Psalm 101:1-5 - Eyes of Discernment

3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.

 

Psalm 101 is a psalm written by David who had just recently become King of Israel. The nation was broken, and he had a tremendous task and challenge before him as he had to deal with both internal corruption and foreign adversaries such as the Philistines. David’s great desire is to lead the nation with integrity and fulfill God’s heart for it to be a nation that reflected the glory of God. As I read this chapter, I see at least four things that David had that will guide and help him as he transforms the broken nation into a world power.

 

David was determined to follow the instructions of God’s Word and be a king of “mercy and justice” (v. 1), which is a reflection of the character of God. David desired to have a “perfect heart” (v. 2). He was devoted to worship of the only true God. David also was committed to having eyes of discernment (v. 3), as to what he would and would not be looking at and for. And finally, David now could make good decisions about the kind of people that would serve in his administration (vv.  6-8). The four “D’s – Determined, Devoted, Discernment and Decisive!

 

Today, we live in a broken world full of corruption, violence, conflict, and fear. I personally believe the present conflict in the Middle East is setting things up for the end time events that are described in the prophecies of the Bible. They remind us that Jesus Christ, the greater son of David, is coming soon to set up His Kingdom! But before He comes, a false Anti-Christ will come promising peace to the Middle East and the world. His peace is just a deceitful move to take control of the whole world and to set up his diabolic kingdom that will not last long. Jesus Christ will come, destroy the Anti-Christ and his armies, and set up His Millennium Kingdom and true peace will finally come to the world!

 

Today, as we look at Psalm 101:3-5, we notice that David moved from the heart of the leader to the hearts of the sinners (vv. 4-5) and turned the emphasis to the leader's eyes and what he saw (vv. 3, 5, 6, 7). The heart and the eyes work together, for what the heart loves, the eyes will seek and find (Eccl. 2:10; Jer. 22:17). This section parallels Psalm 15 where David described the ideal worshiper whom God welcomes to His dwelling. David did not want anyone in his official family who was not walking with the Lord. "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes" (v. 3a) means more than beholding vile things "the lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16). It also means setting worthless goals and seeking to reach them.

 

Leaders must set the best goals, guided by God's will, for outlook determines outcome. The spiritual leader not only sets the best goals but he or she also uses the best methods for achieving those goals (v. 3b). "Faithless" people are apostates, people who have abandoned God's way for their own way and the world's way. David had his eyes on the faithful, not the faithless (v. 6).

 

A "perverse heart" (v. 4) is a twisted heart, one that does not conform to God's will (Prov. 3:32; 6:16-19; 11:20), and a twisted heart produces a deceitful tongue (v. 7; Matt. 12:34-35; see Prov. 17:20). The word translated "proud" in verse 5 means "wide, expanded" and describes people who are inflated with their own importance. It is important that leaders cultivate humility and lead by being servants, not dictators. Like Moses, David was a model of a “servant-leader”.

 

Today, please continue to pray for the “peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), which actually means you are praying the last prayer of the Bible. “Even so come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

 

God bless!