Psalm Chapter 26 - A Psalm of David

Psalm 26: The Man Who Asked to Be Examined

There is something almost reckless about this prayer. David does not merely ask God to help him or forgive him — he asks God to examine him, to prove him, to try his reins and his heart. It is the language of a man placing himself on the operating table and saying, "Cut wherever you must." And yet the tone is not grim. There is a peculiar joy running underneath, the joy of a man who has decided that truth — even painful truth — is better than the most comfortable illusion. "I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar." The washing comes before the worship, not as a ritual but as a reality. David knows that the God who sees everything is the only God worth approaching, and the only one from whom nothing need be hidden. The psalm ends where the best prayers end: not in self-congratulation, but in an even place, with both feet on solid ground.

00:00 Judge Me, O Lord
00:15 Examine Me and Prove Me
00:30 I Will Not Sit with the Wicked
00:45 Washing Hands in Innocency
01:00 The House Where Honor Dwells
01:15 My Foot Stands in an Even Place