Psalm 26 – Weekly Prayer for Israel

Psalm 26 teaches that sometimes the only way to know if we’re really walking in the right path is to be tested.

Click below to listen to the weekly prayer or right click here to download the audio version.

See below video for the full text version of the July 8th Weekly Prayer for Israel.

Psalm 26 – Full Text for the Weekly Prayer

In Psalm 26, King David catches us off guard:

Of David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked with sincerity, and I trusted in the Lord; I shall not falter.

Test me, O Lord, and try me; refine my reins and my heart.

The Psalm is indeed, very surprising. Judge me? Test me? Why would he request to be tested by G-d?

To answer these questions we need to compare this Psalm with chapter 1 of the Book of Psalms. Both speak about distancing oneself from wrongdoers, and about distinguishing between the path of good and the path of evil. David is confident that he is on the right path, and that he is prepared to pass the test.

But there’s more to it than that.

In verse 11, King David says:

But I walk with sincerity…

In the Psalm’s concluding verse, verse 12, he says:

My foot stood on a straight path…

Well, which one is it? Is he walking, or is he standing?

King David wants to be tested, because he wants to walk with sincerity. Sometimes the only way to know if we’re really walking in the right path is to test ourselves, and to see where we end up. To walk with sincerity means that every step of the way, wherever and whenever you may be tested, you will always be standing on a straight path.

We pray that Israel will follow David’s lead by walking with sincerity. And may we be blessed, to walk with Israel.

Tehillim – Psalms – Chapter 26

1. Of David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked with sincerity, and I trusted in the Lord; I shall not falter. 2. Test me, O Lord, and try me; refine my reins and my heart. 3. For Your kindness is before my eyes, and I walked in Your truth. 4. I did not sit with dishonest men, neither did I go with hypocrites. 5. I hated the congregation of the evildoers, and I did not sit with the wicked. 6. I washed my hands with cleanliness, and I encompassed Your altar, O Lord. 7. To proclaim thanksgiving with a loud voice and to recite all Your wonders. 8. O Lord, I love the dwelling of Your house and the place of the residence of Your glory. 9. Gather not my soul with sinners nor my life with men of blood, 10. in whose hands are plots and whose right hand is full of bribery. 11. But I walk with sincerity; redeem me and be gracious to me. 12. My foot stood on a straight path; I will bless the Lord in assemblies.

This is the Weekly Prayer for Israel from Ariel, the Capital of Samaria.