Devotional Short Note on Psalm 101:
David is the author of this Psalm and just before one makes the same error that
Judaism and modern scholars made thinking it is the agenda of the ideal
kingship that is spelled out here. Stop the bus. It is, yes, but not of David. It
is Christ’s Ideal Life on earth, His Messianic function. How do we know that?
In 101:6 says “Mine eyes are upon the faithful of the land that they may dwell
with me”. Said Jesus, “I am going to prepare a place for you and when I have
prepared a place for you I shall come again so that you will be also where I
am.” Also in 101:6b it says: “he [she] that walks in a way of perfection, he
[she] shall minister unto me”. Yes. My preacher, My pastor, My teacher, My
doctor, My religious leader, my deaconess, my deacon, my elder, anyone who has
graduated with a B.A. = born again! David speaks in 101:1 saying “I will
sing of mercy and justice, unto You, O Lord, will I sing praises”. David wants
to be a mirror of Christ. Unless one knows the Perfect One, it is impossible to
speak of perfection or mercy or justice. There is such a thing as skew justice
or kindness accommodating sin, which is biblically and from God’s perspective
impossible since sin needs to be dealt with not accommodated. In 101:2 it is no longer David speaking
and it will become clear why it is the Lord speaking, the Lord Jesus Christ. “I
will give heed (weigh carefully) upon the way of perfection”. David intercepted with a question of the
first coming of the Lord by asking the matay
= when question. This word is a key word in the delay theology of the Old Testament.
When they ask these questions the implication is that there is a delay. When
means not yet. That is the rule. “When will You come unto me?” When is the
coming of the Messiah since it is delayed? The expectation is high so when is
it? It is high because of the delay. So this is behind matay = when questions in the Old Testament. The Lord continues speaking: “I will
wander in the perfection of my heart in the midst of My House”. Christ walks in
perfection in the midst of the Sanctuary. That is the necessary requirement for
justice and mercy. Christ’s agenda as Messiah on earth was a determination “not
will I set next to my eyes a word of foolishness” (101:3a). We certainly have
to think what we place in front of our eyes daily and with the control in our
thumb permit to flash images on our perceptive memories. We fill the reservoir
of the brain with maybe too much that are not necessary. Digital Sabbaths are
very important in the age of digimodernism. “The doing of crooked things, not shall
it cleave unto Me” (101:3b). The ideal Christ walk on earth is portrayed here.
Christ our Example. He is the template of perfection. He had not a single
desire through His whole life to do any crooked things or doing things with a
crooked means. It is an example every Christian are asked to emulate in their
lives since that is why Christ came, to demonstrate that the Law of God can be
kept, like Job did, Henoch and others. “A perverse heart shall depart from Me,
I will know no evil thing” (101:4). Christ had to become in all aspects like us
(Hebrews 2:17) “yet without sin”. There is no embracing of the sins of the
sinner, but the sinner that wants to get rid of these sins. Christ knew no sin
(2 Corinthians 5:21). “No sin was in Him” (1 John 3:5). Christ was “made sin” [blamed
innocently by self-choice] but did not have any. If someone slander his neighbor in
secret “Him will I destroy” (101:5a). This can only be the Lord Jesus Christ,
since Who knows the secrets of the heart but God? This is the destruction of
the Hell at the end of time. This is no license for retaliation, a blank check
for the ius talionis principle. This is divine that is talking here not humans.
“Who is haughty of eye and proud of
heart, him I will not be able” (101:5b). This is literally. Christ will not be
able to save this person if there is but a single thought of pride and
self-exaltation in the mind. The sentence stopped short of saying able of what?
What is Christ’s ability other than the salvation-engine of God? There is no
other means to heaven than this transport means. Is this ability? Definitely. Christ eyes are upon the faithful of all
ages: “Mine [Christ] eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may
dwell with me, he [she] that walks in a way of perfection he [she] shall
minister/serve unto me” (101:6). Christ eyes sees the faithful seeker, faithful
associate, faithful lover, faithful dweller. He reads the hearts, the
intentions of people whether it is mala fide or bona fide. “Bad intentions or
good intentions”. “He that works deceit [Lucifer and his
proxies and human tools and followers] shall not dwell within My house”
(101:7a). There is no special accommodation in heaven for those who wish to
remain in darkness of sin. “He that speaks falsehood shall not be established
before Mine eyes” (101:7b). Again we come to that famous word used in the Old
Testament yikôn < kûn. Other related words were nakûn, makôn, takûn. Satan
attacked the place of tranquility in God’s Sanctuary and that is the place that
Christ is going to prepare for us (John 14:1-3). Some people thought that
Christ meant He is going to be a builder in heaven of mansions. No. In the same
verse Christ says “In My father’s house are many mansions”. They are already
there. This place is that word we mentioned above. It is restoring what Satan
has broken. Everyone who is faithful, has the key to be “established = yikôn”
before His eyes. “To the mornings I will destroy all the
wicked of the earth” (101:8a). In the Ancient Near East divine punishment was
meted out at Midnight. That is when the Executive Judgment took place in
Egyptian Judgment theology. The Angel of the Lord struck at Midnight in 1450
the oldest son of Thutmosis III whose mummy is in the Oriental Institute Museum
in Chicago since he is only 35 years old and not 73 years old like Thutmosis
III was supposed to be! He was washed away in the Red Sea that early morning
night hours. David says that the destruction of the wicked will be thorough. It
will not be a short time at Midnight. It will be “To the morning” and if you
think any remain, think again, it will be every midnight until morning until
all are destroyed. The key point is that complete eradication of all evil in
the Hell event. David was trying to phrase it in what he knew of his own time
and his own military tactics. But the absolute eradication of evil he
understood fully which the Holy Spirit showed him. In Jeremiah 21:12 the same
Ancient Near Eastern concept was presented to Judah: “O House of David, thus says
the Lord, judgment to the morning”. The fury of the Lord will come in the
morning but they have some chance to change before the morning that is why it
they are to judge to the morning. God’s
executive judgment of “My fury go forth like a fire” (Jeremiah 21:12) will be when
the sun is up. “To the morning” is that time before the sun comes up. The wicked
will perish at the Second Coming in the Advent morning if they did not make use
of their chance in the investigative judgment function of Christ ongoing now as
we speak. “To cut off from the city of the Lord
[New Jerusalem] all the workers of iniquity” (101:8b). All the wicked
eradicated is not the work of a human but only of the Warrior Messiah Christ at
the Hell event. David knew his shortcomings. See Psalm 51.