Psalms
Chapter 26
Prayer of the Innocent Persecuted
Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have lived with integrity; I have put my trust in the Lord, I shall never waver.
Prove me, O Lord, put me to the test; examine my soul and my heart.
For your love is ever before my eyes, and I live in truth and faithfulness.
I do not associate with the deceitful nor do I go with hypocrites;
I hate the party of the corrupt and avoid the company of the wicked.
I wash my hands free of guilt and walk in procession round your altar,
singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving and proclaiming your wondrous deeds.
O Lord, I love the house where you dwell, the place of your glory.
Let me not share the fate of sinners, nor lose my life with the violent;
their hands are guilty of crimes, their right hands are weighed down with bribes.
But I will walk in integrity, redeem me, O God, be gracious to me.
My foot stands firm in the straight path, I will praise you, O Lord, in your assemblies.
Commentaries
26
How can I sing this psalm? Do I walk ‘along the straight path’? Clearly, the psalmist is exaggerating. Is he daring to challenge God’s scrutiny? After all, the psalmist asks for mercy because he feels he needs it. We certainly do too.
Paul has an experience similar to the one described in the psalm: even if you have a good conscience, that is not enough to justify you (1 Cor 4:4). This psalm is not for those who boast in their works but for those who submit themselves to God’s scrutinizing and purifying gaze, for those who trust in God.
Let us adopt the prayer of the just that affirms his faithfulness. Let us not rely on our own merits, like the Pharisee. Instead, let us thank this new person we have become through baptism: Christ has purified and enriched us.