Psalm 26

vs 1

So... is this, then, an earlier, pre Bathsheeba psalm? Or does he pray these words truthfully at another time, perhaps speaking of a specific period? The thing is of course, no matter when we say this was written, David was a sinner. But he could say these words in and of himself and mean them. Job says something similar.

It's this fact that sometimes makes me wonder if we perhaps misread what Jesus is saying in the sermon on the mount, when he makes those statements about adultery being thought, not just deed, hate being murder, and such like. Not misread - I think it's clear what he's saying. But we have a wrong attitude towards it. We say, "Well, if lust is adultery, I may as well sleep with her, since I'm already a sinner." But what Jesus is saying is, "Don't lust! Don't hate!" Can we do that every moment of every day? No. But if we don't try, we'll never do it at all.

Of course, this verse could also be referring to the messiah, who of course was blameless.

vs 2

How confident would you be to ask God to do this? I wouldn't be.

vs 3

David, you're killing me here. Putting me to absolute shame. I with I could pray this prayer.

vs 4

Blessed is the man who doesn't do such things, says psalm 1.

vs 5

It's funny, because of course I always imagine this as going into the dark, seedy places of down, and why would a king go there? But there are assemblies of evildoers who wear Armani suits, so why wouldn't there have been well-to-do evildoers back then that might have wanted to hang with the king.

vs 6

Clean ritually, but also clean spiritually, I think he's saying - like he does the washing, but only because it is law, not because his hands have committed wrongdoing.

vs 7

I am always so shocked that this sort of loud proclaiming is part of righteousness even pre-Christ. You don't think that Israel needs to hear the gospel? Then why does even David proclaim God's glory to them? Why is that a righteous thing to do? Of course, it's righteous to proclaim God's great deeds and his glory simply because he deserves honour. But no doubt Israel could use the reminder too.

vs 8

Does this, I wonder, point us to Christ - just as David loved the house of the Lord, not because it was pretty or a feat of architecture (hey, this could be talking about the tabernacle), but he loved it because it represented God's presence with his people - do we love God because he sent us Jesus? Do we love the indwelling Holy Spirit that binds us to God, that means he is with us even when it seems he's so far away?

vs 9

Why would David pray that? he's already set out that he is righteous, that he had done no wrong. Perhaps it is because David knows full well that when God punishes, he can punish on a macro scale, and that can mean innocent people also die. It's not like he saves all those who are righteous from bushfires, floods, famine or war. But David is asking not to be amongst them.

He also asks specifically for his soul, which is fascinating. I wonder what he means by it.

vs 10

A fine and fair description of the unrighteous who do deserve to lose their souls and lives. God does not like wicked schemers and bribery. I have no doubt that a bunch of underhanded bribery goes on today. God doesn't like it. I have no doubt there are many involved in wicked schemes (Christopher Skase and Alan Bond are people in our past, but we would be naive to think there won't be others in our future).

vs 11

This is an absolutely fantastic line. This, I think, explains verse 1 incredibly well. It starts "I am blameless" - or at least he leads a blameless life, which I'll say for semantics is the same thing. Doesn't that mean that David can simply stand up and claim his reward? No. No, David is blameless, but humbly requests mercy and humbly requests redemption. Here is a verse that shows the meaning of the idea that man's righteousness is like filthy rags before God. It's not utterly worthless, but it is contemptable in comparison. David is blameless, but he knows that even by that standard, he still needs God's mercy. He still needs redemption. He can't demand rewards from God. But his worthy life puts him in a position where his request for clemency looks a lot better.

vs 12

I'll admit I don't know what this means. Feet standing on level ground might be a reference to David standing on the solid rock of trust in God, which is why he praises God in the congregation.

Apart from this last verse, which I find just a little confusing, this is a fantastic psalm. I'd love to learn this one off by heart.