The Holy See
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New American Bible

2002 11 11
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Chapter 26

1

Of David. 1 Grant me justice, LORD! I have walked without blame. In the LORD I have trusted; I have not faltered.

2

Test me, LORD, and try me; search my heart and mind.

3

Your love is before my eyes; I walk guided by your faithfulness.

4

I do not sit with deceivers, nor with hypocrites do I mingle.

5

I hate the company of evildoers; with the wicked I do not sit.

6

2 I will wash my hands in innocence and walk round your altar, LORD,

7

Lifting my voice in thanks, recounting all your wondrous deeds.

8

LORD, I love the house where you dwell, the tenting-place of your glory.

9

Do not take me away with sinners, nor my life with the violent.

10

Their hands carry out their schemes; their right hands are full of bribes.

11

But I walk without blame; redeem me, be gracious to me!

 



1 [Psalm 26] Like a priest washing before approaching the altar (⇒ Exodus 30:17-21), the psalmist seeks God's protection upon entering the temple. ⇒ Psalm 26:1-3, matched by ⇒ Psalm 26:11-12, remind God of past integrity while asking for purification; ⇒ Psalm 26:4-5, matched by ⇒ Psalm 26:9-10, pray for inclusion among the just; ⇒ Psalm 26:6-8, the center of the poem, express the joy in God at the heart of all ritual.



2 [6] I will wash my hands: the washing of hands was a liturgical act (⇒ Exodus 30:19, ⇒ 21; ⇒ 40:31-32), symbolic of inner as well as outer cleanness. Cf ⇒ Isaiah 1:16.





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