POLARITIES
Opening Prayer
Lord, like You, I truly detest iniquity.
Read 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
‘When will You come to me?’ (2). In the midst of all this psalm’s affirmations, I make this one solitary – piercing – question my own.
Think Further
I read (or sing) this psalm several times to establish the rhythm of the psalmist’s ‘I will…’ and ‘I won’t…’ in my heart. Think of the repeated ‘I will’ as promises or vows rather than just bland statements of intent (See Gordon Wenham, Psalms as Torah, Baker, 2012, p67–74). What is the point of singing such songs? The psalmist uses ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ 20 times (NIV). What verbs (action words) give energy to his promises? What behaviors does he detest and avoid?
There are 73 Davidic psalms in the psalter, but only two of them (101,103) are in Book 4. Psalm 72:20 says that the prayers of David are ended. The temple is in ruins; it appears that the Lord has rejected His people and renounced His covenant (Ps 74:7; 77:7; 78:59; 89:39). So who is the ‘David’ of Psalm 101? What phrases in the psalm suggest his high status? Perhaps this psalm is a mirror for monarchs? Read in Samuel of David’s tragic failures in matters of piety and justice in his own life, house, and appointments. Absalom stole the people’s hearts by rising early (2 Sam 15:1–6).
The psalmist reviews his private and his public life, and so do I. He meditates on piety and justice (there is no ‘your’ in the Hebrew text of verse 1), two things which are hard to keep together in a vibrant partnership. Does his morality seem very hard-edged, very black-and-white to me? Is hatred a part of the armory of my spiritual life (3)? Do I set my compass in the first moments of every day (8)? I sing or pray these words again, to anchor them in my heart. People sinking into dementia, losing their powers of speech and conversation, may surprisingly retain their ability to sing and to pray.
Apply
‘When will You come to me?’ (2). He is coming (Ps 96:13; 98:9). Am I ready for His coming (Ps 50:3; 143:2)?
Closing prayer
Lord, my eyes are set and my compass is fixed on walking in a high degree of integrity before You.
Book and Author Intros
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