Psalm 101 A Psalm of David

 ¹I will sing of mercy and justice;

To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.

²I will behave wisely in a perfect way.

Oh, when will You come to me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

³I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;

I hate the work of those who fall away;

It shall not cling to me.

⁴A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will not know wickedness.

⁵Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,

Him I will destroy;

The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,

Him I will not endure.

⁶My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,

That they may dwell with me;

He who walks in a perfect way,

He shall serve me.

⁷He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;

He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

⁸Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,

That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.

Preamble: In this Psalm we have the Holy Spirits prescription for Godly leadership

Commentary

Vs. 1 “I will sing of mercy and justice;

To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.

David begins this psalm with declaration as the nation’s leader that he will sing of mercy and justice. For these two are the hallmarks of Godly leadership, for mercy is what fills the heart of man with thanksgiving when mercy is shown him, just as justice satisfies the heart of just men and women when it is done. These two needed qualities are then most clearly seen in complete harmony with each other in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through whom God has executed His justice on Him, so that He might show mercy to us all who believe in Him (John 1:14). Therefore, “To You, O Lord, I will sing praises,” and so will you when you come to receive God’s grace by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Vs. 2 “I will behave wisely in a perfect way.

Oh, when will You come to me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.”

From verse two on David gives us great insights into his own heart as man who wants to be pleasing to God, who wants to meet with God on His terms. First and foremost then he seeks to set his own conduct right before Him, by saying that he will behave wisely in a perfect way. For David was renowned for his wise conduct, even while under the leadership of the less than wise king Saul (1 Samuel 18:5, 12-16 etc.) For even though David was young and greatly revered king Saul when he came to serve him, David did not follow Saul’s rashness and self-centered zeal, nor did he avenge himself on him when Saul turned against him (consider 1 Samuel 22:6-23; 24, 26). David’s statement then that he will walk with a perfect heart within his house is his saying that he will be a man of integrity before his family. So that that all who are his household can trust him and look to him as a man who believes and does the Word of God. He will then be a man whom all people can trust and turn too.

Vs. 3 “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;

I hate the work of those who fall away;

It shall not cling to me.”

David’s statement that he will set nothing wicked before his eyes, is his saying that he will not be a partaker with those who plot schemes or do evil, he will not play the hypocrite then by partaking in other peoples sins. For a just man wants to see just things done, and not the schemes and works of those who fall away from the faith, who give themselves a license to do as they see fit. Therefore, David says he hates their work, all of it, it shall not cling to him (consider 2 John 2:10-11).

Vs. 4 “A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will not know wickedness.”

In his desire to purify his life of all that is evil; of all that offends our God; David now says that a perverse heart shall depart from him, that is, he will not give himself over to the decay and corruption of this world, moral or otherwise. For once one lowers the bar they will just keep lowering it, allowing themselves to see and do worse and worse things. Therefore, “I will not know wickedness” is his (and our) desire to keep himself/ourselves far from all that is wickedness (consider 1 Tim. 5:22).

Vs. 5 “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,

Him I will destroy;

The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,

Him I will not endure.”

Such then is David’s righteous desire to serve our God with a pure heart that he now says that he will not endure those who secretly slander their neighbor; who seek to harm or destroy their neighbors by stealth and deception, such people then he will destroy! Those who seek him then better not come to him with slanderous and deceptive words about those they hate, seeking to get him to destroy them for them, for they themselves will be the ones destroyed (Deut. 19:16-21). And as for those who wish come in his presence they better not bear a haughty look or proud heart; for as with the Lord Jesus Christ whose throne he was preparing for Him; he will not endure them either (consider Isaiah 2:11-12).

 Vs. 6 “My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,

That they may dwell with me;

He who walks in a perfect way,

He shall serve me.”

Yes, indeed a righteous leaders’ eyes are always on the faithful of the land, to show them his favor, to open the door to them, to bring them into his presence as counselors and cohorts, to make them fellow servants of the Lord with himself.

Vs. 7 “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;

He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.”

David now expresses his desire to purge and remove all who work deceit from within his house; which in the broadest sense will encompass all of redeemed Israel; that he will remove from his presence all who tell lies; and so again as God’s chosen he will do what God Himself in Christ will do when He Reigns.

Vs. 8 “Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,

That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.”

In purging his own person and house David now moves out into the whole realm of his domain; for you cannot allow the wicked to dwell in the land (or in your presence) for they will corrupt it. Therefore he says, “Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.” The New Jerusalem then will be a place where such people are not seen, amen.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.

 

Psalm 100 A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

 ¹Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

²Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

³Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

⁵For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Commentary

Vs. 1 “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!”

This Psalm is call for all lands, (i.e. nations) to praise the Lord, to make a joyful shout to Him. It is then not just for Christ’s Millenia Regin, or for Israel, but for us all now! Now there are innumerable reasons why we should and would want to do this, but chief among them must be that God has given us His Son Jesus Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice for all our sins (John 3:16), so that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life! What are you waiting for then, come home to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved!

Vs. 2 “Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

With God’s Salvation always comes service, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 8:36). Now our “service” to Him; for it hardly feels like service when you serve the one you love; is to be done with gladness. I can remember when I first came to Christ at the mission and how I was assigned the duty of dishwasher for the homeless that came to the mission. I never felt so glad in working there, and in seeing all the people coming there. God gave me a true joy that was a great blessing not only to me, but hopefully others as well. Serving the Lord then with gladness and coming to Him with joy, goes hand in hand with believing in Him.

Vs. 3 “Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Yes, brethren know that the Lord Jesus Christ is God (John 8:58; 14:9). And it is He who has made us, (not we ourselves), for all things came through Christ for Christ (John 16:15; Col. 1:16-17). Therefore, brethren we are the sheep of His pasture; for only He knows us and we all who believe in Him know Him (John 10:1-5).

Vs. 4-5 ⁴Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

⁵For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

From a call to the nations to delight themselves in the Lord, to now a call for us to come to His place of worship with joy and thanksgiving, to enter then His courts with praise and be thankful to Him and bless His Name, For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; no one then loses their salvation; for His Truth endures to all generations. Therefore, we are not only recipients of His mercy and His truth, but we all are to be the givers and caretakers of it. Guard then God’s grace and truth in your hearts for everything else is fleeting.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.

Psalm 99

 ¹The Lord reigns;

Let the peoples tremble!

He dwells between the cherubim;

Let the earth be moved!

²The Lord is great in Zion,

And He is high above all the peoples.

³Let them praise Your great and awesome name—

He is holy.

⁴The King’s strength also loves justice;

You have established equity;

You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁵Exalt the Lord our God,

And worship at His footstool— He is holy.

⁶Moses and Aaron were among His priests,

And Samuel was among those who called upon His name;

They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.

⁷He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;

They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.

⁸You answered them, O Lord our God;

You were to them God-Who-Forgives,

Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

⁹Exalt the Lord our God,

And worship at His holy hill;

For the Lord our God is holy.

Preamble: This is another Psalm given through God’s Spirit to foretell and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ while also edifying us His people by giving us a future and hope in His Future Regin on earth!

Commentary 

 Vs. 1 “The Lord reigns;

Let the people’s tremble!

He dwells between the cherubim;

Let the earth be moved!”

 In awe inspiring praise and reverent fear, the psalmist makes it clear that our Lord reigns! The peoples then will tremble when they see Him, for He will be revealed to one and to all, as the Awesome God who dwells between the cherubim; that is the angels that overshadow His mercy seat that was mounted on top of the Ark of the Covenant. For it is from there that He will make intercession for the peoples and The Nation during His earthly Reign! “Let the earth be moved!” is then the disposition of all of creation before Him, for everything will bow before Him and too Him.!

 Vs. 2-3 “The Lord is great in Zion,

And He is high above all the peoples.

³Let them praise Your great and awesome name—

He is holy.

In the New Jerusalem, the Lord is great in Zion. For it is from there that he will be exalted above all peoples, He will be honored and hallowed above all! Therefore, the Word of God says let all peoples praise His great and Awesome Name, the Name above very named that is named, for He is holy. Perfect without blemish or fault by sin or anything else is what it means to be holy.

Vs. 4 “The King’s strength also loves justice;

You have established equity;

You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”

The King, the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is strong, uses His strength to bring forth justice, for He loves justice. Indeed, by His strength He shall establish equity, justice, and thus fairness for all! And in seeing Him in His Reign the Holy Spirit can now say that He has executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (i.e., Israel). In fact, in looking back through Israel’s history this can also be said; for He always dealt with them according to their works and all their ways throughout all their history. 

Vs. 5 “Exalt the Lord our God,

And worship at His footstool— He is holy.”

“Exalt the Lord our God, and not yourselves nor someone else, and worship at His footstool, at His feet; which is our place of reverence before Him; for He is holy (consider Luke 7:36-50).

Vs. 6 “Moses and Aaron were among His priests,

And Samuel was among those who called upon His name;

They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.”

Three revered men are now mentioned as examples for us beginning with Moses, the prophet who led Israel out of Egypt at God’s command. Aaron his brother through whom God established the priesthood for His Covenant with Israel, and Samuel the righteous prophet of Israel who anointed their king for them at God’s command. These men then all called upon the Lord and He answered them. (In this consider Psalm 86:5; 145:18; Isaiah 55:6-7; Jeremiah 29:11-13; Rom. 10:12-13 etc.). This principal then extends to all who believe in Him for salvation, “for whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” ^{Rom. 10:13} This verse then is declaring to us all His faithfulness, for He heard them, just as surely as He will hear us.

Vs. 7 “He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;

They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.

God spoke to them then through the cloud that overshadowed the Tabernacle, which was their meeting place with Him. And they kept His testimonies and the ordinance that He gave them, Moses and Aaron kept the Law and the priestly ordinances God gave them after the Mount Sinai incident. and in this Samuel did so when the whole nation and the priesthood under Elie had gone terribly astray.

Vs. 8 “You answered them, O Lord our God;

You were to them God-Who-Forgives,

Though You took vengeance on their deeds.”

Yes, it was through these men that God often spared the nation, for our Lord God answered them, He was to them God who forgives, though He took vengeance on their deeds. This principal then should not be lost on anyone, for God’s grace given us through the Lord Jesus Christ does not mean that God will not take vengeance on our deeds when He deems it just and righteous to do so. Which is why the fear of the Lord is so fervently proclaimed throughout the Scriptures, for that is where wisdom truly begins. To think then that God’s grace equates with a license to sin is only to be terribly deceived.

Vs. 9 “Exalt the Lord our God,

and worship at His holy hill;

For the Lord our God is holy.”

In closing we are once again called to “Exalt the Lord our God;” and not the celebrities and personalities of this world. “And worship at His holy hill” That is where He makes His Name and Person dwell. “For the Lord our God is holy.”

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.

 

Psalm 98

 ¹Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

²The Lord has made known His salvation;

His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

³He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

⁴Shout joyfully to the Lord,

all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

⁵Sing to the Lord with the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

⁶With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

⁷Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;

⁸Let the rivers clap their hands;

Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,

⁹For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.

Commentary

Vs. 1 ¹Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

In every generation there is a Scriptural cry, a decree for us all to sing to the Lord a new song! For though the hymns and songs of previous generations are well beloved and are frequently sung in our church assemblies, we are to make our own melodies to the Lord, to make songs that reverberate within us and our generation of our joy in Him, songs then that we compose from our own hearts that heartfeltly declare our own joy in the Lord is what we are to do. For this is good and pleasing to the Lord that we should express our own joy of Him in our worship of Him (Eph. 5:19),’ that we should give thanks to Him for all the marvelous things He has done for us and for all (Isaiah 25:1). For it is His right hand and His holy arm that have gained Him the victory, and we are the most grateful recipients of His Victory! This then is a decree that will see its fulfillment with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when His redeemed people will declare that He Himself has done this for us all!

Vs. 2-3 ²The Lord has made known His salvation;

His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

³He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

From the Day of Calvary forward the Lord has made known His salvation, He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations through His suffering Crucifixion Death for us all! And through His Great Sacrifice for us all He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel (Deut. 32:43; Psalm 65:3; Ezekiel 16:62-63 etc.) But again, these passages also clearly speak to the Lord’s Second Coming when all nations will see Him with all of us whom He has redeemed. And on that Day, they will see that He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel. Which again began with Jesus Christ’s birth (Luke 1:44-45; 1:72), but they will not see its fulfillment until He delivers Israel out of Jacobs troubles during the Tribulation period and then brings them with Himself into the New Millenia of which this Psalm is pointing too.

Vs. 4-9 ⁴Shout joyfully to the Lord,

all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

⁵Sing to the Lord with the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

⁶With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

⁷Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;

⁸Let the rivers clap their hands;

Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,

⁹For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.

The call now goes out for us all to shout joyfully to the Lord, for us to uninhibitedly express our delight and praise and thankfulness towards Him. For us all to break forth in song, rejoicing, and praises (vs.4). For us to sing to the Lord along with whatever musical instruments or devices that express our own gratitude and thanksgiving to Him, all instruments (even loud instruments) then can be used to express our heart felt worship of Him and bring edification to His congregation (Vs. 4-6). For we are all to shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. Subdued and constrained worship then is not becoming of Him, nor us! For even the sea is commanded to roar in all its fulness at the Lord’s Presence, all the world and all who dwell within (vs. 7). For all of creation itself will exceedingly delight itself in the Lord when He Reigns, the rivers will clap their hands and the hills will be joyful before Him, in anticipation of His coming to judge the earth! “For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.” Through justice and fairness then the Lord Jesus Christ will Judge all peoples, amen!

 Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.

Psalm 97

 ¹The Lord reigns;

Let the earth rejoice;

Let the multitude of isles be glad!

²Clouds and darkness surround Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

³A fire goes before Him,

And burns up His enemies round about.

⁴His lightnings light the world;

The earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,

At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶The heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the peoples see His glory.

⁷Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,

Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.

⁸Zion hears and is glad,

And the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your judgments, O Lord.

⁹For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;

You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the souls of His saints;

He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

¹¹Light is sown for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.

¹²Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Commentary

Vs. 1 The Lord reigns;

Let the earth rejoice;

Let the multitude of isles be glad!

This Psalm celebrates and declares the Lord Jesus Christ’s Reign! Calling all the earth to rejoice and be glad for His dominion will be from “sea to sea”, from the New Jerusalem outward He shall Reign over all!

Vs. 2 “Clouds and darkness surround Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”

Though clouds and darkness surround Him His ways will be known to all, for righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. The world then will only know these in their unadulterated fullness when He Reigns.

Vs. 3-5 “A fire goes before Him,

And burns up His enemies round about.

⁴His lightnings light the world;

The earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,

At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

The Lord Jesus Christ’s Judgment is now declared as a fire that goes before Him, a fire that burns up His enemies round about. All those who have rejected Him shall now know His wrath (2 Thess. 1:8). People will not blasphemy His Name, nor take it in vain any longer. The evilly confident and complacent sinner will now fear. They will not talk proudly of their wicked deeds on His Day (consider Isaiah 2:10-22; 13:9-13; 26:20-21). For they will now personally experience His wrath by His power. Indeed all the world will see His lightening’s light the world, even the earth sees and trembles. All creation will fear Him. Even the once exalted and seemingly immovable mountains will now melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, for the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord of all the earth

Vs. 6 “The heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the peoples see His glory.”

The heavens on His Day will declare His righteousness; that He alone has done it all, that He has redeemed all who believe in Him whom the God the Father gave Him, that He has redeemed all of Israel whom God the Father choose for Him. All peoples will see His glory as He now reigns over us all!

Vs. 7 “Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,

Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.”

Who then would dare worship an idol, a molded image made by man in the likeness of mankind or creation. Let them all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. For there is only One God and He will not give His glory to another!

Vs. 8 “Zion hears and is glad,

And the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your judgments, O Lord.”

When Zion hears the Lord Jesus Christ they will be glad just as daughters of Judah will rejoice because the whole world is now ruled by the Lord's Judgments (Isaiah 11:9; 42:11; Habakkuk 2:13-14 etc.). Therefore, just as Zion hears and is glad, so the daughters of Judah rejoice because the Lord’s judgments are in the earth (consider Isaiah 26:8-9).

Vs. 9 “For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;

You are exalted far above all gods.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is now exalted by Israel as their Lord and Savior, they themselves now collectively declare that He is the Only One to Rule, that He is most high above all the earth. That He is exalted above all “gods;” above all angels, demons, or Satan himself, the Lord is exceedingly far above all!

Vs. 10 “You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the souls of His saints;

He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.”

The Word of the Lord now calls us all who love Him to hate evil! Yes, to hate evil in all its forms, to thus hate all the wicked and perverse "morality" and corruption of man. For the Lord preserves the souls of His saints, He preserves everyone who fears and obeys Him, for He delivers us out of the hand of the wicked. Therefore, be faithful to Him, and not the wicked judgments of man.

 Vs. 11 “Light is sown for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.”

Truly then God gives light (illumination of His Word) for the righteous, so that we may walk in righteousness with Him. And He gives gladness of heart to all who are upright in heart. Joy from the Lord then comes to all who live uprightly before Him.

Vs. 12 “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”

Knowing that God is for us; that it is through His Sons Holy Name that salvation has come to us who believe in Him; yes, we rejoice in the Lord, we rejoice for all He has done for us, and we will give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.