~ Psalm 26 ~ The Spiritual Journey From The Beginning To The End of The Psalm ~

~ Psalm 26 ~ Spiritual Journey From The Beginning To The End Of The Psalm ~

The Psalm is a marvelous wealthy compendium of spiritual wisdom to encourage and divinely enrich the soul! It contains the full spectrum of emotions! It takes us on an expeditious spiritual journey that will enhance our lives and give us hope while going through turmoil or just celebrating a simple or rather grand occasion!

This Psalm is marvelously scribed during a terribly difficult time period of King David’s life! The opposition is not only coming against him from his enemies but from within his very own household! His third son Absalom has gotten besides himself! He has raucously rebelled and has upset the royal court and caused much chaos and division! Absalom allowed others to encourage him to rise up against his father. Be careful who you allow to speak into the lives of your children. Many seek to sow seeds of discord. Absalom disrespected his father and the Lord. David so loved his son deeply, who now has turned against him and caused him immense pain and heartache. As a child of God one must learn to expect spiritual warfare in every aspect of life!

Here we are able to see the inner turmoil and anxiety that David experiences as a king, a man, a husband and as a father. Here we can learn many invaluable lessons. David is worn out emotionally. What is going on about him is weighing heavily upon his heart! He has nowhere to go or no one to turn to so he respectfully petitions the Lord to intervene on his behalf.

No wonder the Lord says that David is; “a man after His own heart!” It is within this Psalm we are allowed to momentarily glance into his heart. David transparently expresses how he intimately feels both good and bad! We get the opportunity to experience up close and personal some of the precious moments he has with the Lord!

David humbly submits himself to the Lord and beseeches Him to vindicate him! Although he has a massive army, huge staff and plethora of wives as well as concubines, he realizes that it is the Lord that he must indeed turn to. The spiritual warfare is so intense that he needs the Lord to defend him! He confesses outwardly and genuinely cries out and bears his soul! Despite the severe rigorous pain his heart and mind are clear before the Lord! David is not saying that he is “blameless” or without sin. He is merely stating that he has done all that he knows to do that is humanly possible to clear his name…

David’s household is in a vociferous uproar and personally he is at his wits end! David’s integrity has been questioned! Let’s further look into and ponder the many spiritual lessons here that can help us in this 21^st century!

It is always Good to examine yourself in the Light of God's Word!

Book of Praise Lesson Highlights

Book 1

“A Psalm of David”

Theme: Declaring loyalty to God. If we are genuinely committed to God, we can stand up to opposition and examination.

Author: David

This is a marvelous Psalm and should be read in its entirety as all of the Psalm. The profound depth of wisdom that flows from this Psalm is amazing and within these highlights I only merely touch the surface. There is a plethora of wisdom one can absorb from the spiritual wealth of wisdom contained within the Psalms. One must further ponder deeply and solicit the Holy Spirit for continued vividly enriched spiritual illumination, enlightenment and revelation!

David spends time with the Lord regularly. Although he is king, a man of great power and presence he still humbly acknowledges his need for the Lord. Keep in mind that David had unlimited resources as well as a council of wise advisors. But his trust was in the LORD! Despite all his power he has been faced with a situation and circumstances beyond his control! David’s family and household are in a turbulent uproar. Life has gone from bad to worst and he is at the point where he knows it is only the Lord that can turn the situation around. He therefore turns to the Lord in his distress and hour of need. “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.”

The Lord of course knew David’s heart! Yet David reminds him that he has been faithful and continues to walk in his ways. Here we can see that there are times when we cannot actually pinpoint why something is happening. There are often many situations and people placed about us that desire to undermine our trust in the Lord and our integrity. So often they appear; seeking to pressure us into compromising our spiritual principles! Resist them! They want to hinder us from standing on the Word of God! Here in this Psalm we now find David in a difficult position! Here David is not saying that he is without sin or that he has compromised what he knows to be right. He has confessed his shortcomings to the Lord and done all that he knows to do. He cries out fervently to the Lord in his distress. “Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your TRUTH!”

David is a man of integrity and he has now separated himself from those who walk contrary to the Lord. His conscience is sensitive to the Lord. We too must learn to take time away from everything and everyone and empty ourselves of self and then focus on the Lord. It is important to spend time solely in the presence of the Lord so He can speak to your heart. To learn how to be; "STILL & KNOW!" This is what helps to keep our conscience sensitive to what is right or wrong. There is an unexplainable inner Peace when we walk with the Lord even within the midst of turmoil.

David was being scandalously slandered and his name was in question. There was much wickedness about him to further undermine his authority! As king his responsibilities were demanding and numerous! But he still knew the importance of spending time with the Lord! Here he puts things into perspective and carefully looks introspectively into what is going on within and without! He then turns and calls upon the Lord for direction! Despite those about him who mean him harm David proclaims his love and admiration for the LORD! He voraciously worships and praises the Lord as well as the house of worship dedicated to His glory!

It is within these Psalms we can find much solace. These sacred writings were written thousands of years ago. The amazing wonder is that they are even moreso powerful today! Why? We can know without doubt that God is faithful because we have seen it time and time again within His Word! We have been given the Gift of His Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Internal Teacher to awaken our conscience who is with us 24/7 that abides within. All we have to do is invite Him into the messiness of our lives. Life has become complicated with much spiritual warfare. Praise be to God we can emerge through it victoriously as we draw close to the Lord. We too must learn to practice turning to the Lord and walk in the principles of His Word. It is in Him we can find relief from the wickedness that is all about us in this world. We do not have to live in fear but it is important to become familiar with the many vices and deceptions of wickedness. It is important that we spend time regularly drawing closer to the Lord daily. “I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.

It is important to confess our faults and shortcomings to the Lord. He already knows all of us from the inside out... It is incredibly amazing that there is absolutely nothing that the Lord is not aware of about anyone anywhere throughout the world. Therefore when we come before Him we should be sincere and transparent. We should readily admit if we are in error, seek His counsel, confess and keep moving forward and closer to Him. If you have gotten off track get back on! This is why confession is so good for the soul! We regularly need to bathe in the spiritual cleansing power of His Word! There is Power in the Blood of Jesus! Daily we must ask for the infilling presence of His precious Holy Spirit! HIS WORD is "A LAMP unto our feet and a LIGHT unto our path..." The need for His continual spiritual guidance lasts through eternity.

Private Praise is an important aspect of our intimate relationship with the Lord! Thanking Him for who He is, what He has done and what He will do should be a consistent part of our intimate daily personal devotional time with Him! Thanking God for who He is gives Him the reverence that He is due when we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior & Lord! It is a great idea to reserve a room or place within your home where you can go and worship the Lord. A dedicated sanctuary where God's presence is magnified Or you can simply bow and worship right where you are at the altar of your heart... God is omnipresent; meaning He is eveywhere we are! When we gather together collectively, in large or small assemblies publicly and corporately for worship; the Lord’s presence in the atmosphere will be evident whenever we are sincere! Don't just wait until Sunday to worship the Lord. Having the Lord in our lives truly makes all the difference in the world! “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud Your praise and telling of all Your wonderful deeds.”

This Psalm concludes by saying: “My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will Praise the LORD!”