Psalm 26: Judge Me, O LORD

"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."

"I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers… 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… In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity… My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD."

Washing hands

Priests washed their hands before approaching the altar (Exodus 30:17–21). Deuteronomy 21:6–7 has elders wash their hands to declare innocence of blood. The psalm uses both senses: purity for worship and a declaration of innocence. Pilate's handwashing (Matthew 27:24) uses the same gesture.

Walking around the altar

"Compass thine altar" may describe a procession around the altar, known from later temple practice at the Feast of Tabernacles (Mishnah Sukkah 4:5).

Integrity at both ends

The psalm opens "I have walked in mine integrity" (v. 1) and closes "as for me, I will walk in mine integrity" (v. 11): past and future framed by the same claim. "I shall not slide" (v. 1) is answered at the end by "My foot standeth in an even place" (v. 12). Between them the poem moves from the company the speaker refuses (vv. 4–5) to the company he loves, the house of God (v. 8).

The heading

Hebrew: le-David alone. As in Psalm 25, the library's Vulgate reads "In finem. Psalmus David," a fuller Greek heading.

Self-righteous or falsely accused?

Readers sometimes find Psalm 26 boastful. Its form is a plea of innocence by someone accused (compare Psalms 7 and 17): in a court the accused must state his innocence. The psalm asks God to test, not to admire.

The versions

Greek and Latin Psalm 25. The library's Vulgate v. 6, "Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas," became the Lavabo, the priest's handwashing prayer in the Latin Mass.