Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 26 (August 7, 2025)

August 7, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Old Testament of Psalm 26

May the LORD be with you this morning, and may you find safety in His Love.

It’s good to be with you today.  I thought that I might have sat down and written today's Psalm study last night but being out and about in yesterday's heat left me longing for rest when I finally got home.  So here we are this morning.  Today's Psalm is not a long one, but it gives us a chance to peer into the mind of King David.  Let's get that started now.  There are two directions one might choose for the reasoning of David and his need to speak this prayer to the LORD.  First, it could mean that David has been involved in some kind of military conflict and has written this Psalm as a kind of claim that he is righteous before the Lord in all things, including the shedding of blood.  We must always remember that blood is seen by David, and by God I might add, as the foundation of life itself, so to be responsible for "spilling it" could be a serious break with God and David's faith relationship.  But there is another way we could all view this Psalm.  Perhaps David sees himself as faultless before God.  When we read this prayer again, that would appear to be how David sees himself as an extremely positive light, and that his status before God is one of perfection.  We don't have to look far in our own time to see the men, yes, I believe it to be primarily men, who see themselves as innocent of any sin.  This is often so that their tender egos can be protected.   Of course, in whichever direction you might choose to understand this Psalm, in its first line, we must admit how admirable it is that David is seeking God's guidance for all that he is doing as the King of Israel.  Frankly, each new day should start with you and I seeking God's guidance for what lies ahead of us in the coming hours of that day, and then not forgetting that we have this Holy Presence surrounding us in every choice we must make.  It would be great if every leader of every nation understood that the Holiness of God can be theirs in every choice and sought to live their lives with the kind of resolve of David to be God's person in all that they had to make decisions about in each new day.  However, having the Holy Living Presence of the LORD surrounding us in our decisions is really great, yet there is another part of this thanksgiving for God's Holy guidance in all things, and that is to proclaim the truth about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob , and the Father of the Living Christ,  If we have joy in God's help in all things, then we must certainly proclaim the LORD'S greatness and powerful love for His children.  In our lives, we are responsible for making choices which drag us into unholy places and relationships.  AND we should not choose that direction and intimate contact with people like that.  This would seem to get in the way of what witnessing should be about, yet David's words for us would say that we should not allow ourselves to be involved with those people beyond witnessing to them.  Witness, speak, and act to bring comfort and hope to folks, but never, ever allow their place to enfold you in such a way that you become entrapped with them.  In it all, I always hope that the interaction of Christ through me, or my help, for these unsheltered ones, will bring a difference through faith gifted by the Spirit, or how about thieves and criminals?  What will change their hearts?  It might start with my witness, but the transformation is of God Himself through the Spirit, and you and I are led to not be influenced by the places where their hearts live.  David knew all of this about his life and kingship.  This Psalm prayer is his way to share his very heart about the world of others who may drag a faithful person away from the LORD!

Next week we move on to Psalm 27.  I pray that you are staying comfortable in this terrible heat.  I hope that you will be able to be with our Savior during worship at American this Sunday. May your hope and faith in Jesus Christ call you to gentle and compassionate witness.  

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim