For Thy Loving Kindness

Psalm 26:1-12


Psalm 26 (King James Version)

1Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine 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 lovingkindness 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 honour 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.

A Psalm of David. (English Standard Version)

  1. Judge me, O jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity, and in jehovah have I trusted; I shall not slide.
  2. Prove me, O jehovah, and try me; explore my reins and my heart.
  3. For your mercy is before mine eyes, and I have walked in your truth.
  4. I have not sat with lying men, neither have I gone with dissemblers.
  5. For I have hated the assembly of evil doers, and will not sit with the wicked.
  6. I will wash my hands in innocence; and will compass your altar, O jehovah.
  7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and recount all your wondrous works.
  8. jehovah, I love the habitation of your house, and the place of the tabernacle of your glory.
  9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of blood;
  10. In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
  11. But I walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and be merciful to me.
  12. My foot stands in an even place; in the congregations will I bless jehovah.

The Internal Sense

That the lord has integrity, purity, and innocence, verses 1 to 6, 11; that he has the divine love of saving, verses 7, 8; that he is in combat with the wicked, verses 9, 10; that redemption comes when he conquers, verses 11, 12.

Exposition

Verse 2. Prove me, O jehovah, and try me, explore my reins, and my heart. Inasmuch as truths are separated from falsities, and goods from evils, by temptations, therefore it is here said, try me. AE 167.

Verse 8. jehovah, I love the habitation of your house. Habitation signifies heaven, where the lord is; it also signifies the good of love and faith, for these constitute heaven; and whereas all good is from the lord, and heaven is called heaven from love and faith in the lord; hence, also, habitation, in the supreme sense, signifies the lord, as is evident from Isaiah 63:15, Psalm 26:8, and in other places; hence it is manifest, that the tabernacle was called the sanctuary and habitation of jehovah from this ground, that things above mentioned were representative. AC 9481.

Verses 6, 7. I will wash my hands in innocence, and will compass your altar, O jehovah, that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, etc. To wash the hands in innocence, signifies to be purified from evils and falses; to compass your altar, O jehovah, signifies conjunction with the Lord by worship, grounded in the good of love, which worship, since it is performed by truths derived from good, therefore it is added, that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, etc. AE 391.

Verse 2. Explore my reins (kidneys), and my heart. To search and to prove the kidneys, denotes to explore the truths of faith; and to search and prove the heart, denotes, to explore the goods of love, for the heart denotes the good of love, and the truths of faith are signified by the kidneys. AC 10032.

Innocence is the very essential principle of love and charity, consequently of good, and consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing, not with the mouth, but with the heart, that nothing but evil is from self, and that all good is from the lord; when man is in this confession of faith from the heart, then the lord flows in with good and truth, and insinuates into him a celestial proprium, which is bright and shining; it is impossible for any one to be in true humiliation, unless he be in this acknowledgement and faith from the heart, for in this case he is in self-annihilation, yea, in self-aversion, and thereby in absence from himself, and thus in a state of receiving the divine principle of the lord; hence it is, that the lord with good flows in into an humble and contrite heart. AC 3994; see also AC 3183, 3519, 5608.

All the rites of the ancient Church were representative of the lord, as were also the rites of the Jewish Church; but the principal representative afterwards was the altar, also the burnt-offering, which, being made of clean beasts and clean birds, represented, as it signified the clean beasts, the goods of charity, and the clean birds, the truths of faith. AC 921. See also AC 1298, 2777, 2814, 2832.

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Psalm 26 (English Standard Version)

1(A) Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have(B) walked in my integrity,
and I have(C) trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2(D) Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and(E) my mind.[a]
3For your(F) steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I(G)walk in your faithfulness. 4I do not(H) sit with men of(I) falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5I(J) hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.

6I(K) wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O LORD,
7proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your(L) wondrous deeds.

8O LORD, I(M) love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
9(N) Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of(O) bribes.

11But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12My foot stands on(P) level ground;
in(Q) the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 26:2 Hebrew test my kidneys and my heart

Psalms:

A collection of 150 psalms, whose Hebrew name is “The Book of Praise.” Authors of individual psalms include David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph, and others who are anonymous. The variety and unity of Psalms have given this book a unique place in the devotional life of the individual and the Church. Almost every aspect of man’s relation to God is depicted in these poems: simple trust, the sense of sin, appeal to a higher in time of trouble, and the conviction that the world is in the hands of a loving God.