I will sing of mercy and judgment. He would extol both the love and the severity which the
Lord had mingled in his experience; he would admire the justice and the
goodness of the Lord. Such a song would fitly lead up to godly resolutions as
to his own conduct, for that which we admire in our superiors we naturally
endeavor to imitate. Mercy and judgment would temper the administration of
David, because he had adoringly perceived them in the dispensations of his God.
Everything in God’s dealing with us may fittingly become the theme of song, and
we have not viewed it aright until we feel we can sing about it. We ought as
much to bless the Lord for the judgment with which he chastens our sin as for
the mercy with which he forgives it. Unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. The mercy or the judgment must hold a
very subordinate place in our memory, and the Lord alone must be hymned by our
heart.
2. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. To be holy is to be wise; a perfect way is a wise way.
David’s resolve was excellent, but his practice did not fully tally with it.
Householders, employers, and especially ministers should pray for both wisdom
and holiness, for they will need them both. O when wilt thou come unto me?
He feels the need not merely of divine help, but also of the divine presence,
that so he may be instructed, and sanctified, and made fit for the discharge of
his high vocation. If God be with us we shall neither err in judgment nor
transgress in character; his presence brings us both wisdom and holiness; away
from God we are away from safety. Good people are so aware of infirmity that
they cry for help from God, so full of prayer that they cry at all seasons, so
intense in their desires that they cry with sighs and groanings which cannot be
uttered. I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. Piety must
begin at home. Notice that these words are a part of a song, and that there is
no music like the harmony of a gracious life, no psalm so sweet as the daily
practice of holiness. What we are at home, that we are indeed.
3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I will neither delight in it, aim at it, or endure it. If I
have wickedness brought before me by others I will turn away from it. The
psalmist is very sweeping—no wicked thing; not only shall
it not dwell in his heart, but not even before his eyes. I hate the work of
them that turn aside. He did not view it with indifference, but with utter
scorn and abhorrence. Hatred of sin is a good sentinel for the door of virtue.
David would pay no secret service money; he loathed the practices of people who
deviate from righteousness. It is greatly to be deplored that in after years he
did not keep himself clear in this matter in every case, though in the main he
did. How much we all need divine keeping! We are no more perfect than David;
indeed we fall far short of him in many things; and, like him, we shall need to
write a psalm of penitence very soon after our psalm of good resolution. It
shall not cleave to me. I will disown their ways, I will not imitate their
policy; like dirt it may fall upon me, but I will wash it off, and never rest
till I am rid of it. Sin, like pitch, is very apt to stick. In the course of
our family history crooked things will turn up, for we are all imperfect, and
some of those around us are far from being what they should be; it must,
therefore, be one great object of our care to disentangle ourselves. This
cannot be done unless the Lord both comes to us, and abides with us evermore.
4. A froward heart shall depart from me. He would neither be crooked in heart himself, nor employ
people of evil character in his house. We cannot turn out of our family all
whose hearts are evil, but we can keep them out of our confidence, and let them
see that we do not approve of their ways. I will not know a wicked person.
If I know him to be wicked, I will not know him any further, and with his evil
I will have no communion. “To know” in Scripture means more than mere
perception; it includes fellowship.
5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut
off. He had known so bitterly the
miseries caused by slanderers that he intended to deal severely with such
vipers when he came into power, not to revenge his own neighbor but to prevent
others from suffering as he had done. Him that hath an high look and a proud
heart will not I suffer. Proud, domineering, supercilious gentlemen, who
look down upon the poor as though they were so many worms crawling in the earth
beneath their feet, the psalmist could not bear. He resolved that none should
be great in his palace but those who had more grace and more sense than to
indulge in such abominable vanity. Proud men are generally hard, and therefore
very unfit for office.
6. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that
they may dwell with me. He would
seek them out, engage their services, take care of them and promote them to
honor. Those who are not faithful to God will not be likely to be faithful to
men; if we are faithful ourselves, we shall not care to have those about us who
cannot speak the truth or fulfill their promises; we shall not be satisfied
until all the members of our family are upright in character. He that
walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. Employers are to a great
degree responsible for their servants, and it is customary to blame a master if
he retains in his service people of notorious character. Even irreligious
people have the sense to perceive the value of Christian servants, and surely
their own Christian brethren ought not to have a lower appreciation of them.
7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house. Deceit among most Orientals is reckoned to be a virtue, and
is only censured when it is not sufficiently cunning, and therefore comes to be
found out; it is therefore all the more remarkable that David should have so determinedly
set his face against it. He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
Grace makes people truthful, and creates in them an utter horror of everything
approaching to falsehood. If David would not have a liar in his sight, much
less will the Lord.
8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land. At the very outset of his government he would promptly deal
out justice to the worthless; he would make them leave their wickedness or feel
the lash of the law. Undue leniency to the bad is unkindness to the good. When
our Lord comes in judgment, this verse will be fulfilled on a large scale; till
then he bids people leave their sins and find pardon. Under the Gospel we also
are bidden to suffer long, and to be kind, even to the unthankful and the evil;
but the office of the magistrate is of another kind, and he must have a sterner
eye to justice than would be proper in private people. That I may cut off
all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.
Jerusalem was to be a holy city. Judgment must begin at the house of God. How
pure ought the church to be, and how diligently should all those who hold
office therein labor to keep out and chase out people of unclean lives.
Honorable offices involve serious responsibilities; to trifle with them will
bring our own souls into guilt, and injure beyond calculation the souls of
others. Lord, come to us, that we may walk before thee with perfect hearts.
Excerpt from:
The Treasury of David
By Charles H Spurgeon
