Chapter Overview
Summary
Psalm 101 (MT) / Psalm 100 (LXX) is a Davidic royal-ethics psalm — the king's self-commitment to just-rule, ethical-companionship, and household-integrity. The psalm's discipline-of-one's-eyes ('I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless,' v. 3) became the basis for monastic and Reformed ethics of visual-attention.
Notable Variants
101:3 'not set worthless thing before my eyes' as visual-ethics foundation; 101:6 'my eyes will be on the faithful' as attention-discipline; the royal household-integrity program as kingship-ethics.
Structural Notes
MT Ps 101 = LXX Ps 100. 8 verses.
A psalm of David. Of faithful love and justice I will sing; to you, O LORD, I will make music.
'I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music' tracks MT. CHESED-AND-JUSTICE-SONG.
I will give careful attention to the way of integrity. When will you come to me? I will walk with a whole heart within my house.
'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' tracks MT. WITHIN-MY-HOUSE integrity — household-ethics extending-to-royal-court. Joshua 24:15's 'as for me and my house' has similar household-locus.
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. The deeds of those who fall away — I hate them; they will not cling to me.
'I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless' tracks MT. VISUAL-ETHICS. 'Worthless' (beliyyaal / paranomon) — the lawless/base. The discipline-of-the-eyes tradition (Job 31:1 'I made a covenant with my eyes'; Matthew 5:28 'whoever looks with lust has committed adultery in his heart') shares the logic. Reformed-pietism and monastic-custody-of-the-eyes derive from this verse.
A twisted heart will turn away from me; I will not know evil.
'A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil' tracks MT.
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret — him I will destroy. The one with haughty eyes and a swollen heart — him I cannot endure.
'Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy' tracks MT. ROYAL-STANCE-AGAINST-SLANDER — court-ethics.
My eyes are on the faithful of the land, that they may sit with me. Whoever walks the path of integrity — he will serve me.
'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' tracks MT. ATTENTION-DISCIPLINE — positive-gaze on the faithful, companionship-with-integrity.
No one who practices deceit will dwell within my house. No one who speaks lies will stand before my eyes.
'No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes' tracks MT. HOUSEHOLD-OF-TRUTHFULNESS — the courts of justice framed as household.
Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off from the city of the LORD all who practice iniquity.
'Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD' tracks MT. MORNING-BY-MORNING judgment — daily-liturgical royal-court. Lam 3:22–23 ('his mercies are new every morning') shares the morning-renewal vocabulary.