Psalm 26:4 “I do not sit with deceitful men,”
[Help me to recognize them and not join in their talk, and not to be deceitful myself.]
“nor do I consort with hypocrites;”
[That’s pretty hard avoid, as we are all hypocrites to a degree. But help me to avoid those who are blatantly, knowingly so. Point out my tendency to hypocrisy and help me not to be one.]
Psalm 26:5 “I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.”
[Help me not to join them in any way, and help me to recognize the evil in my own heart and reject it in favor of obeying you.]
Psalm 26:6,7 “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.”
[May I consistently and quickly confess any sin and be cleansed by your forgiveness. May my focus be on you, Lord Jesus, listening to you, being obedient to you, thinking truth, doing what you proclaim to be right. Help me to be consistent in praising you at all times, proclaiming to all those around me your glory, revealed in your awesome acts and gracious goodness.
As we move through life with all its unknowns and challenges, it is wonderful, Lord, to know that you are guiding us, that you will lead us in paths of righteousness.
I am so small, so ignorant (I couldn’t even buy the right corner piece for the rain gutters today!), so weak, so bound up in my own viewpoint, so influenced by selfishness and sin that in myself I cannot make wise decisions.
When I tried to buy tickets for our trip to Germany last week, you prevented the transaction from going through, even though I thought it had. This was because you knew the dates I had picked were wrong, and enabled me to change the dates to better ones with better flights when I tried again. You, Lord Jesus, are my wise and all knowing Shepherd who cares for your sheep. You know the future, you know the next things to come, you know the needs I’ll have today, next week, next year.
I praise you now for how you will provide and protect, for you are good and pure, you are wise and loving, you are kind and firm, you are powerful and gracious. You are my God and my Rock: unshakable, unassailable, unchanging. You are my Salvation: the One who redeems and rescues. You are my High Tower: giving safety, vision and insight. I can trust you.
Help me to know how to deal with what will come today, Lord. Only with you can I press forward properly, denying self, obeying your Word, listening to your Spirit. I praise you now for your help to come. May I honor you today in all.
