Promising Faithfulness to the Lord
I will sing of mercy and justice;
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not know wickedness.
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,
Him I will destroy;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,
Him I will not endure.
My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,
That they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a perfect way,
He shall serve me.
He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Psalm 101
The header in my Bible for the above passage reads “Promised Faithfulness to the Lord”. That is really what David is doing in this Psalm. He is proclaiming that he will do what is right in God’s sight - that he will remain faithful.
He says that he will praise God. He says that he will avoid wicked actions, and wicked people he will not tolerate. He says that he will keep himself focused on things that are good and faithful. He will keep company with others who are also faithful to the Lord.
What a good thing to promise. What about us? Do we promise the Lord that we will try to distance ourselves from wickedness and remain close to those who are faithful? We did when we were baptized into Christ, becoming a child of God whom we are to serve. Perhaps it would do us well to remind ourselves of that great promise!
-- John Thrower Jr.