Salmi 26:8 Commento

Holy David is in this psalm putting himself upon a solemn trial, not by God and his country, but by God and his own conscience, to both which he appeals touching his integrity (Psa 26:1, Psa 26:2), for the proof of which he alleges, I. His constant regard to God and his grace (Psa 26:3). II. His rooted antipathy to sin and sinners (Psa 26:4, Psa 26:5). III. His sincere affection to the ordinances of God, and his care about them (Psa 26:6-8). Having thus proved his integrity, 1. He deprecates the doom of the wicked (Psa 26:9, Psa 26:10). 2. He casts himself upon the mercy and grace of God, with a resolution to hold fast his integrity, and his hope in God (Psa 26:11, Psa 26:12). In singing this psalm we must teach and admonish ourselves, and one another, what we must be and do that we may have the favour of God, and comfort in our own consciences, and comfort ourselves with it, as David does, if we can say that in any measure we have, through grace, answered to these characters. The learned Amyraldus, in his argument of his psalm, suggests that David is here, by the spirit of prophecy, carried out to speak of himself as a type of Christ, of whom what he here says of his spotless innocence, was fully and eminently true, and of him only, and to him we may apply it in singing this psalm. "We are complete in him." A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 26 Psalm of David. The occasion of this psalm seems to be the quarrel between Saul and David, the former listening to calumnies and reproaches cast upon the latter, and persecuting him in a violent manner. The argument of it is the same, in a great measure, with the seventh psalm, and is an appeal made to God, the Judge of the whole earth, by the psalmist, for his innocence and integrity; Theodoret thinks it was written by David when he fled from Saul.

Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house,.... Meaning the tabernacle, for as yet the temple was not built; which was an habitation for the saints, where they chose to dwell, and reckoned it their happiness, and was the habitation of the Lord himself: the sanctuary was built for that purpose; and between the cherubim, over the mercy seat, he took up his residence; hence it follows, and the place where thine honour dwelleth: or "glory" (a): when the tabernacle was set up, the glory of the Lord filled it, as it did the temple, when it was dedicated, Exo 40:35. The psalmist expresses his love to this place, in opposition to the, congregation of evildoers, which he hated, Psa 26:5; and to remove a calumny from him, that being among the Philistines, and at a distance from the house of God, his affections were alienated from it; whereas it was his greatest concern that he was debarred the privileges of it; see Psa 42:1; besides, he had showed his great regard to it by his constant attendance before his exile, as he did after it, Psa 42:3; and it was out of pure love to the worship of God, and with real pleasure and delight, that he did attend; and not through custom, and in mere form, Psa 122:1. The Lord's house is loved by his people, because of his word and ordinances, which are ministered there, and because of his presence in it: or else what was typified by the tabernacle in here designed; either the tabernacle of Christ's human nature, called the true tabernacle, Heb 8:2; in which the fulness of the Godhead dwells; which the Son of God, the brightness of his Father's glory, inhabits; and in the redemption and salvation wrought out in it the glory of all the divine attributes is displayed; and Christ incarnate is the mercy seat from which God communes with his people, and is their way of access unto him, and whereby they have fellowship with him; and who is loved by the saints sincerely, above all creatures and things, and in the most ardent and affectionate manner: or heaven itself, of which the tabernacle was a figure, Heb 9:24; which is the habitation of the holiness and glory of God, and in which are many mansions or dwelling places for his people; and is the continuing city they seek, the heavenly and better country they are desirous of, and where their hearts and affections are; because there their God, their Saviour, and their treasure be; which sense seems to be confirmed by what follows. (a) "gloria tua", Musculus, Piscator; "tabernaculum gloriae tuae", Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius, Gejerus; so Ainsworth.

"O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Your house:" of Your Church. "And the place of the habitation of Your glory" [Psalm 26:8]: where You dwell, and art glorified.

What he calls “the glory of your house” is not the beauty of walls or the most expensive table settings, but the most blessed quality of those actions in which the entire church rejoices: namely, the joyful singing of psalms, the holiness of prayers, the most humble devotion of Christian people. Earlier he spoke about the entire church, but now he comes to speak about the saints among whom the glory of God is known to dwell. The Apostle has this to say about them: “For the temple of God is holy—you are that temple.” For by speaking of “dwelling place,” he means the hidden place of the human heart. To this he makes the amazing addition “of your glory,” for wherever God dwells, his glory is there, since he makes glorious whatever place he deems fit to inhabit, and the greatness of the guest house increases due to the merits of the guest.

Here he shows the affection he has for divine worship, which, to be fitting, ought to be an affection of love. For this reason he says, "O Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house." Dionysius says: "The good and the beautiful is lovable to all." Hence every man loves what is beautiful: the carnal love carnal beauty, the spiritual love spiritual beauty, and this is the beauty of the house of God: Num. 24: "How beautiful are your tabernacles, O Jacob, and your tents, O Israel! As woody valleys, as watered gardens near the rivers, as tabernacles which the Lord has fashioned." This beauty, moreover, is the beauty of good works, or of divine gifts, or of the saints themselves; because all of these are, as it were, a certain adornment of the house of God. All of these, therefore, I have loved, so that they might make me fit for the beauty of the house of God. Thus, therefore, the affection is shown, because it is love, and beauty, and adornment. But it should be known that this beauty comes from God's dwelling in it; just as a house is not beautiful unless it is inhabited: hence I have loved me so that you may dwell in me, or I have loved the fatherland so that I may dwell there or may tend toward it. And therefore he says, "And the place where your glory dwells": and all of these -- that is, good works, the gifts of God, and the saints themselves -- are the beauty of the house of God, insofar as divine grace, which beautifies like light, shines in them, as Ambrose says, because without light all things are ugly: Ez. 43: "The glory of the Lord entered through the gate."

After appealing to God's judgment on his avowed integrity and innocence of the charges laid by his enemies, the Psalmist professes delight in God's worship, and prays for exemption from the fate of the wicked, expressing assurance of God's favor. (Psa 26:1-12) Judge--decide on my case; the appeal of innocence. in mine integrity--freedom from blemish (compare Psa 25:21). His confidence of perseverance results from trust in God's sustaining grace.

the habitation of thy house--where Thy house rests, as the tabernacle was not yet permanently fixed. honour dwelleth--conveys an allusion to the Holy of Holies.