Psalm 26 is the prayer of someone who loves God’s house: “I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord… I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth.” For centuries the priest prayed these verses at Mass as he washed his hands, the rite called the Lavabo. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 25. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 26 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, a psalm for David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be weakened.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart.
For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy truth.
I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers of unjust things.
I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit.
I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord:
That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works.
I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth.
Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men:
In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts.
But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me.
My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.
Psalm 26 or Psalm 25?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 25 is Psalm 26 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Iudica me, Domine, quoniam ego in innocentia mea ingressus sum. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- Walking in integrity: “Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence.”
- Test my heart: “Prove me, O Lord, and try me.”
- Avoiding bad company: “I have not sat with the council of vanity.”
- Clean hands at the altar: purity of heart before approaching God.
- Love for God’s house: “I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house,” the prayer of everyone who loves the church and the liturgy.
How the Church uses Psalm 26
- At Mass, in the traditional Roman rite, the priest washed his fingers at the offertory saying Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas, “I will wash my hands among the innocent,” from this psalm. In today’s Mass he prays instead a verse from Psalm 51, “Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity.” See the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
- For altar servers, sacristans and all who serve in church, as a prayer of love for God’s house.
A prayer with Psalm 26
Written for this page:
Lord, examine me and test my heart; I want to walk in integrity.
I wash my hands in innocence and come to your altar.
I love the beauty of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
Redeem me and have mercy on me, and I will bless you in the assembly. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Lavabo?
The washing of the priest’s hands at the offertory of the Mass. In the traditional rite he prayed Psalm 26 (25) beginning “Lavabo,” “I will wash.”
Where is “I love the house where you dwell, O Lord”?
Psalm 26:8 (25:8 in the Douay-Rheims: “I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house”).
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 25 (26), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.