David stood on his not being in company with the wicked (vv. 4-5, 9-10). In Psalm 26 David spoke of his adversaries within and his enemies without. He felt that he was holy, separated, and that they were wicked. In the eyes of God, however, he and his adversaries and enemies were the same. What is better about us than others? All men are sinful.
We need to be delivered from our human concept and be filled with the divine concept of the New Testament. According to the divine concept, we have been crucified and buried with Christ (Gal. 2:20a; Rom. 6:4). Now it should not be we who live but Christ who lives in us. This is according to the tree of life.
David said that he washed his hands in innocence to go around God's altar (Psa. 26:6). As he went around the altar, he made himself heard with the voice of thanksgiving and the telling out of God's wonderful deeds (v. 7). David felt that he was innocent and clean. This is a wrong concept. I respect David very much, and I believe that he was a great man in the hand of God. He was very spiritual in a sense, but not in all senses. We can see that many times he was not that much up to the standard of God's economy.
The standard of the law is not the standard of God's economy. The standard of God's economy is the standard of the New Testament. God's economy is not for making us a good man but a God-man. Regardless of how good a person is, as long as he is not a God-man, he is not up to the standard of God's economy. Regretfully, however, nearly all the Christian readers of the Psalms keep the standard of being a good man. They have not seen the standard of being a God-man. God wants us to be a God-man, not merely a good man. We should have only one o as in God, not two o's as in good.
David indicated that God should redeem him and be gracious to him because of his integrity (v. 11). This is an insult to God. If we are walking in integrity, being absolutely pure and absolutely perfect, we do not need redemption. God would surely not redeem us because of our integrity. Instead, a man should pray, "O God, redeem me because I am a great sinner." Paul said that Christ came into the world to save sinners and that he was the foremost sinner among all the sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). The proper prayer is: "Lord Jesus, I need Your redemption because I am a sinful person." This is the right attitude. Surely this is according to the tree of life.
In verse 12 David said, "My foot stands on level ground;/In the assemblies I will bless Jehovah." To say that we walk in our integrity and that our foot stands on level ground is being too boastful and proud.