Psalms 26; 40; 58; 61-62; 64     Listen

Plea for Redemption (Psalm 26)

A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Vindicate me, O LORD,
For I have walked in my integrity.
I have also trusted in the LORD;
I shall not slip.
2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
4 I have not sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
5 I have hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O LORD,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place where Your glory dwells.
9 Do not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the LORD.

Here, David casts himself on the Lord asking that He pay attention to his circumstances. He maintains that his troubles are undeserved; yet he is suffering. Sounds a little like Job, huh? He repeats before the Lord his innocence. David doesn't maintain that he is without sin; he simply insists that the intent of his heart is to do the will of God.

Here's how Psalm 26 is structured:

• David first seeks vindication from God regarding his integrity (verses 1-8)
• David petitions God to deliver him from the fate of the wicked (verses 9-11)
• David determines to praise the Lord for the answer (verse 12).

Times are good...or are they? (Psalm 40)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me!
14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15 Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the LORD thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

David seems to be on top of the world in the first 11 verses. He's praising God for deliverance and provision. But then...what's up beginning with verse 12. Were the first 11 verses for the purpose of reminding God in prayer all that he had done for him in the past, and now it's time to do it again? It looks like adversaries are out to kill him, but he's depending on God for deliverance. Notice verse 7, "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me." Mosaic Law dictated that each king who ascended to Israel's throne was to copy for himself the Law into his own book. Notice that provision in Deuteronomy 17:18 (see notes), "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites."

By comparison, you will notice that verses 13-17 comprise the entire Psalm 70 (see notes) with minor variations in wording.

Note the parallel between the two passages:

False gods...baaaaad (Psalm 58)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.
1 ¶ Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
6 Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7 Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 So that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth.”

Written by David, the introduction to this Psalm says, "To the Chief Musician. Set to 'Do Not Destroy.' A Michtam of David." The word "Michtam" is used in six Psalm titles, always belonging to David (Psalms 16, 56–60). All six are psalms of lament and four of the headings have historical references to David’s struggles with the Philistines (56), Saul (57, 59) and the Arameans (60).

This Psalm may be outlined as follows:

• David indicts unrighteous judges (verses 1-5)
• David calls for their swift destruction (verses 6-9)
• After the destruction of unrighteous judges, the righteous can rejoice in God’s justice (verses 10-11)

One more thing: Paul quotes verse 4 in Romans 3:13 (see notes).

Let me live long and prosper (Psalm 61)

To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.
Selah
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.

David's prayer here is for God to provide strength and longevity to his kingdom and himself. He speaks directly of himself in verse 6, "You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations." With the adversity in David's life - especially in his early years - who would have guessed that he'd die of old age? It just goes to show us: It's not how hard you live, but for whom you live. Then, after referring to himself in third person in verse 6, he adds his personal assurance of eternal life in verse 7 when he says, "He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!"

Who are you gonna trust? (Psalm 62)

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly.
Selah
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
Selah
9 Surely men of low degree are a vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than vapor.
10 Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.
11 God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
12 Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
For You render to each one according to his work.

David wrote this one as well. The Jeduthun named in the introduction is called “the king’s seer” in II Chronicles 35:15 (see notes). David wrote a song for him in which he maintains that man is unreliable as he expresses in verse 4, "they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly." However, God is strong and trustworthy as in verse 7, "In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God." You can't trust man, but you can trust God.

Incidentally, Paul may have been referencing verse 12 here when he says in Romans 2:6 (see notes), "who 'will render to each one according to his deeds.'"

A prayer for protection (Psalm 64)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.
7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
All who see them shall flee away.
9 All men shall fear,
And shall declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.
10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.

David calls upon God to protect him from his enemies. Here's David's desire in verse 2, "Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity." So...when you put your reliance on God, where does that leave you? Answer...verse 10, "The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory."

Really, there are just two main thoughts in this Psalm:

• The plot against David by his enemies (verses 1-6)
• The punishment by God of David's enemies (verses 7-10)