Psalm 26

1 Lord, you be the judge and prove that I have lived a pure life.

    I have depended on you, Lord, to keep me from falling.

2 Look closely at me, Lord, and test me.

    Judge my deepest thoughts and emotions.

3 I always remember your faithful love.

    I depend on your faithfulness.

4 I don’t run around with troublemakers.

    I have nothing to do with hypocrites.

5 I hate being around evil people.

    I refuse to join those gangs of crooks.

6 Lord, I wash my hands to make myself pure,

    so that I can come to your altar.

7 I sing a song to give you thanks,

    and I tell about all the wonderful things you have done.

8 Lord, I love the house where you live,

    the place where your glory is.

9 Lord, don’t treat me like one of those sinners.

    Don’t kill me with those murderers.

10 They are guilty of cheating people.

    They take bribes to do wrong.

11 But I am innocent,

    so be kind to me and save me.

12 I am safe from all danger

    as I stand here praising you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

(Easy-to-Read Version)

For the month of November I am sharing Psalms which contain the word thanks or thanksgiving. Psalm 26 is called a psalm of vindication, as David pleads his case before God. Yet David was as big a sinner as anyone, as you may recall from the whole Bethsheba story (2 Samuel 11).

But I don’t think we should read this Psalm thinking of these as David’s words. They should be our words. If we have committed any of these sins (or any other sins, of which we each have a long list), all we have to do is ask for God’s forgiveness and those sins are washed away. Then all that is left is for us to thank and praise God for His goodness.  

After you read 2 Samuel 11, you'll know why I thought of this picture, even though there is no one on this roof top.