Psalm 26 (Bible Marathon Day 280)

Psalm 26 (Bible Marathon Day 280)

Psalm 26[a]
Prayer of Innocence

1 Of David.

I
Judge me, Lord!
For I have walked in my integrity.
In the Lord I trust;
I do not falter.
2 Examine me, Lord, and test me;
search my heart and mind.
3 Your mercy is before my eyes;
I walk guided by your faithfulness.
II
4 I do not sit with worthless men,
nor with hypocrites do I mingle.
5 I hate an evil assembly;
with the wicked I do not sit.
6 I will wash my hands[b] in innocence
so that I may process around your altar, Lord,
7 To hear the sound of thanksgiving,
and recount all your wondrous deeds.
8 Lord, I love the refuge of your house,
the site of the dwelling-place of your glory.
III
9 Do not take me away with sinners,
nor my life with the men of blood,
10 In whose hands there is a plot,
their right hands full of bribery.
11 But I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, be gracious to me!
12 My foot stands on level ground;[c]
in assemblies I will bless the Lord.

Footnotes:

Psalm 26 Like a priest washing before approaching the altar (Ex 30:17–21), the
psalmist seeks God’s protection upon entering the Temple. Ps 26:1–3, matched by Ps
26:11–12, remind God of past integrity while asking for purification; Ps 26:4–5, matched
by Ps 26:9–10, pray for inclusion among the just; Ps 26:6–8, the center of the poem,
express the joy in God at the heart of all ritual.
26:6 I will wash my hands: the washing of hands was a liturgical act (Ex 30:19, 21;
40:31–32), symbolic of inner as well as outer cleanness, cf. Is 1:16.
26:12 On level ground: in safety, where there is no danger of tripping and falling. In
assemblies: at the Temple. Having walked around the altar, the symbol of God’s
presence, the psalmist blesses God.

Psalm 25 (Bible Marathon Day 280)

Psalm 25 (Bible Marathon Day 280)

Psalm 25[a]
Confident Prayer for Forgiveness and Guidance
1 Of David.

I
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul,
2 my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be disgraced;
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
3 No one is disgraced who waits for you,
but only those who are treacherous without cause.
4 Make known to me your ways, Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long.
6 Remember your compassion and your mercy, O Lord,
for they are ages old.
7 Remember no more the sins of my youth;
remember me according to your mercy,
because of your goodness, Lord.
II
8 Good and upright is the Lord,
therefore he shows sinners the way,
9 He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
pardon my guilt, though it is great.
12 Who is the one who fears the Lord?
God shows him the way he should choose.
13 He will abide in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The counsel of the Lord belongs to those who fear him;
and his covenant instructs them.
15 My eyes are ever upon the Lord,
who frees my feet from the snare.
III
16 Look upon me, have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart;
bring me out of my distress.
18 Look upon my affliction and suffering;
take away all my sins.
19 See how many are my enemies,
see how fiercely they hate me.
20 Preserve my soul and rescue me;
do not let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
I wait for you, O Lord.
22 [b]Redeem Israel, O God,
from all its distress!

Footnotes:

Psalm 25 A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The
psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God
who forgives and guides.
25:22 A final verse beginning with the Hebrew letter pe is added to the normal twenty-
two-letter alphabet. Thus the letters aleph, lamed, and pe open the first, middle (Ps
25:11), and last lines of the Psalm. Together, they spell aleph, the first letter of the
alphabet, from a Hebrew root that means “to learn.”

Psalm 24 (Bible Marathon Day 280)

Psalm 24 (Bible Marathon Day 280)

Psalm 24[a]
The Glory of God in Procession to Zion
1 A psalm of David.

I
The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds,
the world and those who dwell in it.
2 For he founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.
II
3 Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?
Who can stand in his holy place?
4 [b]“The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who has not given his soul to useless things,
what is vain.
5 He will receive blessings from the Lord,
and justice from his saving God.
6 Such is the generation that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.”
Selah
III
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;[c]
be lifted, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.
8 Who is this king of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in war.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.
10 Who is this king of glory?
The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.
Selah

Footnotes:

Psalm 24 The Psalm apparently accompanied a ceremony of the entry of God (invisibly
enthroned upon the ark), followed by the people, into the Temple. The Temple
commemorated the creation of the world (Ps 24:1–2). The people had to affirm their
fidelity before being admitted into the sanctuary (Ps 24:3–6; cf. Ps 15). A choir identifies
the approaching God and invites the very Temple gates to bow down in obeisance (Ps
24:7–10).
24:4–5 Lit., “the one whose hands are clean.” The singular is used for the entire class
of worshipers.
24:7, 9 Lift up your heads, O gates…you ancient portals: the literal meaning would
involve disassembly of the gates, since the portcullis (a gate that moves up and down)
was unknown in the ancient world. Extra-biblical parallels might also suggest a full
personification of the circle of gate towers: they are like a council of elders, bowed down
and anxious, awaiting the return of the army and the great warrior gone to battle.