Psalm 26:6-8 - March 20, 2009

Ps 26:6-8 “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. 8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells." NIV

This simple passage is so full of the richness of a life of praise. Its words reflect such joy as David ‘s thoughts are lifted to consider his relationship with the Lord and his heart of love for God’s ways and his presence. These verses paint a picture of personal satisfaction and pleasure in God. Oh that our lives would be filled with the pleasures that flow out of intimacy with the Lord! As I read these words I can see David moving back and forth in front of the altar of God with hands lifted up and a heart full of love, his own sense of personal purity empowering him to stand confidently in God’s presence. This is such a picture of 1 John 3:21 where John the beloved declares, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” David is bold, confident and joyful in God’s presence because he knows the condition of his own heart at this time in his life. Too many of us are hindered in our approach to God because of the condition of our own conscience that accuses us when we try to stand before God.
David is celebrating the joy he finds in his time before the altar, not lamenting his own failures. Imagine David standing in God’s presence praising him and proclaiming the great things that God has done. This is not a reflection of a public meeting, in front of an audience of people. Rather this is a picture of David’s personal life in God. Do we stand before God declaring his praise? Is it a part of our lives that we proclaim back to God the great wonders he has done for us? Part of the power to endure that is so evidenced throughout all of David’s life and struggles is that consistent pattern of celebrating God that flows out of David’s mouth. So often we are defeated from the time we open our mouth. Our confessions of negativism and defeat rob us of faith and confidence and yet here in this passage David sets such a tremendous example of choosing to declare what God has done rather than lamenting what his enemies have done.
From all of the heart cry of the preceding verses it is obvious that David’s life is being afflicted with accusation and opposition yet David is able to present this burden to the Lord and then redirect his focus. Instead of gazing on the abundance of his problems and being covered by a shadow of despair David is gazing upon the beauty of the Lord and he is overshadowed by clouds of glory! David could have been consumed by the pressure of life, but instead he is consumed by the goodness of God. Yes he cries out to the Lord for vindication in the midst of his pain. Yes he lifts up his troubles to the Lord. But David is able to leave his pain at the altar and exchange it for God’s presence. In this passage he demonstrates what he later teaches in Ps 55:22 where he writes, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you.” David has discovered the sustaining power of confidence in God!
David moves from looking at his burdens to a God focus that is almost astonishing for the intensity of its shift. In one breath he is expressing his need for vindication, in the next he declares, Ps 26:8 “I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.” He is able to see more than his need David is able to see the beauty of God in the midst of trying times! David’s eyes are turned towards the glory of God. It is obvious from these words that David has encountered God’s glory he has seen God’s goodness. This is such a testimony of how our past experiences in God become a sustaining strength in our current times of need. When the pressure is on David’s thoughts are able to reflect on the power of his personal encounters in the presence of God to sustain him. If we wait until the pressure is on to seek God then we may have waited too long! God desires to meet with us at the altar of his presence and bring us into the knowledge of His glory during the times of peace so that they can sustain us in the times of struggle. Set yourself apart to stand before him and gaze upon his beauty!