Psalm 101, Verses 1-2

1 A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. 2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

God is a God of mercy and judgment. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in their over emphasis of tithes and gifts when he said, “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Luke 11:42 Here he shows that God is a loving God showing mercy to those who seek it with a humble heart as well as to those who show mercy themselves as Jesus said in Matthew 5: 7, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” James also wrote the following in James 2:13, “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” But judgment is also the other side of God. Read what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

David also said he would sing of mercy and judgment “unto thee, O LORD.” Christian songs need to be those that glorify God and tell of his grace. They should have a clear message and one should not have to guess who the artist is singing about or to. I’m afraid in much of the genres of “Christian” music today that’s not the case. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16 The word “admonishing” or “admonish” means “to caution or reprove” or to warn. We sing songs to the Lord glorifying Him but we also sing to others, telling of his grace and his judgment that will come upon the earth.

2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

Our behavior is important. How we behave reflects our testimony as a Christian. Many times we become flippant and sensual attitudes and actions are displayed before we realize and our testimony is jeopardized. Paul told the young evangelist Timothy, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12 Men did not despise Timothy’s youth if he were an example of the things that Paul mentioned, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. David “behaved himself wisely” when he was among the soldiers of King Saul and therefore Saul could not find anything against him. Many times the church suffers reproach but that reproach is brought on by us and not always the Lord in that our actions are not in agreement to God’s Word. The Lord uses men to punish as we read in Psalm 17:13b, “deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:”

Then he asks the question, “O when wilt thou come unto me?” Do we desire God’s presence in our lives? Do we hunger after his word and spirit or is our desires really in another area or our life? I will tell you that you must continually stir yourself up by praying, fasting, and reading his Word or the devil will be sure to get you cooled off in Christ. It is a constant battle and we will never fully win until we are with him in heaven so get with it and press in! Remember what Christ told the thriving church in Ephesus: “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Revelation 2:2-5 I believe that I am correct in saying that the church of Ephesus, although then seemingly a powerhouse for God is no longer. I don’t know about you but this causes me concern. America has lost its first love for the gospel, the church in America has lost its first love for the gospel, and it frightens me to thing that many of us have to. We must go back and “do the first works over again!’

The third thing he says in verse two is that “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” The home seems to be the battleground in America. Almost every day we hear on the news about a killing taking place within a family. The number of families still in their first marriages now are less than 50% of the total households in America. How we act in the home will reflect on how we act in public. How we act with our own reflects on how we fare with God. I know the Jesus said “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Matthew 10:35-36 But here, he was talking about division because of some believing the gospel and some not. He was trying to tell his listeners that the ones who may try to stop them from serving Christ the most would be those of their own family. But if our actions are base and we treat our family with hatred, that’s a different story. “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1 This can apply to men as well. How we act in our homes tells what kind of faith we really have.

Because I try to make these blogs somewhat short, I’ll stop here and will go on next time to verse three.