Psalm 101

A Psalm of David.

1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
    to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
    Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
    within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
    anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
    it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
    I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
    I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
    I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
    shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
    shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
    shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
    all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
    from the city of the Lord.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

NOTE: Today’s commentary is by Dr. Kevin Watson, who is coming to Tulsa to become the Director of Academic Growth and Formation at the Tulsa Extension Site for Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as joining our staff at Asbury Church as Scholar-in-Residence.  I wrote a post announcing and explaining this move.-Andrew

Psalm 101 is attributed to King David. The psalm begins with a steadfast commitment to love and justice.

The question in verse 2 is fascinating to me:

I will ponder the way that is blameless.
     Oh when will you come to me?

As the rest of the psalm shows, the King is doing everything he can to be just and upright and fight against evil throughout his realm. But there is also a note of loneliness and lament.

If you have ever felt the weight of responsibility that comes with leadership, you almost certainly also know the feeling of lament and loneliness that comes from seeing the gap between where you are wanting to lead and where you are.

Has there been a time in your life when you have done the very best that you could, but there were times you felt overwhelmed by the task? Or, have you ever felt discouraged by the persistence of evil during your best efforts to do good for others?

Verse 2 suggests the King has not experienced all that he hopes; nevertheless, he presses on for justice and in relentless opposition to evil.

Morning by morning I will destroy
     all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
     from the city of the Lord.

Today, even if you feel weary, keep going!

The Enemy’s number one goal is to get you to quit.

So, don’t.