of David
1. Judge me, Yahweh,
For I in my integrity walk,
and in Yahweh I trust.
I will not slip.
2. Examine me, Yahweh, and test me.
Try my kidneys and my heart.
3. For your lovingkindness [is] before my eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
4. I do not sit with men of vanity,
and with those who dissemble I do not enter.
5. I hate the assembly of evil-doers,
and with the wicked ones I will not sit.
6. I will wash in innocence my palms,
and I will go around your altar, Yahweh,
7. to publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and to tell all your wonders.
8. Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house
and the place of the dwelling of your glory.
9. Do not gather with sinners my soul,
and with mortals of blood my life,
10. in whose hands [is] mischief,
and their right hand is full of bribes.
11. And I, in my integrity I will walk.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
12. My foot stands in a level place.
In the congregations I will bless Yahweh.
There is a more detailed exposition of this psalm in an earlier post. You can find it in the archives for December 2022.
Some have noted that this psalm is a chiasm.
- A verses 1-3 Walk
- B verses 4-5 the Wicked
- C verses 6-8 Worship
- B verses 9-10 the Wicked
- A verses 11-12 Walk
The psalm contains three categories of verbs that apply to David, and in each category there are seven verbs:
- Petitions: judge (1a), examine, prove and try (2); do not gather (9); redeem and be gracious (11)
- Assertions: walk and trust (1b, c); walk (3b); sit (4a); hate (5a); love (8); stand (12)
- Resolutions or promises: not slip (1d), not enter (4b), not sit (5b), wash (6a), go around (6b), walk (11a), bless (12b).
The number 7 is significant. It is the number of the Sabbath and of rest. Rest includes rest from work, from enemies and from sin. It is equivalent to worship. At least three of these elements appear in the psalm: worship and rest from sin and enemies. The psalms shows us the way to rest.
David both asserts his innocence in the present and promises or resolves on a walk of integrity for the future. Both are possible only through the grace of God granted in response to our prayers.
In all three categories David uses both negatives and positive. For example, in the first category, on the one hand are the verbs examine, prove and try and on the other do not gather (9). In the second category: I have walked in your truth and I have hated the assembly of evil-doers. In the third, I will not slip and I will go about your altar. The Christina life is antithetical, that is, it includes both a rejection of evil and the choice of what is upright.
The petition with which the psalm begins is the most important: Judge me. We live before the face of God and must always be seeking his judgment of our ways, words, thoughts and desires.
The psalm, therefore, presents us with a vivid picture of what it means to live as a Christian in a wicked world. Central to it is public worship at the altar of God. Chiefly characteristic of it is a walk of integrity and uprightness.