Psalm 26:12

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:12

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12 My foot [regel] standeth [`amad] in an even place [miyshowr]: in the congregations [maqhel] will I bless [barak] the LORD [Yahovah]. KJV-Interlinear

12 My foot stands on a level place; In the congregations I shall bless the Lord.  NASB

The foot, ‘regel,’ refers to the foundation or stability of one’s life.

And in this psalm David is standing on an even place or on level ground.

The word for even place, ‘miyshower,’ refers to the straightness or evenness of a thing. And in this verse it refers to the righteousness and justice of God, and the overall content of the word of God in principle.

Congregations, refers to people in general.

In this psalm, David has indicated that he does not want to be included or associated with those people who reject God, or Christ, or Bible doctrine in general.

To associate with people who reject God and doctrine, and reject the various mandates and obligations and responsibilities of the Bible imposes on each of us, means that you subscribe to any or many of the views or opinions or philosophies or beliefs of this world.

Bible doctrine provides you with a solid level stable foundation on which to place your life, on which you can stand and walk and function in your life without being knocked over or without stumbling as you live from day-to-day.

The world will throw all kinds of curves at you, to cause you to stumble, but those are only environmental hazards of living in this world.

The real you is what you think, and what you think is in your soul, and the world cannot cause your soul to stumble so long as you have Bible doctrine functioning within your mind and thoughts.

The world provides uneven ground and many unseen landmines. And when those things exist in your soul then you are walking blind into the many traps that the world holds for you.

Bible doctrine provides you with the map of discernment that will protect your soul, which is, or should be the real focus and essence of your life.

Psalm 26:11

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:11

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11 But as for me, I will walk [yalak] in mine integrity [tom]: redeem [padah] me, and be merciful [chanan] unto me. KJV-Interlinear

11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; Redeem me, and be gracious to me.  NASB

There are two patterns of life that you can live by in this world. The first pattern of course is living by the word of God. That doesn’t mean a self-righteous snippy snooty type of attitude towards anyone else, or a holier than thou type of attitude. What it does mean, is that you are obedient to the mandates that are stated in the Bible, and you live a normal decent responsible life, with the standards from the Bible serving as your foundation for how you live in life.

And those standards apply only to believers in Christ, who are to follow the mandates of God, which begin with confession, repeated as often as is necessary in one’s daily life in order to live in the spiritual sphere, which is where your spiritual life functions. Next is to pursue a daily study of Bible doctrine, which helps you stay focused on the God side of life and not on the worldly side of life. And the daily study while in fellowship, serves as the academic environment in which you learn and understand and grow up in your spiritual life and spiritual preparation for both now and all of eternity.

The spiritual life is faith based on confidence established through wisdom which is developed from understanding that is constructed from knowledge which is learned from a daily study of the word of God.

The spiritual life is not pretense, not phony, not a self-righteous air about oneself, not looking down at the floor in superficial humility or shuffling of one’s feet, and certainly not the use of pious rhetoric so as to impress or prove to others, one spiritual status.

Impressing people or proving to people that you have some form of spiritual legitimacy, is not a part of the biblical mandates. The only person that will evaluate your spiritual life is God, and he evaluates you based on the content of your soul, not the outward display of your looks or actions.

The second pattern of life, which most people in this world follow, is simply anything and everything that excludes the spiritual life.

The second pattern of life is the worldly pattern. All unbelievers live by this pattern of life. All believers who are not obedient to the mandates described in the Bible, live this worldly pattern. And any pattern of life that excludes biblical discernment and understanding, is a pattern based on arbitrary standards, compromised standards, politically correct or a socially acceptable standards, all of which can change in a heartbeat as their popularity and acceptance in society dictates.

The worldly pattern of life is a filler pattern. It provides volume in history, but is temporary, and ends when life ends.

The result of following a worldly pattern means no blessing or reward from God.

And when David stated that he did not want to be numbered or associated with people who follow and live by the worldly pattern of life, he is meaning that he does not want to be included in the type of evaluation that those people are going to receive in life.

Worldly people are losers. And David does not want to be associated with losers.

Those who follow the spiritual pattern are winners. And that is where David wants to be, and that is where we all should be.

To walk in my integrity, as David states here in this verse, is not a reference to human integrity or human righteousness, for those terms are really worldly terms that attempt to place justification on human effort.

Integrity which is legitimate, comes only from God. And the only way a person can acquire that legitimate integrity is to learn it, and come into possession of it, when it is installed into ones soul by means of a daily study of Bible doctrine.

Redeem me, when one is already a believer in Christ, does not refer to the original redemption of salvation, but is a reference to a purchasing out of, or a separation from, the worldly views of life. And God does this when you learn doctrine. The transformation of your soul through the learning of truth and subsequent spiritual growth serve as the redemption process out of, and away from, worldly views and attitudes and opinions and beliefs.

Mercy is grace in action. Gods policy is grace, which is God’s favor bestowed on the individual. God’s favor is God’s promise, and mercy is Gods action on that promise.

If you follow the spiritual pattern of life in the correct manner, then the actions of the world are impotent, and the actions of God are permanent.

Psalm 26:10

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:10

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10 In whose hands [yad] is mischief [zimmah], and their right hand [yamiyn] is full [male'] of bribes [shachad]. KJV-Interlinear

10 In whose hands is a wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. NASB

In yesterday’s study, we saw how David, or any mature believer for that matter, did not want God to associate him with the worthless people of the world, namely sinners or bloody man.

Sinners are defined as a criminal, one who is accounted as guilty, an offender, one who has not repented, one who leads astray, one who is led astray, one whose rights are forfeit, one who requires cleansing.

Bloody men on the other hand, are defined as those who shed blood, blood is associated with death, therefore those who cause or pursue death by pursuing an empty life, those who are naïve, those who stand still, those who pursue emptiness, those who are dumb, or dumbfounded, those who cast out or are cast out themselves, those who are purged or purge life.

And here in this verse we have additional descriptions of worthless people. In their hands is mischief.

Hands typically symbolize the works or efforts of one’s life, or how you function from day-to-day in life, or they represent your day-to-day pattern of life.

The word for mischief, ‘zimmah,’ refers to a plan, a bad plan, heinous crime, lewdness, empty efforts, empty purpose or thought, wickedness.

The word for bribes, refers to a donation toward an undeserved redemption, a false reward, a payment for hire.

So you can see that there are masses of people out there in the world, that pursue false pursuits, empty pursuits, and make attempts to buy their way into success or salvation or a destiny of their design, which is really nothing more than an example of human works and human effort trying to accomplish the things that God provides freely to us, but in total disregard toward God.

Man by mans efforts is a path towards failure, total failure.

Man by mans efforts is a path towards an empty life, that goes nowhere, that achieves nothing, that has only one destiny which is failure.

And David didn’t want to be associated with people who by their own choice, are losers in life.

This life and eternity offer phenomenal rewards and blessings beyond imagination, but to attain those rewards and blessings you have to be prepared in a manner that God has designed.

To reject God’s design and pursue your own course is a fool’s choice, and since eternity is infinite, then your potential loss is infinite. And that is a lot to lose.

Psalm 26:9

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:9

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9 Gather ['acaph] not my soul [nephesh] with sinners [chatta'], nor my life [chay] with bloody [dam] men ['enowsh]: KJV-Interlinear

9 Do not take my soul away along with sinners, Nor my life with men of bloodshed, NASB

My soul, refers to the person of the individual believer. It refers to me as a person. It refers to you as a person. It distinguishes you as a believer in Christ, as a separate and independent and autonomous person, unique in this world.

One of the many objectives for your spiritual life is to be set apart from the masses of humanity that do not have or don’t pursue their relationship with God.

The phrases, along with sinners, and with men of bloodshed, are idioms, phrases where David is asking God to exclude him from these groups of people. To not number him among them. To not include him in the dealings and manners of life that are common to society and the world in general.

As we saw the other day in our study in Isaiah, there are basically two classes of people within the human race. First there are unbelievers, which makes up the largest group. Second, there are believers, or those who have believed in the Savior who is Jesus Christ.

And among believers there are at least three subgroups. The first and largest group, is of believers who are saved because they have believed in Christ, but they don’t pursue their spiritual life, remaining spiritual infants or babies, never growing up, and never accomplishing life as God intended for them.

The second group, within the class of believers, includes those that learn some doctrine, know some truth, and attain some form of spiritual growth, but are more or less fickle and inconsistent within their spiritual lives.

The third group, is the smallest group which includes those believers who have pursued their spiritual life by means of instruction and learning, and have attained the highest level within their spiritual life, which is spiritual maturity. It is this group of believers who pursue their spiritual knowledge and understanding and wisdom, no matter what the circumstances of their life might be.

Within the history of the human race, there are those people who make a difference, and those people who do not.

And making a difference in human history has everything to do with the function of the spiritual life in history, and nothing to do with human discovery, or human invention, or human ingenuity. Many discoverers and inventors and leaders of history have been unbelievers. They did not accomplish anything on their own except by way of the grace of God, who put them into history at a time of God’s choosing, not theirs.

No person chooses the time in which they will be born into history. God alone makes that decision.

Within the class of humanity that has and will believe in Christ, the same principle of inclusion in history applies, however, believers have additional opportunities that are potentially available to them, also by the grace of God.

Unfortunately, most believers choose wrong and never discover those opportunities.

Therefore, there are people in history who make a difference, which means a difference that counts not on a temporary basis but on a forever basis. And their lives have extraordinary meaning and purpose during their life in history.

And then there are people who are nothing more than historical filler. They become a part of the swirling effect of the world and the jungle of life, and of society in general, with nothing to add to eternity.

All of the discoveries and inventions of man, certainly have tendencies toward conveniences and perhaps higher qualities of life in this world. But those conveniences or higher qualities are only temporary, and are only as good as long as a person is alive in this world. They do not carry over into the next life.

The only thing that carries over into the next life is your salvation, and the spiritual content of your soul.

The things and gadgets of this life do not advance into the next life.

The only way to have meaning and purpose in your life, in this life, is to advance in your spiritual life. And the only way to advance in your spiritual life, is to learn Bible doctrine. And learning Bible doctrine is a lifelong commitment that does not end while you are in this life.

Spiritually immature people, remain in their immaturity, because they have no commitment, no desire, no drive to better themselves in Gods eyes. They are only satisfied with how they see themselves, or how other people see them in life.

Spiritually mature people, have a commitment and a desire and a drive that lasts their entire life, and never ends.

In this Psalm, the desire is to not be numbered among those who would be historical filler. But rather be numbered among those who will be historical successes, both now and forever.

And the remarkable thing is, that each and every person has the opportunity to be the success. But unfortunately most do not pursue that opportunity.

Psalm 26:8

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:8

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8 LORD [Yahovah], I have loved ['ahab] the habitation [ma ‘own] of thy house [bayith], and the place [maqowm] where thine honour [kabowd] dwelleth [mishkan].KJV-Interlinear

8 O Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, And the place where Thy glory dwells. NASB

David loves living in God’s house. And in God’s house is where God’s glory also resides as a permanent home.

The obvious question is, what or where is God’s house?

David didn’t live in the temple, because the temple did not exist.

David didn’t live in heaven, because obviously David was here on earth living in Israel.

David didn’t live in a synagogue or church.

So what is David referring to, when he is talking about God’s house?

The word for habitation, ‘ma own,’ means an abode of God, a place of dwelling, a retreat, a place of habitation.

The word for house, ‘bayith,’ means a place that is built, a place that is constructed, a place that is set up, a place that is inside, a home.

The word for honor, ‘kabowd,’ means heavy weight as in abundant or vast, glory, honor.

The word for dwell, ‘mishkan,’ means permanent residence, shepherds hut, and animals lair, a place of permanent habitation, a tent.

So David’s dwelling, David’s home, is and was a place that he lived in, all of the time, all of his life. That same home is God’s home, which is also the residence of God’s glory.

Here in this world on this planet, there is only one such residence which contains God’s glory, and in which not only David but every living human being, can reside.

And that residence of course is Bible doctrine, which is the substance and building material for the construction of God’s temple and residence and palace, and fortress, within the soul of the believer.

Needless to say, you have to learn Bible doctrine in order to incorporate it and assimilate it into your soul, therefore constructing and producing a residence, God’s residence, within your soul, which is where you live all of the time.

Therefore, rather than living in and among or being a part of a world of evil people, where any residence would be empty and void of any substance, then learning Bible doctrine and producing an eternal and permanent residence within your soul, which is a part of the very essence of yourself, is a far, far better choice.

David understood this, and so should we.

Psalm 26:7

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:7

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7 That I may publish [shama`] with the voice [qowl] of thanksgiving [towdah], and tell [caphar] of all thy wondrous works [pala']. KJV-Interlinear

7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And declare all Thy wonders. NASB

The word for publish, ‘shama,’ means to hear intelligently, to be obedient, to be attentive, to pay attention, to concentrate, to discern, to give ear to, to perceive.

The word for tell, ‘caphar,’ means to score with a mark, to make a scratch as in a count, to enumerate, to declare, to document, to scribe, to record.

Wondrous works, ‘pala,’ means properly, to separate, to discern, to be great, to be too high, to be hidden, miracles.

David bases his boasting from within himself, by means of the knowledge and understanding that he possesses from doctrine that he has learned, and come to understand.

Spiritually dysfunctional people, base their boasting on their imagined importance from things that impress themselves, or from things that they presume that are impressive to others.

David, or the legitimate believer, is one who advances in their spiritual life, and comes to know God and life, based not on their own deeds, but on Gods management of life and history, and things that swirl all around, things that we generally know nothing about.

Great deeds from God are not the parting of the sea, or lightning striking evil gangs, or other similar and public events.  Great deeds from God are those many and innumerable things that occur within our lives, most of which we are unaware, and may never know about.

By hindsight we can look back and then maybe see our own stupidity and how incredibly we were able to survive some incident, but not by means of our own brilliance.

Often times things that are totally unrelated in life, come together, that affect us, that we could not possibly accomplish ourselves.

We can look around at other people or even countries, and wonder how in the world they get along, and yet they do.  Even our own government is so full of incompetence and stupidity, and yet those folks are supposedly running our country.  Whatever will happen to us all?  And yet we keep on, keeping on.

Jesus Christ controls history.  Man does not.

Man may think he has the power and wisdom to manage humanity, but not so.  And in spite of mans efforts, God keeps everything on an even keel, so to speak, such that history will survive from one generation to the next.

And so David documents, scribes, makes impressions on his own mind and memory, as to the phenomenal things that God does, things that are difficult if not impossible to put into words.

Each person is unique.  Each person has their own life and story to write for themselves.  But when it is all said and done, no ones life could continue or even become complete without Gods participation.  And God is in every aspect of our life, even though we most generally mess things up.

Psalm 26:6

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:6

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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.

Psalm 26:5

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:5

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5 I have hated [sane'] the congregation [qahal] of evil doers [ra`a`]; and will not sit [yashab] with the wicked [rasha`]. KJV-Interlinear

5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.  NASB

The phrase assembly or congregation of evildoers, does not merely refer to a group people that are getting together to plot or plan bad things.

This is a phrase that refers to the general concept of public policy or of the norms and standards of society that incorporate ideas and beliefs and philosophies in such things that are clear departures from truth, and therefore are evil by their very nature.

These concepts deal more than just with crime or social morals, it also includes government policy, laws and regulations, society’s acceptance of social decay, and things like that.

The word hate, does not refer to anger or emotional reactions out of bitterness or revenge, but it refers to the decision-making process where a person rejects, or does not want to go along with, the popular thought or beliefs of society.

In other words the advancing believer does the simply go along of a compromising position, just to get along with people around him. The advancing believer sees and recognizes the false concepts or the errors in this application of true principles, and simply does not enable them or promote them or in any way approve of them, in order to simply gain the approval of those around him.

The advancing believer does not associate or participate or promote evil ideas.

This does not make him arrogant or self-righteous, or even intolerant. However, choosing to disassociate with practices and beliefs that are clearly wrong, is the application of clear and consistent principles which the believer tries as best he can, to adhere to, based on clear and consistent learning from legitimate instruction of doctrine.

Rejection of a practice or policy just because you do not like it or approve of it, is not the same as rejecting something because of a legitimate Biblical principle.

Correct discernment of truth is based on objective bible study instruction, and never on arbitrary or accepted beliefs or habits.

Likewise, the advancing believer does not become a public nuisance or even judgmental or even accusatory of those who pursue wrong ideas. It is not believers place to judge, but to leave that in God’s hands, without comment.

Psalm 26:4

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:4

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

4 I have not sat [yashab] with vain [shav'] persons [math], neither will I go in [bow'] with dissemblers [`alam]. KJV-Interlinear

4 I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. NASB

From the previous two verses we have already seen that an actual and legitimate evaluation is based on the content of the soul of the believer.

God performs evaluations, not people.

God’s evaluation is based on what truth or understanding or wisdom resides within the soul of the believer, as well as their application of that content to their daily life.

In this world there a lot of believers in Christ. Unfortunately most fit into the category of vain, or phony, or pretenders.

The word for dissemblers, means one who is hidden or concealed, and it applies to those who hide their true purpose or design from people, or who try to conceal their real character and intentions.

These would be people who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. They know the vocabulary, they know all the right things to say, and they pretend to be things that they are not.

And here David makes it very clear that his spiritual life is legitimate and genuine, because it is based on knowledge and understanding and wisdom contained within his soul, as well as his following those practices in his daily life throughout his life.

This does not imply that David lived a perfect life, because he made lots of mistakes during his life. But during his life his numbers of mistakes were far fewer than the many, many years that he lived in accordance with God’s will.

What happens with children of school-age, who don’t read their assignments, don’t do their homework, cut class and basically just coast through their school years with emphasis on their social life or anything else except their daily homework?

By continuing that pattern they don’t know anything because they haven’t learned anything, and they become losers life. In order to get through life, you either have to change, or fake your way through life. And in this world if you rely on pretense or faking your way, then sooner or later your life will collapse.

It’s no different in the spiritual life. Most if not all people in this world know some scripture of some kind. Whether it is simply knowing the story of Adam and Eve, or Moses, or the baby Jesus, almost everybody knows something about the Bible. And this includes most unbelievers in the world.

As far as believers go, most have memorized some verses, and many, if not all, have a certain sincerity about them or they have good intentions about living a good life. So they base their Christianity on how they live their life, or how their life appears to others, rather than the measure of the content of doctrine in their soul.

And so they live their lives deceiving themselves, just as school-age children deceive themselves by thinking that they are doing enough, that they know enough, and all the talk about study and homework is a waste of their time.

And unfortunately, this is the way most believers think and conduct their lives. They do not want to be under instruction every day of their lives, they think they know enough to conduct a study on their own. And that in their eyes is sufficient.

And this would be well and good if indeed they practiced a genuine daily study, including research, so that they could know and understand what it is they were reading. But such is not the case, as most believers are inconsistent in their studies, if indeed they even have a study, and therefore they are inconsistent within the function of their spiritual life.

Without truth and understanding and wisdom acquired in the correct way, then all you have is pretense. Because if you don’t know something, and you present yourself as knowing something, then you are phony.

Attempting to evaluate yourself is what a fool does. God is the only qualified evaluator, and his evaluation is accurately based on what is or is not in your soul.

Therefore, if you genuinely desire a good evaluation from God, then you have to learn and grow in accordance with Gods mandates, not by means of your own designs.

Psalm 26:3

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:3

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

3 For thy lovingkindness [checed] is before mine eyes [`ayin]: and I have walked [halak] in thy truth ['emeth]. KJV-Interlinear

3 For Thy lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Thy truth.  NASB

Everyone would love to have a friend in high places. The reason for that is there a lot of advantages when you have friends in high places.

In some cases people would try to take advantage of such a friendship, becoming a leech, and just keeping their friendship because of self-serving purposes.

But there is a legitimate relationship through friendship where the individual is honest and responsible in their life, but there are times when you simply need the help of somebody who is in a position to help.

God, of course, is in the highest possible position that anyone can be in, and God has unlimited power, unlimited ability, and unlimited resources. So if you were to have a friend in high places, then God would be the best possible friend that anyone could have.

The word lovingkindness, indicates a devotion of care and favor with which God looks upon and applies to, the individual who is seeking his favor.

In the previous verse God is asked to examine the soul and emotions, and the genuineness of the Christian or believers attitude and preparation within his life in accordance with God’s word.

The purpose of the examination is to determine and define and discover the dimension of God’s favor towards individual.

The believer who has a genuine desire to be as good as he can be within his own spiritual life, sooner or later wants to know where he sits in his relationship with God.

Is God my friend? Do I have God’s favor? Am I where I should be in order to have those privileges? How do I know?

And without some sort of measure, without some sort of standard, the individual simply can’t know where he stands in the eyes of God.

And so there is only one way to know, and that way is by means of knowledge Bible doctrine.

The person who pretends to be godly or spiritual, but never really pursues a course of action to accomplish that status, is phony to say the least, and will never have the degree of God’s favor that he presumes that he has.

It is better to know for certain, because it is very easy to deceive oneself into thinking you are where you need to be, when you really aren’t.

And so the previous verse, examine me, is directed toward God, because God is the only objective examiner. None of us have the perfect objectivity for the evaluation of ourselves.

And thus, the final phrase of this verse, I have walked in your truth, which identifies the entire spiritual growth process by which the believer with a genuine and legitimate desire, to advance to and attain a genuine and legitimate spiritual status that will pass inspection, that will pass evaluation, and achieve the desired goal, which is God’s friendship, and thus God’s favor.

To walk, is to study and to learn and to use what you learn and most important, to comply with Gods spiritual process, not yours, in that effort.

Psalm 26:2

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:2

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

2 Examine [bachan] me, O LORD [Yahovah], and prove [nacah] me; try [tsaraph] my reins [kilyah] and my heart [leb].KJV-Interlinear

2 Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.  NASB

A complete examination is requested of God in order to verify the existence of a sound spiritual foundation and life within the believer.

The words for examine, prove, and try, are all related in one way or another to the examination or testing of precious metals.

To examine, is a method for verifying the genuineness and therefore the value.

To try, is typically used in connection with an examination of smells and odors, and is typically used for foods or plants to determine their goodness or freshness. When testing metals then the examination would be for color or the observation of contaminants or impurities, and therefore the quality of the metal.

To try, is an examination of the strengths, durability, or sustaining power or ability of a metal.

The one performing examination is the Lord, Jesus Christ. Therefore, the examination is thorough and complete, objective and fair.

What is being examined are the reins and the heart of the individual believer.

The reins, have been used in Scriptures to identify the bowels, or the seat or source of one’s affections and emotions. This examination looks at the stability, the poise, and a genuine desire, a genuine deep desire, of the believer’s attitude toward God, Christ, and Bible doctrine. This looks at the believers commitment, not pretense, towards sticking to their daily study and use of Bible doctrine within their daily life.

The heart is the thinking or circulation aspect of the soul. It represents or identifies the thoughts and activity of the thinking processes of the individual.

What you think is what you are. And if you have Bible doctrine in your soul, placed their by consistent and regular daily Bible study, then your thoughts will be along the lines of objectivity and accurate thinking of the truths of life, and proper orientation to the real realities of life.

If you lack Bible doctrine in your soul, then your mind is opened to the chaos and nonsense of the thinking of this world.

We as believers, engage in our daily Bible study not to learn some mysterious secret that no one else has discovered over these many thousands of years, not to gain some magic potion or access to a miracle for one’s own use, not to make ourselves into some super person that can accumulate brownie points or special things from God.

We engage in our daily Bible study so that our minds and thoughts and actions will continue on a daily basis after a pattern that is consistent with truth.

Bible doctrine is a system of structure and boundaries that helps us keep our soul healthy, and growing, and connected to the realities of life, so that we can be oriented properly and not fooled by the deceptions and distortions and lies of this world.

Bible doctrine keeps us on track within our spiritual life. Bible doctrine helps us bear up under the burdens of life in this world. Bible doctrine is not a magic potion that will make the problems of life go away, it helps you face them, and deal with them as they happen in your life.

You can ignore God and doctrine to try to make your own way through life, but that is a fool’s choice.

If you were to sum up all of life that exists in this world, into one word, then that word would be, temporary.

If you were to sum up all of life that exists in the spiritual world, into one word, then that word would be, eternal.

Anything that is temporary is empty and will amount to nothing.

Anything that is eternal, has great intrinsic value and will continue on forever.

So which is better, to invest in the temporary, or to invest in the eternal? How do you do that?

Psalm 26:1

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 26:1

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

1 A Psalm of David [David].

Judge [shaphat] me, O LORD [Yahovah]; for I have walked [halak] in mine integrity [tom]: I have trusted [batach] also in the LORD [Yahovah]; therefore I shall not slide [ma`ad]. KJV-Interlinear

A Psalm of David

1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. NASB

Vindicate means to pronounce sentence or to judge to govern or to litigate in one’s behalf, to evaluate, to justify, to defend.

And why would God vindicate anyone?

God evaluates and judges everything and everyone based on truth. Truth is the perfect standard against which everything is compared. Anything that does not match up with truth, is rejected.

Integrity, is the measure of truth that exists within the individual. Needless to say the only way you can obtain truth is through the daily study the word God.

You have to study something in order to learn it, you have to learn something in order to understand it, you have to understand something in order to use it, and all of that, as it relates to truth, creates the possession of truth within your soul.

Walking in integrity, is simply an expression for living your daily life in accordance with the principles and precepts and mandates of God. And you cannot know God’s principles, precepts or mandates unless you learn them.

And of course you can’t live by them unless they are incorporated into your soul.

Trust, means to take refuge, to place confidence in, to look toward.

Therefore, when you learn Bible doctrine and incorporate it into your daily life and thoughts, and as you grow up in your spiritual life towards spiritual maturity, then by default you place your life within the trust of God.

Vindication or justification or proving that you are in the right, is a prerogative that belongs to God.

You can neither earn nor deserve vindication.

However, where truth exists then God will always without fail, support it.

Without truth you have no integrity. Without integrity you have no justification for the content of your life.

Vindication is dependent on truth. Therefore, if you expect any kind of good evaluation of yourself, then you must learn Bible doctrine. And not only learn it, but incorporate it in your daily life.