Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 26

Read this Psalm

Of David.

1 Vindicate me, O LORD,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
   test my heart and my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in your faithfulness.

4 I do not sit with men of falsehood,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
   and I will not sit with the wicked.

6 I wash my hands in innocence
   and go around your altar, O LORD,
7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
   and telling all your wondrous deeds.

8 O LORD, I love the habitation of your house
   and the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
   nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
   and whose right hands are full of bribes.

11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
   redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
   in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
Longing for Home

I can still remember when my wife and I traveled to China to adopt our daughter. After 8,000 miles, four flights, and three cities, we were longing for home. Our longing was so great that it enabled us to endure another 7,000 miles and four additional flights on the return trip! We could endure this because we knew we were going home.

In Psalm 26, the psalmist was experiencing a similar longing for home; but he wasn’t longing to return to his earthly home. He was longing for heaven.

In Psalm 26, the psalmist is longing for assurance that God will admit him into His presence. He begins the psalm by attempting to prove that he has the requisite characteristics of one to be admitted into God’s presence. He claims to have the marks of the homeward bound.

He is so sure of his possession of these marks that he calls upon God to “test,” “try,” and “examine” him (v. 2). The psalmist enumerates four marks of the homeward bound. The first mark is an “unwavering” trust in God (v. 1). Some have mistakenly interpreted the psalmist’s attitude as one of self-righteousness, but his statement of trust in God entirely discredits this reading. Clearly, the psalmist is not relying on his own faithfulness, but instead has God’s love ever before him (v. 3). The first mark of the homeward bound is an unwavering trust in God for salvation. Do you possess this mark?

Listen to this Psalm

Trust album art Lord, Vindicate Me (Psalm 26A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Trust
Redemption album art LORD, Vindicate Me (Psalm 26B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Redemption