"
or "marked"; that is
infamous
personsF23Vide Schultens de def. Hod. ling. Heb. s. 188. .
Psalm 26:5 5 I have hated the assembly
of evildoers
And will not sit with the wicked.
YLT
5I have hated the assembly
of evil doers
And with the wicked I sit not.
I have hated the
congregation of evildoers
.... That do harm to the persons
characters
or properties of men; and who meet together in bodies
to consult
and form schemes to do mischief
and have their assemblies to encourage each
other in it; these
their works and actions
the psalmist hated
though not
their persons; and showed his displicency at them
and dislike and
disapprobation of them
by absenting from them; see Jeremiah 15:17;
and will not sit with the wicked; ungodly and unrighteous
men
sons of Belial; for with such what fellowship and concord can there be? 2 Corinthians 6:14;
the wordF24רשע "significat inquietum
esse
ceu patet ex"
Isa. xlviii. 22. Gejerus. signifies restless and
uneasy persons
who cannot rest unless they do mischief; are like the troubled
sea
continually casting up mire and dirt
Isaiah 57:20; now
by all this the psalmist means not that good men should have no manner of
conversation with the men of the world: for then
as the apostle says
we must
needs go out of the world
1 Corinthians 5:9.
Conversation in civil things
in matters of trade and business
is lawful;
though all unnecessary conversation in things of civil life is to be shunned;
no more should be had than what natural relation and the business of life
require; but all conversation in things criminal is to be avoided; company is
not to be kept with them
so as to join them in anything sinful; this is to
harden them in their evil ways
and it brings into danger and into disgrace: a
man is known and is judged of by the company that he keeps; and evil
communications corrupt good manners.
Psalm 26:6 6 I will wash my hands in
innocence; So I will go about Your altar
O Lord
YLT
6I wash in innocency my
hands
And I compass Thine altar
O Jehovah.
I will wash my hands in
innocency
.... The Vulgate Latin version renders it
"among innocent
persons"; men of a holy harmless life and conversation; with these he
determined to converse in common
and not with such as before described; or the
sense is
that he would wash his hands
in token of his innocence
integrity
and uprightness
he had before spoke of
and of his having nothing to do with
such evil men as now mentioned; see Deuteronomy 21:6;
"hands" are the instrument of action
and to "wash" them
may design the performance of good works
Job 9:30; and to do
this "in innocency"
or "purity"
may signify the
performance of them from a pure heart
a good conscience
and faith unfeigned;
and particularly may have some respect to the lifting up of holy hands in
prayer to God
previous to public worship; there seems to be an allusion to the
priests washing their hands before they offered sacrifice
Exodus 30:19;
so will I compass thine altar
O Lord; frequent the
house of God
where the altar was
and constantly attend the worship and
ordinances of God; the work of the altar being put for the whole of divine service;
the altar of burnt offering is here meant
which was a type of Christ; see Hebrews 13:10;
reference is had to the priests at the altar
who used to go round it
when
they laid the sacrifice on the altar
and bound it to the horns of it
at the
four corners
and there sprinkled and poured out the blood; compare Psalm 43:4; in
order to which they washed their hands
as before; and in later times it was
usual with the HeathensF25"----pura cum veste venito
et
manibus puris sumite fontis aquam
nunc lavabo ut rem divinam faciam"
Tibull. l. 2. eleg. 1. Plantus in Aullular. Act. 3. Sc. 6. Vide Homer. Odyss
12. v. 336
337. to wash their hands before divine service.
Psalm 26:7 7 That I may proclaim with
the voice of thanksgiving
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
YLT
7To sound with a voice of
confession
And to recount all Thy wonders.
That I may publish with
the voice of thanksgiving
.... Or "cause to hear with the voice
of confession"F26בקול תודה "voce confessionis"
Montanus
Cocceius
Gejerus
Michaelis; so Ainsworth. : the meaning is
that the view of the psalmist
in compassing the altar of God in the manner he proposed
was not to offer upon
it any slain beast; but to offer the sacrifices of praise upon that altar
which sanctifies the gift
and from whence they come with acceptance to God;
even for all mercies
both temporal and spiritual
and that with a confession
and acknowledgment of sin and unworthiness; all this is agreeable to the will
of God; it is well pleasing in his sight
what glorifies him
and is but our
reasonable service;
and tell of all thy wondrous works; of creation and
providence; and especially of grace and redemption; this is the business of
saints in God's house below
and will be their employment in heaven to all
eternity. Jarchi on the place says
that this song of praise has in it what
relates to future times
to Gog
to the days of the Messiah
and to the world
to come.
Psalm 26:8 8 Lord
I have loved the habitation of Your house
And the place where Your glory
dwells.
YLT
8Jehovah
I have loved the
habitation of Thy house
And the place of the tabernacle of Thine honour.
Lord
I have loved the
habitation of thy house
.... Meaning the tabernacle
for as yet the temple was not built;
which was an habitation for the saints
where they chose to dwell
and reckoned
it their happiness
and was the habitation of the Lord himself: the sanctuary
was built for that purpose; and between the cherubim
over the mercy seat
he
took up his residence; hence it follows
and the place where thine honour dwelleth: or
"glory"F1כבוכך "gloria
tua"
Musculus
Piscator; "tabernaculum gloriae tuae"
Junius
& Tremellius
Cocceius
Gejerus; so Ainsworth. : when the tabernacle was
set up
the glory of the Lord filled it
as it did the temple
when it was
dedicated
Exodus 40:35. The
psalmist expresses his love to this place
in opposition to the
congregation
of evildoers
which he hated
Psalm 26:5; and to
remove a calumny from him
that being among the Philistines
and at a distance
from the house of God
his affections were alienated from it; whereas it was
his greatest concern that he was debarred the privileges of it; see Psalm 42:1;
besides
he had showed his great regard to it by his constant attendance before
his exile
as he did after it
Psalm 42:3; and it
was out of pure love to the worship of God
and with real pleasure and delight
that he did attend; and not through custom
and in mere form
Psalm 122:1. The
Lord's house is loved by his people
because of his word and ordinances
which
are ministered there
and because of his presence in it: or else what was
typified by the tabernacle in here designed; either the tabernacle of Christ's
human nature
called the true tabernacle
Hebrews 8:2; in
which the fulness of the Godhead dwells; which the Son of God
the brightness
of his Father's glory
inhabits; and in the redemption and salvation wrought
out in it the glory of all the divine attributes is displayed; and Christ
incarnate is the mercy seat from which God communes with his people
and is
their way of access unto him
and whereby they have fellowship with him; and
who is loved by the saints sincerely
above all creatures and things
and in
the most ardent and affectionate manner: or heaven itself
of which the
tabernacle was a figure
Hebrews 9:24; which
is the habitation of the holiness and glory of God
and in which are many
mansions or dwelling places for his people; and is the continuing city they
seek
the heavenly and better country they are desirous of
and where their
hearts and affections are; because there their God
their Saviour
and their
treasure be; which sense seems to be confirmed by what follows.
Psalm 26:9 9 Do not gather my soul with
sinners
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men
YLT
9Do not gather with sinners
my soul
And with men of blood my life
Gather not my soul with
sinners
.... Profligate and abandoned ones
such as are notoriously
profane
and who live and die impenitent ones; otherwise all men are sinners:
the sense is
either that he desires that he might not
by any means
be
brought into the company of such persons
be joined unto them
and have a
conversation with them
which would be uncomfortable
dishonourable
and
dangerous; or that God would not destroy him with them; and that he might not
die the death of the wicked
nor be gathered with them at death: death is often
expressed by a man's being gathered to his people
and to his fathers; see 2 Kings 22:20; the
body is gathered to the grave
the soul returns to God that gave it
and has
its place assigned by him; the souls of the righteous are gathered into heaven
Christ's garner; the souls of the wicked into hell; the psalmist deprecates
being gathered with them;
nor my life with bloody men; that thirst after blood
lie in wait for it
shed it
and are drunk with it
as the antichristian party;
these God abhors and detests; nor shall they live out half their days
and
their end is miserable.
Psalm 26:10 10 In whose hands is a
sinister scheme
And whose right hand is full of bribes.
YLT
10In whose hand [is] a wicked
device
And their right hand [is] full of bribes.
In whose hands is
mischief
.... Every abominable wickedness; as idolatry
adultery
murder
&c. the word signifies and is sometimes used for mischief conceived in the
mind
artificially devised and contrived there; here mischief committed
the
hand being the instrument of action
and intends whatever is prejudicial to the
person
character
and properties of men;
and their right hand is full of bribes; whereby the
eyes of judges are blinded
the words of the righteous perverted
men's persons
respected
and judgment wrested
Deuteronomy 16:19.
Psalm 26:11 11 But as for me
I will walk
in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.
YLT
11And I
in mine integrity I
walk
Redeem me
and favour me.
But as for me
I will walk
in mine integrity
.... In which he had hitherto walked
Psalm 26:1; or it
may express his faith
that after he was gathered by death he should walk in
uprightness and righteousness
in purity and perfection
with Christ in white
and behold the face of God in righteousness; see Isaiah 57:1;
redeem me; from the vain conversation of the wicked
from all troubles
and
out of the hands of all enemies;
and be merciful unto me; who was now in distress
being persecuted by Saul
and at a distance from the house of God: this shows
that mercy is the source and spring of redemption
both temporal and spiritual;
and that the psalmist did not trust in and depend upon his present upright walk
and conversation
but in redemption by Christ
and upon the mercy of God in
Christ.
Psalm 26:12 12 My foot stands in an even
place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
YLT
12My foot hath stood in
uprightness
In assemblies I bless Jehovah!
My foot standeth in an
even place
.... Or "in a plain"F2במישור
"in plano"
Musculus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Michaelis; "in planitie"
Gejerus. ; in a sure place; on Christ the
sure foundation
and who is the plain way and path to eternal life; see Psalm 27:11; or in
the ways and worship of God
prescribed by his word; and so denotes
steadfastness and continuance in them;
in the congregations will I bless the Lord; in the
assemblies of the saints
in the churches of Christ below
and in the great
congregation above
in the general assembly and church of the firstborn; where
it is the work of saints now
and will be hereafter
to praise the Lord
for
all his mercies temporal and spiritual.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》