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.