Oct-15-0534-Integrity within my house
534_Integrity within my house Psalm 101 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 neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure. 6 I will look with favor 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 practices 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. A woman was preparing her home for an important guest. She dusted, swept, rearranged, and scrubbed every corner. The guest was someone she deeply respected. Having him step in to the house and find clutter or dirt, or smell yesterday’s stale food, would not reflect the value she put on having him home. The urgency she felt about cleaning her home wasn’t because she was being perfectionistic. Rather, she wanted her home to show how much worth she placed on her guest. This resembles the picture described in Psalm 101. David, newly ascended to the throne, was determined to set up, not just his palace, but his entire kingdom, with single-minded devotion to the Lord. He was not bothered about external adornment, unlike Solomon. He focused on inward integrity. Like the woman who wanted her house to reveal her heart towards her guest, David wanted his reign, his house, to mirror his love for God. Many commentators believe that David composed this psalm shortly after taking the throne of Israel. During the troubled reign of Saul, he saw firsthand the devastation resulting from a heart that had gone astray from the living God. Saul’s insecurity, pride, rashness, and disobedience left the nation wounded and disordered. He had years of opportunity to repent and seek God’s mercy, but he did not. Once David ascended the throne, he resolved not to repeat Saul’s mistakes but to set things right before the Lord. He therefore opens with worship: “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.” His first thought as a king was not about policy, power, or popularity, but about praising the Lord. David knew that without God’s presence and guidance, his reign would be as fragile as Saul’s. He wanted to organize his kingdom around the will of God - a character that is marked by unfailing love and impartial justice. All his plans flowed from this vision of God. David recognizes that his first