Psalm 26:6
6 I will wash [rachats] mine hands
[kaph] in innocency [niqqayown]: so will I compass [cabab]
thine altar [mizbeach], O LORD [Yahovah]: KJV-Interlinear
6 I
shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Thine altar, O Lord, NASB
We have in this verse the
very basis and foundation of the spiritual life.
The washing of hands, is
one of the fundamental concepts, symbolic of the cleansing of sin from one’s
life. Today we call it confession of sins in order to get into fellowship with
God. Confession is the spiritual equivalent of the washing away of the filth of
one’s life, making a person presentable and acceptable to God.
Confession only applies
to believers in Christ of course. It does not apply to unbelievers.
Unbelievers only have one
cleansing that is applicable to them, and that is the cleansing that occurs at
the point of salvation. Thereafter, confession on an ongoing basis is the
applicable principle for the function of the believer in their spiritual life.
To compass or go about
the altar, is another expression symbolizing the entire learning and use and
growing process in the spiritual life.
The altar represents the
work of Christ, as well as the entire plan of God in every detail.
Therefore encompassing
the altar into one’s life is an expression describing the daily study process,
the learning process, the use the applicable principles in one’s life, the
gaining of understanding and the development of wisdom, all of which contribute
to the entirety and completion of one’s spiritual essence.
This process is in
complete contrast to the activities of evil, or in other words, of those who
are not interested and/or are basically indifferent toward the Bible and all
that it stands for.
Therefore, as David
described here in this psalm, the activities of one’s Bible study and spiritual
learning process, are the preferred approach to life, where the individual will
benefit in real terms, forever, by this process.
