Bird's-eye view
In these two verses, David continues to lay out the evidence for the claim he made in the first verse: "Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity." Having stated his positive commitments, which are his trust in the Lord and his walk in God's truth, he now turns to the negative evidence. A man's integrity is demonstrated not only by what he embraces but also by what he shuns. David here declares his principled and deliberate separation from the ungodly. This is not the testimony of a recluse or a misanthrope. It is the declaration of a man whose loyalties are clear. He understands that fellowship is formative, and he refuses to be formed by the company of the worthless, the hypocritical, the evil, or the wicked. This is a foundational aspect of biblical piety: you cannot walk with God and at the same time hold hands with those who are walking away from Him.
This is a courtroom declaration. David is on the stand, and God is the judge. The testimony he offers is that he has kept himself separate from the congregation of the wicked. He defines himself by the company he does not keep. He shuns the casual company of vain men, the deeper company of secretive hypocrites, the organized company of evildoers, and the formal company of the wicked. This fourfold rejection is a comprehensive statement of allegiance. It is the necessary prerequisite for the positive desire he expresses just a few verses later, which is to join the assembly of the righteous in the house of the Lord.
Outline
- 1. The Testimony of Separation (Ps 26:4-5)
- a. Rejection of Vain Fellowship (v. 4a)
- b. Rejection of Hypocritical Company (v. 4b)
- c. Righteous Hatred for Organized Evil (v. 5a)
- d. Refusal to Assemble with the Wicked (v. 5b)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 26 is a psalm of personal integrity in the face of accusation. David is appealing to God for vindication. The psalm is structured like a legal defense. He begins with his plea and the basis for it, his integrity and trust (v. 1-3). Then, in our passage (v. 4-5), he provides the evidence of his separation from evil. Following this, he declares his love for God's house and his desire to worship with the clean hands that result from this separation (v. 6-8). He then contrasts his fate with that of sinners, asking God not to "sweep my soul away with sinners" (v. 9-11). He concludes with a statement of confidence that his foot stands on level ground and that he will bless the Lord in the great congregation (v. 12). The verses we are examining are therefore the central pillar of his argument: "Judge me, Lord, because I have not thrown in my lot with your enemies." It is a powerful reminder that our associations are not morally neutral; they are a key indicator of our true spiritual allegiance.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Biblical Separation
- The Meaning of "Worthless Men"
- The Sin of Hypocrisy
- The Propriety of Righteous Hatred
- The Importance of Ecclesiastical Fellowship
The Company You Don't Keep
We live in an age that prizes inclusivity above all else. The highest virtue is tolerance, and the greatest sin is drawing a line. In such a climate, David's words in this psalm sound jarring, even offensive. He is unashamedly exclusive. He is drawing lines, and he is drawing them with a thick, black marker. But this is not the arbitrary exclusion of a snob. This is the necessary, principled separation of a man who loves God. David understands a truth we have forgotten: light has no fellowship with darkness. You become like the company you keep. Therefore, a man who desires to walk in integrity must be ruthlessly intentional about his companions.
Notice the progression. It moves from casual association to deep-seated hatred for organized evil. David doesn't just avoid bad behavior; he avoids the people characterized by it. This is not about refusing to evangelize sinners. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. This is about refusing to "sit" with them, to take counsel from them, to make common cause with them, to join their "assembly." It is the difference between being a doctor in a leper colony and choosing to become a leper yourself. David is declaring that his citizenship is in another kingdom, and so he will not sit in the parliament of the rebels.
Verse by Verse Commentary
4 I do not sit with worthless men, And I will not go with pretenders.
David begins with the company he refuses to keep. The word sit implies more than just sharing a bus seat. It means to take up residence, to settle in, to make oneself at home. It is the language of fellowship and counsel, as in Psalm 1:1, "blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers." The men he avoids are "worthless men," or men of vanity. The Hebrew word is shav, which speaks of emptiness, falsehood, and futility. These are not necessarily violent criminals; they are the men whose lives are oriented around things that do not matter. Their talk is vain, their ambitions are vain, their worship is vain. David says, "I do not make my home there."
He then adds, "I will not go with pretenders." The word here means those who are hidden or concealed. These are hypocrites. They are the ones who put on a mask of respectability, but whose true character is hidden. David is saying that he rejects not only the openly vain but also the secretly false. He refuses to enter into the world of the two-faced man. Integrity demands transparency. A man of integrity cannot long abide the company of those who are not what they seem. He refuses to "go with" them, which means he will not walk the path they walk, a path of deceit and pretense.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.
The language intensifies dramatically in this verse. From not sitting or going with them, David moves to "I hate." This is not the petty, sinful hatred of personal animosity. This is a righteous, principled hatred for that which is opposed to God. If you love righteousness, you must, by necessity, hate unrighteousness. David aligns his affections with God's affections. And what does he hate? The assembly of evildoers. The Hebrew word is qahal, the very same word often used for the congregation of Israel. David sees that wickedness is not just a collection of random individual acts. It is organized. It is corporate. There is an assembly of the wicked that stands in opposition to the assembly of the righteous. David hates this rival church, this anti-kingdom, this organized rebellion against the throne of God.
He concludes by reinforcing the point from verse 4: "And I will not sit with the wicked." He has already said he won't sit with the vain and the false. Now he says he will not sit with the wicked, the actively rebellious. His refusal is comprehensive. He makes a clean break. He is declaring that his identity, his fellowship, and his allegiance are found elsewhere. You cannot have one foot in the assembly of the righteous and the other in the assembly of evildoers. Sooner or later, you will be ripped in two. David has made his choice. His seat is reserved in another place.
Application
The application for us is as straightforward as it is challenging. Who do you "sit" with? With whom do you take counsel? Whose voices, through media, friendships, or business associations, are shaping your heart and mind? David's testimony forces us to evaluate our relationships. We are called to be in the world but not of it, which means we must be friendly to all for the sake of the gospel, but our intimate fellowship, our "sitting down," must be with the saints.
This psalm is also a powerful argument for the necessity of church discipline. If David hates the assembly of evildoers, then the church, which is the assembly of the righteous, must also hate it. This means we must hate evil enough to confront it in our midst. A church that refuses to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between the repentant and the defiant, has ceased to be a true assembly of God. It has made peace with the assembly of evildoers. We must recover David's hatred for corporate evil and his refusal to sit with the wicked, not out of self-righteous pride, but out of a deep love for the holiness of God and the purity of Christ's bride.
Ultimately, our separation is only possible because of the work of the Lord Jesus. He was the truly separate one, "holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). And yet, on the cross, He was numbered with the transgressors. He refused to sit with the wicked in life, so that He could be counted among the wicked in His death, taking our place. He was cast out of the assembly so that we might be welcomed in. Because of Him, we can have our feet set on level ground, and we can have the high privilege of blessing the Lord in the great congregation.