Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 26
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 26
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 26
"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 thine altar, O Jehovah; That I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, And tell of all thy wondrous works. Jehovah, I love the habitation of thy house, And the place where thy glory dwelleth. Gather not my soul with sinners, Nor my life with men of blood; In whose hands is wickedness, 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 Jehovah. " — Psalms 26:1-12 (ASV)
David here, by the Spirit of prophecy, speaks of himself as a type of Christ. What he says here concerning his own spotless innocence was fully and eminently true of Christ (and of Christ only), and to Him we may apply it.
We are complete in Him. The man who walks in his integrity, yet trusting wholly in the grace of God, is in a state of acceptance, according to the covenant of which Jesus was the Mediator, in virtue of His spotless obedience even unto death.
This man desires to have his inmost soul searched and tested by the Lord. He is aware of the deceitfulness of his own heart; he desires to detect and mortify every sin; and he longs to be satisfied that he is a true believer and to practise the holy commands of God. Great care to avoid bad company is both a good evidence of our integrity and a good means to maintain it.
Hypocrites and dissemblers may be found attending God's ordinances; but it is a good sign of sincerity if we attend them, as the psalmist here tells us he did, in the exercise of repentance and conscientious obedience. He feels his ground firm under him; and, as he delights in blessing the Lord with his congregations on earth, he trusts that he will soon join the great assembly in heaven, singing praises to God and to the Lamb forevermore.
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