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Selected Verse: Psalms 26:2 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Ps 26:2 |
King James |
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| He asks the most careful scrutiny of his affections and thoughts (Psa 7:9), or motives. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Examine me, O Lord - The meaning of this verse is, that he asked of God a strict and rigid examination of his case. To express this, the psalmist uses three words - "examine; prove; try." These words are designed to include the modes in which the reality of anything is tested, and they imply together that he wished the most "thorough" investigation to be made; he did not shrink from any test. He evidently felt that it was essential to his welfare that the most rigid examination should be made; that the exact truth should be known; that if he was deceived, it was best for himself that he should not be left under the delusion, but that, understanding his own case, he might be led to secure his salvation. The word rendered "examine" means, "to try, to prove," and is applicable especially to metals: Jer 9:7; Zac 13:9. It means here, "Apply to me such tests as are applied to metals in order to determine their genuineness and their value."
And prove me - A word of similar import. In the original meaning of the word there is a reference to "smell;" to try by the smell; to ascertain the qualities of an object by the smell. Hence, it comes to be used in a more general sense to denote any way of ascertaining the quality of an object.
Try my reins - The word here rendered "try" (test) is one that is most commonly applied to metals; and the three words together express the earnest desire of the psalmist that God would examine into the evidences of his piety - those evidences to which he immediately refers - and apply the proper kind of tests to determine whether that piety was genuine. The word rendered "reins" means properly the "kidneys," and hence, it is used to denote the inward part, the mind, the soul - the seat of the desires and the affections. See Psa 7:9, note; Psa 16:7, note. We speak now of the "heart" as the seat of the affections or of love. The Hebrews more commonly spoke of the heart as the seat of intelligence or knowledge, and the reins or the "bowels" as the seat of the affections. In itself there was no more impropriety in their speaking of the reins or kidneys as the seat of the affections than there is of our speaking of the heart in that manner. Neither of them is strictly correct; and both modes of speech are founded on popular usage. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| Examine me, O Lord - To thee I appeal; and feel no hesitation in wishing to have all the motives of my heart dissected and exposed to thy view, and to that of the world. |
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
7 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?