Commentary on Psalms Volume 1 John Calvin (continued)
COMMENTARY ON PSALMS
Psalm 26:8-11
8. O Jehovah! I have loved the habitation of thy house, 573 and the dwellingplace of thy glory. 9. Gather not my soul with wicked men, nor my life with blood; 574 10. For in their hands is maliciousness, and their right hand is full of bribes. 11. But I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful to me.
8. O Jehovah! I have loved, etc In this verse he confirms what he had said before, that he came not into the sanctuary in a careless manner, but with serious devotion. Irreligious men, although they often resort to the sacred assemblies, frequent them merely as lurking places, where they may escape the eye of God. On the contrary, the truly pious and pure in heart resort to them, not for the sake of vain ostentation, but as they are sincerely bent on seeking God, they willingly and affectionately employ the helps which he there affords them; and the advantage which they derive from them creates love to them in their hearts, and longings after them. This declaration farther shows, that however David excelled others in faith, yet he was not without fear lest the violence of his enemies might deprive him of the ordinary means of instruction which God had conferred on his Church. He felt his need of the Church's common discipline and order, and he therefore anxiously labored to retain his enjoyment of them. From this we infer the impious pride of those who look with contempt on the services of religion as unnecessary, although David himself could not live without them. Another consideration, indeed, existed in those days, I confess, while the law, like a schoolmaster, held the ancient people in a state of servitude compared with ours. Our case, however, is one with theirs in this respect, that the weakness of our faith requires help as well as theirs. And as God for this purpose has appointed the sacraments, as well as the whole order of the Church, woe to the pride of those who recklessly desert the services which we perceive to have been held in such high esteem by the pious servants of God. The Hebrew word,מעוןme-on, according to some, is derived from a word 575
The habitation of thy house — a Hebraism for the house which thou inhabitest. This name was given to the tabernacle, 1 Samuel 2:29, 32, and afterwards to Solomon's temple, 2 Chronicles 36:15.
Hebrew:— men of blood. See Psalm 5:7.
Namely,עיךayin.