Psalms 101:1

The Bible says in Psalm 101:1, “I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.” This verse mentions two great things to sing about: mercy and judgment. If you understand just how great of a sinner that you are, then you understand the value of mercy. Mercy is when God does not give you what you deserve. Mercy overrides the general principle of reaping what we sow. If you receive the mercy that is in Christ, you will live in heaven forever. Without mercy we will all go to hell, and so, yes, mercy is definitely something to sing about. Mercy keeps us from the judgment of God. God will bring His judgment. None of the wicked people will get away with anything. God is in charge. He sees everyone, and He forgets nothing. Those who reject Christ face a terrible eternity because the Judge is coming. Those who do not know Him as Savior will come to know Him as Judge. We can sing about that because we know that truth and goodness and righteousness will prevail because of the judgment.

The Bible says in Psalm 101:2, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” The Psalmist speaks of his behavior and his heart. Both are important: what we do and what we think in the inner man. It must be our goal to be everything God wants us to be. We want to be like Jesus. We want to be people of the Book, of prayer, of faith, and of good deeds. It is a high standard, but we seek to live by that standard. Interesting that between the two statements about a perfect way and a perfect heart, the Psalmist says, “O when wilt thou come unto me?” The real answer to what we need will happen at the coming of the Lord. Then all things will be changed. Then we will be sinless. It will be wonderful, but until He comes, our goal is still the highest of standards. We must seek Jesus and we must make it our purpose to serve Him.

The Bible says in Psalm 101:3-4, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.[4] A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.” Who becomes wicked and who does not? It depends upon what you want. Everyone chooses their own way. Since wickedness is all around us, in order to avoid wickedness, we must make a determined and purposeful decision. Notice in the first phrase of verse three that the Psalmist says, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.” We can choose what we look at and what do not look at. Be careful what you choose to look at. Many temptations start with the eyes. It says in First John 2:15-16, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.[16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

In the second phrase of verse three above the Psalmist says, “I hate the work of them that turn aside.” There are people who choose to do wrong and they go the wrong way in life. They turn away from God’s ways. If you want to follow Jesus, you must recognize who those individuals are and stay away from them. You must “hate” their “work.” Do not hate them, but hate their work. At the end of verse four the Psalmist says, “I will not know a wicked person.” This is the spiritual and Biblical principle of separation. There are people from whom you must separate yourself if you are going to serve Jesus and be a witness for Him in this world. It says in Psalms 1:1-6, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.[2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.[3] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.[4] The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

The Bible says in Psalm 101:5, “Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.” Two things are condemned in this verse: slander and pride. Pride is the reason that someone would slander his or her neighbor. If you have too high of an opinion of yourself, it is much easier to have too low of an opinion of others. Every person should have good things said about them. Every person does have their good points. God loves you even though He knows all of your weaknesses and failures. The devil slanders the brethren. When you slander people, you are being just like the devil. Pride is one of the greatest sins because it will also keep you from Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4, “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.[4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

The Bible says in Psalm 101:6, “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.” The word “faithful” refers to the believers. You are one of the faithful if you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save your soul. Once you put your faith in Christ, of course you enter into a true relationship with God. You become a child of God, and then the Lord watches over you like He does all of His children. Our future is that we will “dwell” with God forever. And of course, once we believe in Jesus, we start walking in the “perfect way,” which is following Jesus. If you go any other way, it will be your own. It will be an imperfect way that will not end well. It is always better to be a servant of the Lord. You were born to serve the Lord.

The Bible says in Psalm 101:7, “He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.” God does not like deceit or lying. Everyone knows that. If you are a deceiver, you cannot dwell in God’s house. In other words, you cannot go to heaven. That is because you must be honest with God to go to heaven. You must be honest about your own sins and your need to have Jesus as your Savior. You cannot have a relationship with Christ without that kind of honesty.

The Bible says in Psalm 101:8, “I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.” You just might want to have a talk with Jesus and make sure that your sins are confessed and that you are born-again. Because if you are not saved, the judgment is coming. God says, “I will early destroy,” and “that I may cut off all wicked doers.” This means hell instead of heaven. Turn to the Lord Jesus while there is time. Everyone who chooses wickedness will perish.

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