"Of David.
1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.
4 I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,
7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the Lord."
Psalm 26
Criticism has sometimes been levelled against this Psalm and others like it that it expresses a spirit of self-righteousness bordering on the Pharisaic, and falls far short of the New Testament teaching exemplified for example in Paul's words 'In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing' or 'I am less than the least of all saints'. But this is to misunderstand the Psalmist and his words completely, and such an attitude is itself the fruit of a certain attitude to the Scriptures which can only be termed heterodox and un- believing, and which fails to grasp the meaning of biblical inspiration. It just will not do to dismiss large sections of the Old Testament as being sub-Christian - this is usually done by people who do not know the real meaning of the word Christian. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and may not be shrugged away by superficial judgment. We must therefore look in other directions for the explanation of the Psalmist's words here. Two things may be said in this connection. First of all, the assertion of integrity (1) must be understood in the light of what is said in 3: the Psalmist's walking in the truth is made possible only through the divine love, in the same way as Paul was able to make the claims he does in his epistles. Would we accuse the apostle of self-righteousness when in 1 Thessalonians 2:10 he says, 'Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you...'? In the second place we have seen, in two previous Psalms at least (Psalm 7 and Psalm 17), that the Psalmist claims not sinlessness, but innocence in relation to particular charges and accusations brought against him by his enemies. This does much to clarify passages such as these which otherwise are hopelessly misinterpreted. Something else may be said on this subject, but is best left to the next Note.