Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 26:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 26:6. I will wash mine hands in innocency — Washing the hands was frequent among the Jews, and was sometimes an action by which a man declared his innocence of any base or wicked transaction. This Pilate did, to protest his innocence of the mal-treatment and death of Christ. I will maintain that innocence of life in which I have hitherto walked; and take care that nothing shall be found in my heart or life that would prevent me from using the most holy ordinance, or worshipping thee in spirit and truth.

So will I compass thine altar — It is a mark of respect among the Hindoos to walk several times round a superior, and round a temple.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 26-28 Living uprightly

David appeals to God to support him against those who plot evil against him. God has done a work of grace in his life, and this causes him to hate the company of worthless people and make every effort to live the sort of life that pleases God (26:1-5). He desires righteousness, delights in worship, loves to spend hours in the house of God and enjoys telling others about God (6-8). He therefore asks that he will not suffer the same end as the wicked (9-10). Though determined to do right, he knows that he will not succeed without God’s help (11-12).
The psalmist is fully confident in the power of God and in God’s willingness to protect him (27:1-3). His desire is to live his life as if he is in the presence of God continually. Thereby he will have protection, and his life will be one of constant strength and joy (4-6). He prays that God will hear his prayers and never turn away from him. Others might reject him, but he is confident that God’s care of him will never fail (7-10). In view of the persecution he suffers, he asks that God will teach him more about the way he should live (11-12). He remains confident in God and this gives him patience. Whatever may happen, he knows that he can always depend on God’s help (13-14).
In the next psalm David again is in great distress and cries out to God to save his life. He does not want to die like the wicked, for whom an early death is a fitting punishment (28:1-3). His prayer to God to punish the wicked is not because of personal bitterness or the desire for revenge. It is because they are the enemies of God and they disregard all that he has done (4-5). David knows that God will answer his prayer and thereby strengthen David’s trust in him (6-7). This will also strengthen the faith of the people, who will have a better understanding of God as their defender and shepherd (8-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Judge me, O Jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in Jehovah without wavering. Examine me, O Jehovah, and prove me; Try my heart and my mind. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes; And I have walked in thy truth. I have not sat with men of falsehood; Neither will I go in with dissemblers. I hate the assembly of evil-doers, And will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocency: So will I compass thy alter, O Jehovah; That I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, And tell all thy wondrous works. Jehovah, I love the habitation of thy house, And the place where thy glory dwelleth."

As Maclaren said, such extravagant claims of integrity and innocence, "Grate upon the ears of one accustomed to the tone of the New Testament."Alexander Maclaren, p. 252. Such a view fails to take in consideration of the fact that David is not here speaking of "his sinless life," but of his innocence in a given situation, and as contrasted with the wickedness of his enemies.

The absolute certainty of David's confidence regarding his innocence in this situation is emphasized by such words as "Judge me," "Prove me" and "Try me."

Psalms 26:3-5 give five masons why the psalmist believes God will vindicate him against all charges of wrong doing:

(1) "Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes" He does this continually, never allowing it out of his sight.

(2) "I have walked in thy truth" He clings to faith in God.

(3) "I have not sat with men of falsehood" He has not cultivated nor received the friendship of wicked men. The word here rendered "falsehood" in the Hebrew is "vanity."The Pulpit Commentary, p. 192.

(4) "Neither will I go in with dissemblers" This is a reference to hypocrites (dissemblers). "This verse (Psalms 26:4) argues that the psalmist, has neither thrown in his lot with light, vain persons who make no presence of religion, nor with the hypocrites, the pretenders, who have a form of religion but who have denied the power thereof."Ibid.

(5) "I hate the assembly of evil-doers" As Spurgeon interpreted these verses, "We must needs see, and speak, and trade with the men of this world, but we must on no account take our rest and solace in their empty society. Not only the profane, but the vain are to be shunned by us. All those who live for this life only are vain, chaffy, frothy men, quite unworthy of a Christian's friendship."Charles Haddon Spurgeon, p. 132.

"I will wash my hands in innocency" "This figure is probably taken from the practice of the priests (Exodus 30:17-21) or from that of the city elders (Deuteronomy 21:6-7)."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 340. We recall also the maneuver of Pilate (Matthew 27:4).

"So will I compass thine altar O Jehovah" The psalmist truly desires to worship God, but here he may only contemplate such worship as something that he will do in the future. This fits the thought that David was at that time fleeing either from King Saul, or because of the rebellion of Absalom.

"The voice of thanksgiving… all thy wondrous works" Again, these words envision a time when the psalmist will again be privileged to come to God's altar with a sacrifice, shouting his words of thanksgiving and telling of God's wonderful works.

"Jehovah, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth" Delitzsch noted that, "The poet supports his position by declaring his motive to be his love for the sanctuary of God, from which he is now far removed, without any fault of his own."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V, p. 351. See additional note on this at the end of the chapter.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

I will wash mine hands in innocency - The psalmist here refers, as another evidence of his piety, to the fact that it was a ruling purpose of his life to be pure, to worship and serve his Maker in purity. He had stated that he had no sympathy with the wicked, and that he did not make them his companions; he now states what his preferences were, and where his heart was to be found. He had loved, and he still loved the worship of God; he delighted in the pure service of the Most High. Washing the hands is an emblem of purity. So Pilate Matthew 27:24 “took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” Compare Deuteronomy 21:6-7. The word rendered “innocency” means properly “cleanness, purity;” and perhaps the allusion here is to water that is perfectly pure. The sense of the passage is, that he would endeavor to make himself pure, and would thus worship God. He would not come, practicing iniquity, or cherishing sin in his heart. He would banish all from his mind and heart and life that was wrong, and would come with true love to God, and with the spirit of a sincere worshipper.

So will I compass thine altar, O Lord - In this manner, and with this spirit, I will worship thee. The word “compass” may either mean that he would “embrace” it by throwing his arms around it, or that he would “go round” it with others in a solemn procession in worship. The idea is, that he would come to the altar of God with his offering in sincerity and truth. It was to himself one evidence of sincere piety that he so purposed in his heart, or that he was conscious of a desire to worship God in purity and truth. This desire is always an indication of true piety.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

6.I will wash my hands in purity. Referring, in these words, to the ordinary use of the sacrifices, he makes a distinction between himself and those who professed to offer the same divine worship, and thrust themselves forward in the services of the sanctuary, as if they alone had the sole right to perform them. As David, therefore, and these hypocrites were one in this respect, that they entered the sanctuary, and surrounded the sacred altar together, he proceeds to show that he was a true worshipper, declaring, that he not only diligently attended to the external rites, but came to worship God with unfeigned devotion. It is obvious that he alludes to the solemn rite of washing which was practiced under the law. ⁽⁵⁷¹⁾ He, accordingly, reproves the gross superstition of hypocrites, who in seeking only the purification of water, neglected true purification; whereas it was God’s design, in the appointment of the outward sign, to put men in mind of their inward pollution, and thus to encourage them to repentance. The outward washing alone, instead of profiting hypocrites, kept them at a greater distance from God. When the Psalmist, therefore, says, I will wash my hands in innocence, he intimates that they only gather more pollution and filth by their washings. The Hebrew word נקיון, nikkayon, signifies the cleanness of any thing, and is figuratively used for innocence. We thus see, that as hypocrites derive no moral purity whatever from their washings, David mocks at the labor with which they vainly toil and torment themselves in such rites. However high, therefore, the wicked may be exalted in the Church, and though crowds of them should fill our sanctuaries, let us, after the example of David, celebrate the outward profession of our faith in such a manner as not deceitfully to substitute its external rites in the room of true devotion. Thus shall we be pure and free from all stain of wickedness. Moreover, as the people were not permitted to touch the altar, David uses the word encompass. ⁽⁵⁷²⁾

(571) The washing of the hands in solemn protestation of innocence, on particular occasions, was enjoined by the Mosaic ritual, and was common among the Jews, Deuteronomy 21:6. It was in common use among them before prayer; and the priests, in particular, were not to perform any sacred office in the sanctuary until they had poured water from the laver, which was set in the temple for that purpose, and washed their hands, Exodus 40:30.

(572) Mudge conjectures that the expression, encompass, is probably taken from the custom of forming a ring round the altar at the time of worship. And Goodwyn informs us, that at the feast of tabernacles the people, on the seventh day, encompassed the altar seven times, carrying branches of palm trees in their hands in remembrance of the overthrow of Jericho, and singing hosannas. —Moses and Aaron, p. 132. David, however, may refer to the practice of the priests, who, when they offered sacrifices, went round about the altar; and his meaning may simply be, that as the priests first washed their hands, and then performed their sacred office at the altar; so he deeply felt the necessity of personal purity, in order to his engaging in the service of God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 26:1-12

In Psalms 26:1-12 , another psalm of David. The first is,

Judge me, O LORD; I have walked in my integrity ( Psalms 26:1 ):

The second:

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For thy loving-kindness is before my eyes: and I have walked in your truth. And I have not sat with vain persons, neither do I go in with dissemblers [with disgruntles]. I have hated the congregation of evildoers; I will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocency ( Psalms 26:2-6 ):

In the seventy-third psalm he said, "I have cleansed my hands in vain in innocency." But here, "I will wash my hands and"

so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of your wondrous works. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where your honor dwells. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with murderous men: In whose hands is mischief, in 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 stands in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD ( Psalms 26:6-12 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 26

In this individual lament psalm, which is similar to Psalms 25 but does not contain confession, David asked for God’s vindication because of his personal integrity. Psalms 26 (Psalms 26:6-8), 27 (Psalms 26:4-7), and 28 (Psalms 26:2) all reveal David’s love for God’s sanctuary and so uncover his love for the Lord.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Proof of integrity 26:4-8

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

He preferred the sanctuary of the Lord to the meeting places of the wicked (cf. Psalms 26:5). Washing the hands in innocence is a figurative way of saying that his actions were righteous (cf. Matthew 27:24). He offered sacrifices to God in worship, and praised God, rather than ignoring Him as the wicked did.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

I will wash my hands in innocency,.... The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "among innocent persons"; men of a holy harmless life and conversation; with these he determined to converse in common, and not with such as before described; or the sense is, that he would wash his hands, in token of his innocence, integrity, and uprightness, he had before spoke of, and of his having nothing to do with such evil men as now mentioned; see Deuteronomy 21:6; "hands" are the instrument of action, and to "wash" them may design the performance of good works, Job 9:30; and to do this "in innocency", or "purity", may signify the performance of them from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned; and particularly may have some respect to the lifting up of holy hands in prayer to God, previous to public worship; there seems to be an allusion to the priests washing their hands before they offered sacrifice, Exodus 30:19;

so will I compass thine altar, O Lord; frequent the house of God, where the altar was, and constantly attend the worship and ordinances of God; the work of the altar being put for the whole of divine service; the altar of burnt offering is here meant, which was a type of Christ; see

Hebrews 13:10; reference is had to the priests at the altar, who used to go round it, when they laid the sacrifice on the altar, and bound it to the horns of it, at the four corners, and there sprinkled and poured out the blood; compare Psalms 43:4; in order to which they washed their hands, as before; and in later times it was usual with the Heathens y to wash their hands before divine service.

y "----pura cum veste venito, et manibus puris sumite fontis aquam, nunc lavabo ut rem divinam faciam", Tibull. l. 2. eleg. 1. Plantus in Aullular. Act. 3. Sc. 6. Vide Homer. Odyss, 12. v. 336, 337.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:   7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.   8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.   9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:   10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.   11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.   12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

      In these verses,

      I. David mentions, as further evidence of his integrity, the sincere affection he had to the ordinances of God, the constant care he took about them, and the pleasure he took in them. Hypocrites and dissemblers may indeed be found attending on God's ordinances, as the proud Pharisee went up to the temple to pray with the penitent publican; but it is a good sign of sincerity if we attend upon them as David here tells us he did, Psalms 26:6-8; Psalms 26:6-8.

      1. He was very careful and conscientious in his preparation for holy ordinances: I will wash my hands in innocency. He not only refrained from the society of sinners, but kept himself clean from the pollutions of sin, and this with an eye to the place he had among those that compassed God's altar. "I will wash, and so will I compass the altar, knowing that otherwise I shall not be welcome." This is like that (1 Corinthians 11:28), Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat, so prepared. This denotes, (1.) Habitual preparation: "I will wash my hands in innocency; I will carefully watch against all sin, and keep my conscience pure from those dead works which defile it and forbid my drawing nigh to God." See Psalms 24:3; Psalms 24:4. (2.) Actual preparation. It alludes to the ceremony of the priests' washing when they went in to minister, Exodus 30:20; Exodus 30:21. Though David was no priest, yet, as every worshipper ought, he would look to the substance of that which the priests were enjoined the shadow of. In our preparation for solemn ordinances we must not only be able to clear ourselves from the charge of reigning infidelity or hypocrisy, and to protest our innocency of that (which was signified by washing the hands,Deuteronomy 21:6), but we must take pains to cleanse ourselves from the spots of remaining iniquity by renewing our repentance, and making fresh application of the blood of Christ to our consciences for the purifying and pacifying of them. He that is washed (that is, in a justified state) has need thus to wash his feet (John 13:10), to wash his hands, to wash them in innocency; he that is penitent is pene innocens--almost innocent; and he that is pardoned is so far innocent that his sins shall not be mentioned against him.

      2. He was very diligent and serious in his attendance upon them: I will compass thy altar, alluding to the custom of the priests, who, while the sacrifice was in offering, walked round the altar, and probably the offerers likewise did so at some distance, denoting a diligent regard to what was done and a dutiful attendance in the service. "I will compass it; I will be among the crowds that do compass it, among the thickest of them." David, a man of honour, a man of business, a man of war, thought it not below him to attend with the multitude on God's altars and could find time for that attendance. Note, (1.) All God's people will be sure to wait on God's altar, in obedience to his commands and in pursuance of his favour. Christ is our altar, not as the altar in the Jewish church, which was fed by them, but an altar that we eat of and live upon,Hebrews 13:10. (2.) It is a pleasant sight to see God's altar compassed and to see ourselves among those that compass it.

      3. In all his attendance on God's ordinances he aimed at the glory of God and was much in the thankful praise and adoration of him. He had an eye to the place of worship as the place where God's honor dwelt (Psalms 26:8; Psalms 26:8), and therefore made it his business there to honour God and to give him the glory due to his name, to publish with the voice of thanksgiving all God's wondrous works. God's gracious works, which call for thanksgiving, are all wondrous works, which call for our admiration. We ought to publish them, and tell of them, for his glory, and the excitement of others to praise him; and we ought to do it with the voice of thanksgiving, as those that are sensible of our obligations, by all ways possible, to acknowledge with gratitude the favours we have received from God.

      4. He did this with delight and from a principle of true affection to God and his institutions. Touching this he appeals to God: "Lord, thou knowest how dearly I have loved the habitation of thy house (Psalms 26:8; Psalms 26:8), the tabernacle where thou art pleased to manifest thy residence among thy people and receive their homage, the place where thy honour dwells." David was sometimes forced by persecution into the countries of idolaters and was hindered from attending God's altars, which perhaps his persecutors, that laid him under that restraint, did themselves upbraid him with as his crime. See 1 Samuel 20:27. "But, Lord," says he, "though I cannot come to the habitation of thy house, I love it; my heart is there, and it is my greatest trouble that I am not there." Note, All that truly love God truly love the ordinances of God, and therefore love them because in them he manifests his honour and they have an opportunity of honoring him. Our Lord Jesus loved his Father's honour, and made it his business to glorify him; he loved the habitation of his house, his church among men, loved it and gave himself for it, that he might build and consecrate it. Those who love communion with God, and delight in approaching him, find it to be a constant pleasure, a comfortable evidence of their integrity, and a comfortable earnest of their endless felicity.

      II. David, having given proofs of his integrity, earnestly prays, with a humble confidence towards God (such as those have whose hearts condemn them not), that he might not fall under the doom of the wicked (Psalms 26:9; Psalms 26:10). Gather not my soul with sinners, Here, 1. David describes these sinners, whom he looked upon to be in a miserable condition, so miserable that he could not wish the worst enemy he had in the world to be in a worse. "They are bloody men, that thirst after blood and lie under a great deal of the guilt of blood. They do mischief, and mischief is always in their hands. Though they get by their wickedness (for their right hand is full of bribes which they have taken to pervert justice), yet that will make their case never the better; for what is a man profited if he gain the world and lose his soul?" 2. He dread having his lot with them. He never loved them, nor associated with them, in this world, and therefore could in faith pray that he might not have his lot with them in the other world. Our souls must shortly be gathered, to return to God that gave them and will call for them again. See Job 34:14. It concerns us to consider whether our souls will then be gathered with saints or with sinners, whether bound in the bundle of life with the Lord for ever, as the souls of the faithful are (1 Samuel 25:29), or bound in the bundle of tares for the fire, Matthew 13:30. Death gathers us to our people, to those that are our people while we live, whom we choose to associate with, and with whom we cast in our lot, to those death will gather us, and with them we must take our lot, to eternity. Balaam desired to die the death of the righteous; David dreaded dying the death of the wicked; so that both sides were of that mind, which if we be of, and will live up to it, we are happy for ever. Those that will not be companions with sinners in their mirth, nor eat of their dainties, may in faith pray not to be companions with them in their misery, nor to drink of their cup, their cup of trembling.

      III. David, with a holy humble confidence, commits himself to the grace of God, Psalms 26:11; Psalms 26:12. 1. He promises that by the grace of God he would persevere in his duty: "As for me, whatever others do, I will walk in my integrity." Note, When the testimony of our consciences for us that we have walked in our integrity is comfortable to us this should confirm our resolutions to continue therein. 2. He prays for the divine grace both to enable him to do so and to give him the comfort of it: "Redeem me out of the hands of my enemies, and be merciful to me, living and dying." Be we ever so confident of our integrity, yet still we must rely upon God's mercy and the great redemption Christ has wrought out, and pray for the benefit of them. 3. He pleases himself with his steadiness: "My foot stands in an even place, where I shall not stumble and whence I shall not fall." This he speaks as one that found his resolutions fixed for God and godliness, not to be shaken by the temptations of the world, and his comforts firm in God and his grace, not to be disturbed by the crosses and troubles of the world. 4. He promises himself that he should yet have occasion to praise the Lord, that he should be furnished with matter for praise, that he should have a heart for praises, and that, though he was now perhaps banished from public ordinances, yet he should again have an opportunity of blessing God in the congregation of his people. Those that hate the congregation of evil-doers shall be joined to the congregation of the righteous and join with them in praising God; and it is pleasant doing that in good company; the more the better; it is the more like heaven.