I Wash My Hands in Innocence
November 3, 2022
Psalm 26:6-7 “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, Lord, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.”
In the verses leading up to today’s verse, David was stating his faithfulness to God and described several ways that his life demonstrated that he lived in faith. He didn’t associate with hypocrites, evildoers or the wicked. David knew who he wanted to associate with, and as King, it was a lot easier to say no to spending time with people he considered wicked.
But we don’t always have a whole lot of control over who we spend time with. We are thrown into work situations, friends of friends, parents of our kids. I’m sure we’ve all had to deal with being in a group with others who aren’t the best of influence on us. It can be easy to be drawn into gossip, laughing at jokes that you wouldn’t tell in church and even following people in social media that don’t have such a good reputation. What we love is a great indicator of our relationship with God. 1 Corinthians 15:33 told us that “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
David goes on in today’s lesson to say that he was washing his hands in innocence. He did not believe he was sinless or perfect. He did need to wash his hands, but he could do it in the innocence of a clear conscience before God. David was referring to the purification that a priest went through before he could approach the altar. When David did anything wrong, he would stay close to God, making sure that he confessed his sins and that his attitude was pure. He even would give thanks for when he was treated badly, because he said it brought him closer to God and more reliant on God.
Praising and thanking God when someone does something to hurt me is usually not something I do, especially not as it is happening or even right after! But when situations do happen to us that hurt us, and they will, we need to talk to God about them, and remember that He is faithful to us. Don’t listen to others who tell you to retaliate. Keep your hands clean and your heart thankful.