"A Psalm of David.
I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbour secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favour on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
7 No one who practises deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord."
Psalm 101
This is a Psalm which records the solemn resolve that the King of Israel made as he assumed office under God, and it bears a message for all who would serve the Lord in His Church and kingdom. One commentator refers the question in 2 - 'O when wilt Thou come unto me?' - to David's longing to see the Ark set in Jerusalem. This would mean that the dating of the Psalm would be towards the beginning of his reign, when there was so much of the previous reign - Saul's - with its abuses and confusions to be put right. This is the new king's desire, to make his reign worthy. But David says he will take heed to himself, before he seeks to purge the land of bitter things.
The Psalm opens with a statement which does not appear to relate to the rest of the Psalm, since it speaks of singing God's praise, and there is little of the note of praise in the remainder of the Psalm. Maclaren says that the verse prepares the Psalmist's purpose for his whole life - mercy and justice (judgment). It is probably significant as an introduction to the theme of the Psalm, if it is meant to indicate and define the kind of pattern he wishes to develop, both in dealing with his own life and also with the body-politic of the nation - a wise and gracious attitude to adopt, for it surely reflects the attitude God Himself takes in His dealings with us. Then, in 2-4, we have an outline of David's resolve for himself. We could well entitle it 'truth in the inward parts', for that is what it is about - truth, straight, honourable living in private life, with nothing in which we are insincere with ourselves, or untrue to the highest we know. What is in view is a life of integrity - it is a high, austere standard self-ward - not ascetic but basically controlled and disciplined - a heart of fire toward God, a heart of love toward others, a heart of steel toward ourselves.