◄ Psalm 26:3 ►
For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.
Study Bible
For Your loving devotion
The phrase "For Your loving devotion" in Psalm 26:3 highlights the Hebrew word "chesed," which is often translated as "lovingkindness" or "steadfast love." This term is rich in meaning, encompassing God's covenantal faithfulness and mercy. In the context of ancient Israel, "chesed" was a foundational concept, reflecting God's unwavering commitment to His people. It is a love that is not based on human merit but on God's character and promises. This steadfast love is a source of comfort and assurance for believers, reminding them of God's unchanging nature and His eternal commitment to His covenant.

is before my eyes
The phrase "is before my eyes" suggests a continual focus and awareness. In Hebrew culture, the eyes were often seen as the gateway to the soul, and what one focused on was of utmost importance. To have God's loving devotion "before my eyes" implies a deliberate and constant meditation on His faithfulness and mercy. It suggests that the psalmist is intentionally setting his mind and heart on God's character, allowing it to guide his thoughts and actions. This focus is a spiritual discipline, encouraging believers to keep God's truths at the forefront of their lives, influencing their decisions and perspectives.

and I have walked in Your truth
The phrase "and I have walked in Your truth" emphasizes a life lived in accordance with God's word and commandments. The Hebrew word for "truth" here is "emet," which conveys reliability, faithfulness, and stability. Walking in God's truth implies a lifestyle that aligns with His teachings and principles. In the historical context of the psalm, this would mean adhering to the Torah and living a life that reflects God's righteousness. For contemporary believers, it is a call to live out the teachings of Scripture, embodying the truth of the Gospel in daily life. This walk is not merely about external compliance but an internal transformation that results in a life of integrity and faithfulness to God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The author of Psalm 26, David is expressing his confidence in his integrity and his reliance on God's steadfast love and truth.

2. God
The central figure in this verse, whose loving devotion and truth are the focus of David's meditation and life.

3. Temple Worship
While not explicitly mentioned in this verse, the context of Psalm 26 includes themes of worship and seeking God's presence, likely in the temple.
Teaching Points
Understanding God's Loving Devotion
God's loving devotion, or "chesed" in Hebrew, is a steadfast, covenantal love that is unwavering and faithful. Recognizing this attribute of God can deepen our trust in Him.

Walking in Truth
To walk in God's truth means to live a life aligned with His Word and commandments. It involves daily choices that reflect His character and teachings.

The Importance of Focus
Keeping God's loving devotion "before our eyes" suggests a continual focus and meditation on His attributes. This focus can guide our actions and decisions.

Integrity in Our Walk
David's confidence in his integrity is rooted in his relationship with God. Our integrity should also stem from our commitment to God's truth and love.

Application in Daily Life
Practically, this verse encourages us to evaluate our daily walk: Are we living in a way that reflects God's truth and love? Are we keeping His attributes at the forefront of our minds?
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the Hebrew concept of "chesed" (loving devotion) enhance your view of God's character?

2. In what ways can you keep God's loving devotion and truth "before your eyes" in your daily life?

3. How does walking in God's truth influence your decisions and interactions with others?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to ensure your life reflects the integrity David speaks of in this Psalm?

5. How do the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament expand upon the themes of loving devotion and truth found in Psalm 26:3?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 25:10
This verse also speaks of God's paths being loving devotion and truth, emphasizing the consistency of God's character.

John 14:6
Jesus declares Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life," connecting the Old Testament understanding of God's truth to the person of Christ.

Ephesians 5:2
Paul encourages believers to walk in love, as Christ loved us, which parallels the call to walk in God's truth and loving devotion.
Sermons
An Appeal Marked by Specific EntreatyC. Clemence, D. D.Psalm 26:1-12
Assailed Integrity's Final Appeal. F1C. Clemance Psalm 26:1-12
David's Appeal and its IssueBp. Wm. Nicholson.Psalm 26:1-12
David's IntegrityD. Caldwell, M. A.Psalm 26:1-12
IntegrityW. Forsyth Psalm 26:1-12
Leading Proofs of Personal PietyHomilistPsalm 26:1-12
The Character of an Upright Man Sketched by HimselfC. Clemence, D. D.Psalm 26:1-12
The Oppressed Righteous ManC. Short Psalm 26:1-12
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Continually, Faith, Faithfulness, Habitually, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercy, Steadfast, Truth, Walk, Walked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 26:3

     1150   God, truth of
     1461   truth, nature of

Psalm 26:2-3

     5197   walking

Library
Question of the Comparison Between the Active and the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? Cardinal Cajetan, On Preparation for the Contemplative Life S. Augustine, Confessions, X., xliii. 70 " On Psalm xxvi. II. Is the Active Life more Meritorious than the Contemplative? III. Is the Active Life a Hindrance to the Contemplative Life? Cardinal Cajetan, On the True Interior Life S. Augustine, Sermon, CCLVI., v. 6 IV. Does the Active Life precede the Contemplative? I Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? The Lord …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Hezekiah, the Praying King
One can form a habit of study until the will seems to be at rest and only the intellect is engaged, the will having retired altogether from exercise. This is not true of real praying. If the affections are laggard, cold, indifferent, if the intellect is furnishing no material to clothe the petition with imagery and fervor, the prayer is a mere vaporing ofintellectual exercise, nothing being accomplished worth while.--Rev. Homer W. Hodge The great religious reformation under King Hezekiah and the …
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

The Courts of God
"Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth."--Ps. xxvi. 8. R. Rolle, 1349. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 O Lord, I have loved the fair beauty Of the house Thou hast chosen for Thee, The courts where Thy gladness rejoiceth, And where Thou delightest to be. For I love to be made the fair dwelling Where God in His grace may abide; I would cast forth whatever may grieve Thee, And welcome none other beside. Oh blessed the grace that has made me The home …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Epistle v. To Theoctista, Sister of the Emperor.
To Theoctista, Sister of the Emperor. Gregory to Theoctista, &c. With how great devotion my mind prostrates itself before your Venerableness I cannot fully express in words; nor yet do I labour to give utterance to it, since, even though I were silent, you read in your heart your own sense of my devotion. I wonder, however, that you withdrew your countenance, till of late bestowed on me, from this my recent engagement in the pastoral office; wherein, under colour of episcopacy, I have been brought …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Discourse of the Building, Nature, Excellency, and Government of the House of God; with Counsels and Directions to the Inhabitants Thereof.
BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. 'Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.'--Psalm 26:8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Beautiful in its simplicity is this treatise on the Church of Christ, by John Bunyan. He opens, with profound knowledge and eminent skill, all those portions of sacred writ which illustrate the nature, excellency, and government of the house of God, with the personal and relative duties of its inhabitants. It was originally published in …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Letter xxxix (A. D. 1137) to the Same.
To the Same. He expresses his regret at his very long absence from his beloved Clairvaux, and his desire to return to his dear sons. He tells them of the consolations that he feels nevertheless in his great labours for the Church. 1. My soul is sorrowful until I return, and it refuses to be comforted till it see you. For what is my consolation in the hour of evil, and in the place of my pilgrimage? Are not you in the Lord? Wherever I go, the sweet memory of you never leaves me; but the sweeter the …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

St. Augustine (Ad 354-430)
PART I The church in the north of Africa has hardly been mentioned since the time of St. Cyprian (Chapter VIII). But we must now look towards it again, since in the days of St. Chrysostom it produced a man who was perhaps the greatest of all the old Christian fathers--St. Augustine. Augustine was born at Thagaste, a city of Numidia, in the year 354. His mother, Monica, was a pious Christian, but his father, Patricius, was a heathen, and a man of no very good character. Monica was resolved to bring …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

A Treatise on Good Works
I. We ought first to know that there are no good works except those which God has commanded, even as there is no sin except that which God has forbidden. Therefore whoever wishes to know and to do good works needs nothing else than to know God's commandments. Thus Christ says, Matthew xix, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And when the young man asks Him, Matthew xix, what he shall do that he may inherit eternal life, Christ sets before him naught else but the Ten Commandments. …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Greatness of the Soul,
AND UNSPEAKABLENESS 0F THE LOSS THEREOF; WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT. FIRST PREACHED AT PINNER'S HALL and now ENLARGED AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. By JOHN BUNYAN, London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682 Faithfully reprinted from the Author's First Edition. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic, whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibility know …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Question of the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. 7 ad 3m II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? S. Augustine, Of the City of God, xix. 19 III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? S. Augustine, Of the Perfection of Human Righteousness, viii. 18 " Ep., cxxx. ad probam IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 26:3 NIV
Psalm 26:3 NLT
Psalm 26:3 ESV
Psalm 26:3 NASB
Psalm 26:3 KJV

Psalm 26:3 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 26:2
Top of Page
Top of Page