Commentary - Psalm 101:6-8

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 101 is a ruler's manifesto, a solemn pledge before God concerning how he will conduct his administration. In these concluding verses, David moves from his personal resolve to the practical outworking of that resolve in his kingdom. He lays out the two essential functions of a godly ruler: the promotion of the righteous and the suppression of the wicked. This is not a psalm about private piety; it is a blueprint for public justice. The king commits to actively seeking out the faithful for his administration and to systematically purging his government and his capital city of liars, deceivers, and evildoers. This psalm is therefore a "mirror for magistrates," but it is ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the true King who will one day bring all falsehood to an end and whose eyes are always upon the faithful of the land. The principles here apply at every level of governance, from the king's court to the father's household.

The passage presents a stark and necessary antithesis. There is no middle ground. The king's house will be populated either by the faithful or by the deceitful. His city will be governed either by righteousness or by iniquity. David's resolve here is to ensure that his domain reflects God's character. This requires both positive action, seeking out and promoting the upright, and negative action, judging and removing the wicked. The diligence of this task is captured in the phrase "every morning," indicating a constant, vigilant commitment to justice. This is the pattern for all godly authority.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 101 is a psalm of David, and it has the character of a coronation vow or a public declaration of his governing philosophy. It is a king's pledge to rule with integrity. The psalm begins with a commitment to a heart of integrity within his own house (v. 2) and a refusal to set any worthless thing before his eyes (v. 3). He declares his hatred for the work of those who fall away and his determination to separate himself from evil, perversity, and slander (vv. 3-5). The final three verses, our text, pivot from the king's internal resolve to his external policy. Having set his own heart right, he now sets his kingdom right. This psalm provides the moral framework for the Davidic monarchy and serves as a benchmark against which all of Israel's subsequent kings are measured. Ultimately, it points to the perfect King, Jesus, who alone perfectly fulfills this righteous agenda.

Key Issues

A Platform for Godly Rule

Every ruler has a platform, a set of principles by which he intends to govern. Most modern political platforms are cobbled together out of pragmatism, polling data, and a desire for power. But here, David the king lays out his platform before God. It is not a plan to win votes, but a vow to win God's approval. His administration will be built on two pillars: patronage for the godly and punishment for the wicked. This is not complicated, but it is radical.

Notice the scope of this platform. It covers his personal attendants ("abide with me," "minister to me"), his household ("dwell within my house"), and his entire capital ("the city of Yahweh"). This is a top-to-bottom commitment to righteousness. A godly ruler understands that he cannot tolerate deceit in his inner circle and expect justice to flourish in the streets. Purity, like rot, starts at the top. This psalm is a rebuke to all forms of leadership that compartmentalize, that imagine one can have personal integrity while tolerating public corruption, or vice versa. David understands that a righteous king must be righteous in all his dealings, from whom he hires as a servant to how he cleanses his city.

Verse by Verse Commentary

6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me; He who walks in the way of the blameless is the one who will minister to me.

The king's gaze determines the character of his court. Where a ruler looks, what he values, is what he will get. David commits to being a talent scout for integrity. His eyes will actively search out the faithful of the land. The word for faithful here is related to our word "Amen." It means those who are reliable, trustworthy, and steadfast. These are the men he wants to surround himself with, to have them "abide with me", a term of close fellowship and residency. He is not looking for clever sycophants or pragmatic flatterers. He is looking for character. The second clause reinforces the first. The man who is qualified for royal service ("minister to me") is the one who "walks in the way of the blameless." This is not a claim to sinless perfection, but rather describes a life of integrity, a man whose walk is whole and sound. Competence is assumed, but character is the non-negotiable.

7 He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks lies shall not be established before my eyes.

Here is the negative counterpart, the other side of the coin. If the faithful are brought in, the false must be cast out. A man who "practices deceit", for whom deception is a habitual way of life, is disqualified from the king's household. The king's house must be a house of truth. Likewise, the liar, the one who "speaks lies," will not be "established before my eyes." This means he will not find a secure position; he will not be able to stand or endure in the king's presence. There is a fundamental incompatibility between the presence of a righteous king and the presence of falsehood. Lies and deceit may get a man ahead in the courts of worldly rulers, but in the court of God's anointed, they are grounds for immediate dismissal. This is a principle for the church, for the family, and for the state. A liar cannot be trusted with any authority.

8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, To cut off from the city of Yahweh all the workers of iniquity.

The king's duty extends beyond his immediate household to the entire land. His responsibility is to execute justice. The language here is strong and, to our modern effeminate sensibilities, jarring. But it is the necessary work of a godly magistrate. "Every morning" signifies a diligent, constant, and consistent application of justice. It's the first order of business. The king rises to do the work of judgment. And what is that work? To "destroy all the wicked of the land." This means to bring the sanctions of the law to bear upon them. The purpose of this constant judicial action is explicitly stated: "To cut off from the city of Yahweh all the workers of iniquity." The capital city, Jerusalem, was to be a holy city, the place where God dwelled. It could not be holy if it was polluted with unjudged evil. The king's job is to purify the public square, to make the city a safe place for the righteous and a dangerous place for evildoers. This is the work Christ will one day complete, when He fully and finally purges His eternal city of all who do evil.

Application

This psalm is intensely practical for us. First, it sets the standard for all authority. If you are a father, this is your platform for governing your home. Your eyes should be on your faithful children, delighting in them and giving them responsibility. You must not tolerate deceit or lies within your house. Your home should be a place where truth is cherished and falsehood is disciplined. If you are a pastor or an elder, this is your platform for shepherding the church. You are to recognize and promote the faithful, and you are to discipline the deceitful and divisive. The church cannot be a pillar and buttress of the truth if it winks at lies in its midst.

Second, this psalm informs our civic duty. We should desire and vote for rulers who reflect this character. We should want magistrates who prize integrity over slickness, who are committed to punishing evil and rewarding good. We have settled for far too little for far too long. We have voted for the lesser of two liars instead of demanding men of blameless character.

Finally, this psalm should drive us to Christ. David's resolve was noble, but only Jesus Christ, the Son of David, has perfectly fulfilled it. He is the King whose eyes are always on His faithful people. He is the one in whose house no deceit can dwell. And He is the one who, every morning, is working through His providence to bring wickedness to an end, a work that will culminate on that final morning when He returns to cut off all workers of iniquity from the New Jerusalem forever. Our security is not in our own faithfulness, but in the fact that the faithful King has set His eyes upon us and has brought us to abide with Him.