Poetry by Isaac Watts inspired by Psalm 26

Self-examination; or, Evidences of grace.

Judge me, O Lord, and prove my ways,
And try my reins, and try my heart
My faith upon thy promise stays,
Nor from thy law my feet depart.

I hate to walk, I hate to sit,
With men of vanity and lies
The scoffer and the hypocrite
Are the abhorrence of mine eyes.

Amongst thy saints will I appear
With frauds well washed in innocence;
But when I stand before thy bar,
The blood of Christ is my defence.

I love thy habitation, Lord,
The temple where thine honors dwell;
There shall I hear thine holy word,
And there thy works of wonder tell.

Let not my soul be joined at last
With men of treachery and blood,
Since I my days on earth have passed
Among the saints, and near my God.

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Psalm 26 New King James Version (NKJV)

A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

A Psalm of David.

Vindicate me, O Lord,
For I have walked in my integrity.
I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
² Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
³ For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
⁴ I have not sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
⁵ I have hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
⁷ That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
⁸ Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place where Your glory dwells.

⁹ Do not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰ In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
¹² My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

Meditation