A LIFE IN POLITICS
Opening Prayer
Father, open my eyes, ears, and heart to your Word today. Teach me how to better serve you and bring you glory.
Read PSALM 101
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 101
Of David. A psalm.
1 I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart.
3 I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.
I hate what faithless people do;
I will have no part in it.
4 The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.
5 Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
8 Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the Lord.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.’1 Express your response to this choice in a prayer of dedication.
Think Further
We could call this psalm ‘the politician’s prayer’! It is almost certainly King David’s expression of his longing for integrity in his personal and political life. If he is to rule the nation well, both he and his team (his ‘house’, v. 2) must carry themselves with honesty and trustworthiness. David has significant authority in the nation (v. 8), but we should not limit this prayer to great leaders. More widely, it expresses a concern for a life that reflects the love and justice of God. That’s where David starts, with God and his desire to be like him in all his interactions. If this is to happen, he needs God to ‘come to me’ (v. 2), to convey his presence and grace. In this desire, we see the well-balanced juxtaposition of the psalms. Psalm 100 was all about uninhibited joy in God. That’s no world-renouncing, self-indulgent experience. It must be lived out in the context of a ‘blameless’ life (v. 2), even in the complicated area of national government.
Part of being ‘blameless’ before God is to renounce evil. David will choose carefully what he approves of and what he hates. We can never be casual about who we listen to or whose company we keep. Politics is rife with intrigue, vilification of others and self-promotion, although none of these are restricted to the political world! They are all things David will call out and refuse to tolerate. Instead, he will promote and draw on those who are faithful and servant-hearted. These are high standards. Sadly, as we look at the life of David, we know that he did not always live by them. That makes us especially grateful to one of David’s ‘house’ (his dynasty) who was blameless, without spot or blemish, who rules us with unadulterated love and justice.
Apply
Can you use this psalm to pray for your nation’s leaders and for all the areas in which you have the opportunity to exercise leadership?
Closing prayer
Lord God, I confess that my commitments are not always as trustworthy as yours. Forgive me and help me to be faithful in what I do for you and in how I relate to those around me.
1 Josh 24:15
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