Christianity

Psalms 26A Prayer of Integrity

Summary

Psalm 26 is the prayer of someone who asks God to examine his heart and vindicate him because he has walked in integrity. He refuses to sit with deceitful people, washes his hands in innocence and goes around God's altar giving thanks. He declares his love for the house where God's glory dwells and asks not to be swept away with sinners. It is traditionally ascribed to David and may reflect a ritual of entering the sanctuary.

Key verse

“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.”

Psalms 26:2

Themes

Integrity
Self-Examination
Love of the Sanctuary
Separation from Evil

Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

In whose hands is mischief, 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 the LORD.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

Judaism
Tehillim 26 in the JPS 1917 Tanakh
The verse LORD, I love the habitation of Thy house is part of the Mah Tovu prayer that many Jews say on entering a synagogue.
Christianity
Matthew 27: Pilate Washes His Hands
In Matthew 27:24 Pilate washes his hands to claim innocence, a gesture also found in Deuteronomy 21:6 and Psalm 26:6, though Gospel readers see it as an empty claim.

Questions about Psalms 26

What does I will wash mine hands in innocency mean?

Psalm 26:6 describes a ritual act declaring moral purity before approaching the altar. The Latin version of this verse, Lavabo, was said by priests washing their hands in the traditional Catholic Mass.

Is Psalm 26 self-righteous?

Readers differ. Some see a claim of moral perfection, while most interpreters read it as a plea from someone falsely accused who asks God, not people, to judge his sincerity.