Psalms 26 (KJV)

Chapter Text

26:1 Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.

26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

26:3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

26:4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

26:5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

26:6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:

26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

26:8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

26:9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

26:10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.

26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

26:12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "judge", "lord", "walked", "mine", "integrity", "trusted", and "therefore". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "judge" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local KJV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "judge" and "lord" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "judge" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.