Psalms 26:6 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, David gives more proof of his integrity by showing his sincere love for God’s worship, his careful attention to it, and the joy he found in it. Hypocrites can still be seen at God’s services, as the proud Pharisee went up to the temple to pray with the penitent publican. But it is a good sign of sincerity when we attend on God’s ordinances, as David says he did here (Psalm 26:6-8).

He says, “I will wash my hands in innocence.” He did not just stay away from sinful company. He also kept himself free from the stain of sin, because he was coming near God’s altar. “I will wash, and then I will go around your altar,” as one who knows he will not be welcome otherwise. This is like the command in (1 Corinthians 11:28), where a person should examine himself and then eat. David’s words point to both steady and present preparation.

By “I will wash my hands in innocence,” he means, first, a settled habit of guarding against sin. He meant to keep his conscience clear from those dead works that defile it and keep a person from drawing near to God. This recalls (Psalm 24:3-4). It also means practical, present cleansing. The words look back to the priest’s washing before serving at the tabernacle, as in (Exodus 30:20-21). David was not a priest, but he wanted the true meaning of that ritual, which every worshiper should seek.

When we prepare for serious worship, we must do more than claim that we are not guilty of open unbelief or hypocrisy. The washing of hands in (Deuteronomy 21:6) showed innocence from a charge, but we also need to cleanse ourselves from the stains of remaining sin. That means renewed repentance and fresh trust in the blood of Christ, which cleanses and quiets the conscience. The person who has been washed, meaning the person already justified, still needs to wash his feet, as Jesus said in (John 13:10). The pardoned person is truly cleared before God, and his sins will not be counted against him.

David was also diligent and serious in his worship: “I will compass your altar.” This seems to refer to the priests walking around the altar while the sacrifice was being offered, and likely the worshipers did something similar at a distance. It showed careful attention and reverent service. David, though a man of rank, work, and war, did not think it beneath him to be among the crowd around God’s altar. He had time for it, and he made room for it.

All God’s people will be sure to come to God’s altar, in obedience to his command and in seeking his favor. Christ is our altar, not in the same way as the altar in the Jewish law, which they fed on, but as the altar from which we eat and on which we live (Hebrews 13:10). It is a beautiful sight when God’s altar is surrounded by worshipers, and when we are among them.

In all his worship, David aimed at God’s glory and at thankful praise. He looked on the place of worship as the place where God’s honor dwells (Psalm 26:8). So there he made it his business to honor God and give him the praise due to his name, publishing all his wondrous works with a voice of thanksgiving. God’s gracious works are wonderful works, and they call both for gratitude and awe. We should tell of them for God’s glory and to stir others to praise him.

David did all this with delight, out of real love for God and for God’s institutions. He appeals to God himself: “Lord, you know how I have loved the dwelling place of your house” (Psalm 26:8). That means the tabernacle, where God showed his presence among his people and received their worship. David had sometimes been driven away by persecution into pagan lands, and that may have been used against him as if it were his fault. See (1 Samuel 20:27). But he says, in effect, “Even if I cannot come there, I love it. My heart is there, and my grief is that I am kept away.”

All who truly love God also truly love God’s worship, because there God’s honor is shown and we have the chance to honor him. The Lord Jesus loved his Father’s honor and made it his aim to glorify him. He loved the dwelling place of God’s house, the church among men, and gave himself for it, so that he might build and consecrate it. Those who love fellowship with God and delight in drawing near to him find in it a steady joy, a comforting sign of their integrity, and a pleasing promise of endless happiness.

Having shown his integrity, David then prays with humble confidence that he will not share the doom of the wicked (Psalm 26:9-10). “Do not gather my soul with sinners.” He first describes those sinners as people in a miserable state, so miserable that he would not wish even his worst enemy to end up there. They are bloodthirsty people, guilty of bloodshed, and their hands are full of evil deeds. Even when they gain by their wickedness, because their right hand is full of bribes to twist justice, that does not improve their case. A person gains nothing if he wins the world and loses his soul.

David fears having his lot with such people. He never loved them or kept company with them in this life, and so he can confidently pray that he will not share their lot in the next. Soon our souls must be gathered back to God, who gave them and will call for them again (Job 34:14). We should think about whether our souls will then be gathered with the saints or with sinners, whether we will be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord forever, as the faithful are (1 Samuel 25:29), or gathered like tares for the fire (Matthew 13:30).

Death gathers us to our people, to those we have chosen as our own while we live, those with whom we have cast in our lot. To them death will gather us, and with them we must spend eternity. Balaam wanted to die the death of the righteous, and David feared dying the death of the wicked. If we share that desire and live by it, we are happy forever.

Those who refuse to join sinners in their joy, or eat their rich food, may also pray in faith that they will not share in their pain, or drink their cup, the cup of trembling.

David then turns, with humble confidence, to God’s grace (Psalm 26:11-12). He promises that, by God’s help, he will keep on doing what is right. “As for me, whatever others do, I will walk in my integrity.” When our conscience can honestly say that we have walked uprightly, that comfort should strengthen us to keep going the same way.

He also asks for divine grace, meaning God’s undeserved help, both to enable him and to give him comfort in it: “Redeem me from the hands of my enemies, and be merciful to me, in life and in death.” However sure we may feel about our integrity, we still must depend on God’s mercy and on the great redemption Christ has worked out for us. We should pray to receive the benefit of that mercy.

David also takes comfort in his firm standing: “My foot stands on level ground, where I will not stumble or fall.” He speaks like someone whose resolve to follow God and godliness is steady, and cannot be shaken by the world’s temptations. He also trusts that his comfort in God’s grace is settled, and cannot be overthrown by the world’s troubles.

Finally, he expects to have reason to praise the Lord. He believes God will give him matter for praise, a heart ready to praise, and, though he may now be kept from public worship, another chance to bless God among his people. Those who hate the meeting of evil people will be joined to the company of the righteous and will praise God with them. It is a good thing to do that in good company, and the more the better, because it is a little like heaven.