"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
As to 5ff, it would be easy to take these verses as a charter for 'wielding the big stick' in a widespread purge of evil things. But certain things need to be said about this. For one thing, the holiness mentioned in 2-4 does not in fact necessarily express itself in widespread purges of the extreme sort. Holiness produces wisdom also, and wisdom shows great patience and understanding in its work. For another thing, the impact upon society of holy lives in the example they afford, and the influence they exercise, can be immense and far-reaching. It is significant to see that it is not gross crimes that the Psalmist dissociates himself from, but the more subtle ones of slander, superciliousness and inflated vanity. These are danger points in the work of the kingdom too! All the same, the Psalmist does concentrate on the faithful of the land - these are the ones he covets to have around him - and what a joy it is for anyone involved in the work of God to know this. We recall what Paul says to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2) '... the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also'. These are the allies he covets, in the continuing work of renewal and reform. And what a fellowship is theirs, when they are so involved! Maclaren concludes, 'The Psalm is a God-given vision of what a king and a kingdom might and should be', and surely this has a message for every congregation and fellowship of God's people!