Psalm 26-28

Psalm 26-28 New King James Version (NKJV)

A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

A Psalm of David.

26 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 ^[a]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 ^[b]where Your glory dwells.

⁹ Do^[c] 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.

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
² When the wicked came against me
To eat^[d] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
³ Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the ^[e]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
⁵ For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be ^[f]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of ^[g]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait^[h] on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Rejoicing in Answered Prayer

A Psalm of David.

28 To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock:
Do not be silent to me,
Lest, if You are silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear the voice of my supplications
When I cry to You,
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

³ Do not ^[i]take me away with the wicked
And with the workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.
⁴ Give them according to their deeds,
And according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
Give them according to the work of their hands;
Render to them what they deserve.
⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,
Nor the operation of His hands,
He shall destroy them
And not build them up.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

⁸ The Lord is ^[j]their strength,
And He is the saving refuge of His ^[k]anointed.
⁹ Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever.