Psalm 101 is a powerful passage where David promises his faithfulness to the Lord. He promises that he will behave wisely, walk perfectly, and destroy slanderers.
Sounds noble, doesn't it?
At first glance, this can look like an unattainable requirement for Christians. Is this passage saying that, like David, we must always behave wisely, walk perfectly, and (gulp) destroy our slanderers?
My suggestion is to look at this passage from two angles.
1) What is this Old Testament passage foreshadowing about the New Testament?
2) What is the heart of this passage?
1) As I mentioned earlier this week. It is important to read the Old Testament through the lens of how it points to the New—primarily Jesus. Otherwise, we can fall into religiosity and legalism like the Pharisees, which I am definitely guilty of at times. The biblical commentary written by Matthew Henry states that this passage was a declaration written when David became king. Just like when a president in the US takes office and declares what he plans to do during his term, David appears to be making the same type of statement. As king, he plans to operate in mercy and justice. Yet, David is often referenced in the New Testament as a prophetic voice pointing to Jesus. This is true here. Jesus is the King of kings who is full of wisdom, was the only man on earth who walked perfectly, and, through his death and resurrection, destroyed the wicked. This is important to understand. When we read this, we see that God has made a way, and that way is Jesus.
2) Even though this was the heart of David at the time attempting to be a just king and it is clearly a foretelling of the King that was to be manifest on the earth, that doesn't mean we can't walk away with a practical application for our lives. We can. The heart of this passage shows us that at no time in history, is it in the character of God to put up with evil and injustice. Verse three is intense:
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. (Psalm 101:3)
God himself cannot stand wickedness. When he saw it during the days of Noah, he destroyed mankind, saving Noah and his family only. When he saw it during Sodom and Gomorrah, he sent sulfur balls and destroyed an entire area. Yet the wickedness in this world is in all of us since we have a sinful nature. When we see that wickedness in us, let us be quick to repent, not justifying it. Not letting it remain before our eyes. If we don't, evil works will not bother us anymore. We become hardened to sin in our lives and then hardened to sin in others and before we know it, anything goes. Sin clings to us and weighs us down. The beautiful thing about being a Christian though, is when we choose not to allow sin in our lives, when we see it in others, we are not judgemental but merciful—operating in love and forgiveness—boldly proclaiming the truth in love. It's a process but the world of those who fall away can truly not cling to us. We can get to the point where it doesn't bother us or make us angry but causes us to love and point them to Jesus.
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