Devotional Short Note on Psalm 26: Unless
the reader is acquainted with the subject of perfection in the Bible, one
cannot fully grasp the value of this Psalm. Near the end of the previous Psalm
25, David prayed that perfection and uprightness preserve him because he waited
for the Lord (25:21).
The whole Psalm is a recipe for
perfection. Ingredients are needed and they are listed: trust (25:2); to be
shown the ways of the Lord; (25:4a); to be taught His paths (25:4b); guided in
truth (25:5a); whose sins of the youth and transgressions are forgotten by the
Lord (25:7a); to be instructed (yoreh) by the Lord as sinner in the way (25:8);
to be guided in justice (25:9a); to be humble (25:9b); keep His covenant and
testimonies (25:10b); great iniquities are forgiven (25:11b); to fear the Lord
(25:12a); to have eyes continuously (tamîd) to the Lord (25:15a); to have the
Lord turn to the person and experience His grace (25:16a-b); sins forgiven
(25:18b). It is to such a person that “perfection and uprightness” preserve
(25:21a) provided the person is in a waiting mode for the Advent of the Lord
(First Advent in the Old Testament and Second Advent thereafter and now) (25:21b).
David listed the essentials of
perfection in Psalm 25 and in Psalm 26 he realize that he has reached a stage
in his life where he is no longer struggling with sinful habits, no longer
desiring to have anything to do with sin, sinfulness, or sinful influences. In
fact, Psalm 26:3b is using a very strong nuance to show what David did from his
side by using a special Hebrew verb form called hithpael = reflexive/reciprocal
mode. He says: “I have made myself walk in Your truth” (see Waltke and O’Connor
1990: 26.2b for this verbal form). “I made myself walk in truth.” Why? So
easily we are distracted by apps, tweets, Facebook, text-messaging. There is no
difference between David and us. To be a digimodernist comes with a price: the
speed of the digital distraction are faster than in David’s day. But, he was
also distracted. How do we make ourselves walk in truth?
He feels that he has followed the
ingredients outlined in Psalm 25: the mercy of the Lord is before his eyes
(26:3a); did not sit with men of vanity/falsehood (26:4a); sat not with they
who hide themselves (probably crime punishment runaways, 26:4b); hate the
gathering of evil-doers (26:5a); not sit with the wicked (26:5b); hands washed
in innocency (26:6a); he loves the habitation of the house of the Lord (26:8a);
his foot is standing on an upright status (evenly) (26:12a); he blesses the
Lord in the congregation (26:12b). In digimodernism, are we sitting virtually
with the evil-doers? Are images carrying us even in 3D display into virtual
experiences that are no longer vertically up but demonizing down? Are we hooked
on something in modern media or the game-industry? Are we walking past the
religious books to get to the latest Computer games released? Is the image from
virtual reality that reach the cognitive part of our brain different than the
image that reached ‘peeping Tom’ David’s brain staring at Bathsheba bathing
down below his palace?
David admitted in Psalm 26, that he has
done homework on himself, (“redeem me and be gracious to me” 26:11b) of cause
he wished to walk in his perfection during the determination phase of
eliminating distractions. The future form of the verb is used not because he
did not reach perfection but because he did not walk specific steps that he had
in mind to walk with the perfection attained. “I will walk in my perfection”
(26:11a). This brings David to Psalm 26:1 where he wants the Lord to judge him,
“for I have walked in my perfection” (past form of the verb is used). He
trusted in the Lord “without wavering”. David is no longer the struggling Saul
who became Paul in Romans 7 who wants to do good but find that he cannot. He is
past that phase that is in everyone’s life. He asked from the Lord a test, an
examination of his kidneys and feelings and his heart. Total surrender is the
key in perfection. This perfection is available to all believers. If David can
succeed then all can.