Chapter Twenty-Six

The superscription “before his anointing” is not found in the Hebrew Bible, but is in the LXX and the Vulgate. This superscription may be understood as an indication that the psalm was written by David before his anointing before the people as king of Israel. Since the psalm depicts David’s position as oppressed and abandoned by all, even by his parents (and this happened during the time of persecutions from Saul, when David’s relatives were afraid to enter into relations with him), then with good reason the psalm should be considered as written during the persecutions from Saul, rather than from Absalom, by which time David’s parents could hardly have been alive.

Since the Lord is my light and my strength, I do not fear the attack of enemies and their multitudes: they will perish (1–3). I beseech the Lord to give me the ability to dwell in His Tent, where I will not fear enemies, but will sing the Lord (4–6). But now, when enemies surround me and I am abandoned even by my relatives, I beseech You, O Lord, to protect me (7–12). I believe that I will remain alive and am strengthened in heart (13–14).

Psalm 26:2. If evildoers come upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and my foes, they themselves will stumble and fall. “Devour my flesh”—to eat my body, to destroy me, to kill me. This was the goal that Saul sought in his many persecutions of David.

Psalm 26:3. If an army should encamp against me, my heart will not fear; if war should rise against me, yet will I trust. Whatever number of enemies might rise up against David, and however completely alone David remained in struggle with them, his “heart will not fear”; he will not lose courage, for his protector is the Lord.

Psalm 26:4. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to visit His holy temple, “To behold the beauty of the Lord,”—that is, to be present at the performance of worship, in which all of David was filled with exalted thoughts. The Hebrew “noham” can be translated “goodwill,” that is, David desired to live at the temple and to enjoy the goodwill of the Deity.

Psalm 26:5. For He will hide me in His Tent in the day of trouble, He will conceal me in the hidden place of His dwelling, He will lift me up upon a rock. “He will conceal me in the hidden place of His dwelling”—there, in the inner chambers, where the Lord is constantly present. The comparison is taken from the custom of storing treasures in especially hidden and secure places. “He will lift me up upon a rock”—He will change my lowly state for firm and unshakeable existence, as if placing me upon a rock, inaccessible and unbreakable.

Psalm 26:6–8. Then my head shall be lifted up above my enemies who surround me; and I will offer in His Tent sacrifices of shouts of joy, I will sing and make melody to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, my voice, which I raise in prayer, have mercy on me and listen to me. My heart says to You: “Seek my face”; and I will seek Your face, O Lord. The form of dialogue. God as it were speaks in David’s heart: “Seek my face,” that is, strive to be closer to Me, for in God alone is truth and strength.

Psalm 26:10. For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. “My father and my mother have forsaken me.” David’s relatives avoided relations with him, for David was pursued by Saul as his personal enemy, as an enemy to the king, and close relations with him even on the part of David’s kinfolk could be interpreted by suspicious Saul as help to him, and thus draw the king’s wrath.

Psalm 26:11. Teach me, O Lord, Your way and lead me on a straight path, for the sake of my enemies; David begs God to help him remain pure in his deeds, and however difficult his present situation may be, not to allow him even out of necessity to commit any crime and transgress His Law. This is necessary for David “for the sake of his enemies,” so as not to give them the opportunity to accuse him of anything.

Psalm 26:13. But I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord on the land of the living. “Land of the living.” David trusts that the Lord will protect him and will not allow him to perish, to enter Sheol, where all the dead descend; rather, he will live and move about among living people.