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.
This psalm is a manifesto of David's conviction to live out his faith in a difficult world. With what themes does he choose to begin in verses 1-2? Why do you think he began with these themes?
3 I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.
Think for a moment about the time when David lived and on David's personal experience. What sorts of "vile" things might David have been tempted to "look with approval" on?
In what ways could verse 3 be applied today?
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.
From verses 4-5, make some practical connections to your own life. What related "manifesto" declarations do you need to make today?
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.
Slowly walk through each line of verses 6-7. If you were to make these declarations, what routines in your life would need to change?
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. NIV
This psalm ends with a rather dramatic declaration. To keep these from being empty words, how could David effectively follow-up on this conviction?
::::: Application Challenge :::::
Using Psalm 101 as a guide, take some time to write your own personal manifesto. Keep it where you will see it each day for the next week, updating it or improving it as needed. Continually lift this manifesto to the Lord in prayer.
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