Psalm 26 Continued…
Psalm 26:5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.
Here and in the previous verse he describes his manner of life negatively; he has had nothing whatsoever to do with worthless, vicious men. He shuns all groups of evildoers and has no companionship with them at all.
“The wicked” are those men who treat the principles and practices of religion as if they were nothing in the world. “Refuse to sit with the wicked” means to not have approving fellowship with them; this, David had not done. As a matter of Fact, he had shown a holy determination to avoid fraternizing with them.
Psalm 26:6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord,
David performs an interesting bit of ritual; he ceremonially washes his hands as a solemn declaration on his part that he is innocent of that which he has been accused. David’s prayer is his oath before God, his solemn testimony that he is guiltless (Matthew 27:24). And as he performs this ceremonial act, he intones these words: “I wash my hands in innocence.”
Cleansing comes from the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7, 9) and the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26-27; John 15:3). Personal cleansing is a necessary prerequisite for acceptable worship. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Psalm 24:3-4). In order to serve God acceptably, the priests were required to wash their hands and feet at the laver (Exodus 30:17-21).
A man’s faith needs to be backed up by a good life. This psalm is very important in this connection—maybe the reason this section of psalms is not very popular today is because they emphasize a life that is pleasing to God.
“In innocence” means with integrity, or with a pure heart and conscience. I will not do as my hypocritical enemies do, who content themselves with those outward washings of their hands or bodies as prescribed in the law (Deuteronomy 21:6); while their hearts and lives were filthy and abominable. The picture I get is of Pilate washing his hands as he absolved himself of any liability in the death of Christ.
David refuses to sit down and learn to think as the wicked think.
Psalm 26:7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
In anticipation of the Lord delivering him from the accusations of his accusers, David desired to “proclaim” God’s wonderful works aloud—to accompany his sacrifices with his own solemn words of thanksgiving and songs of praise.
The two words “wonderful deeds” is one word in Hebrew. It means those gracious acts of God that we meet with in our human life but are quite beyond our human understanding. Consequently, it can sometimes be called by the word miracle. One of God’s profound miracles, an action that is wholly beyond my intellect to grasp, says David, is that He has taken a sinner like me, has justified me (has put me in a right relationship with Himself), has made me an integrated personality (see verse 1), and so a person who now lives in trust and faith, knowing a new fullness of life. This type of new life I now possess is definitely not of my own doing; it has happened to me as a result of knowing God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (v. 3). No one is justified by his own faithfulness to God. He is justified by God’s faithfulness to him.
“Proclaiming aloud your praise.” One translation renders that: “I love to sing my thanks aloud!” There is no joy in all the world to compare with doing something that pleases the Lord. The devil tells us that doing God’s will is bondage. But consciously to do something for the Lord under the recognized urging of the Spirit—it may be just the giving of a gift, or the visiting of someone in need—is to know the devil to be a liar. You will find yourself wanting to sing out loud! You will have overflowing life.
Psalm 26:8 I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells.
The “house” refers to God’s sanctuary and worship where David has given many proofs of his piety toward Him, just as he has given many proofs of his justice and integrity toward men. Nothing could be worse for him that to be kept from seeing and worshipping Him.
The phrase “your glory” refers to either:
1. The ark of the covenant. “She said, ‘The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.’” (1 Samuel 4:22).
2. God’s glorious and gracious presence, or the manifestation of God’s glory, or of His glorious power, and faithfulness, and goodness. “Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.” (Leviticus 9:23).
David seems very sensitive to being in the Temple, the “house” of God, and close to the presence of God. To him worship was not a dreary ritual to be endured stoically; he actually loved the house of the Lord where the glory cloud symbolized the glorious Presence of God Himself. Nothing was greater than being in and near the presence of God to David.
PRAY
Father help me to yearn to be in your presence like David.