Psalms 101

Psalms 101THEME: Song to the King who rules in righteousness and judgmentThis is a Davidic psalm. It begins a little nest of six psalms (101-106) that speak of praise to the King. Guess who is the subject of the hymnbook? It is all about Him again, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King of righteousness and peace, and He is going to reign on this earth. This is a psalm that could not fit into David’s reign at all, so it must be a prophetic psalm. It looks into the future to the Man whom God told David aboutthe Man who would be coming in David’s line. It wasn’t about Solomon or any other in the Davidic line until Jesus was born in Bethlehem, because He was of the house and lineage of David. The Lord Jesus is the Man about whom the psalmist is singing.

Psalms 101:1

This psalm begins, as others have done, with singing praises to God. “I will sing of mercy and justice [rather than judgment].” Now mercy and justice don’t get along together today. It is difficult for man to hold them in balance, but God can do it. And we can sing of mercy and justice, because it is “unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.” He is the King of righteousness and He is the King of peace. What a wonderful One is presented here!

Psalms 101:2

I don’t remember David ever walking like that. The One whom we see here is the Redeemer, the only-begotten of the Father. The King speaks as the Son of Man. Notice that He was the Son of Man on the earth. In His work as the Redeemer He was the only-begotten of the Father, but He took His place in subjection to God’s will. He occupied a lower place while He was on earth, but He took it willingly.

We attempt to get a higher place. He took a lower place in order that He might bring us to a higher place. Before His incarnation Christ said, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God” (Heb_10:7). While our Lord was on earth, He stated that His meat and drink were to do the will of the Father who sent Him, and He did perfectly His Father’s will. He waited patiently for that hour called “My hour” when He wrought out your salvation and mine. Today He is at God’s right hand and is still doing the will of His Father.

He is waiting for that hour when the Father will send Him into the world again, because the Father has said, “…Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psa_110:1). We are told that “…when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all” (1Co_15:28). This verse has caused a great deal of discussion. What does it really mean? It means that after He reigns on this earth, subject to the Father, He is going back to His place in the Godhead, a member of the Trinity. But when He is on this earth it is said of Him, “…I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Heb_2:12). Now notice how Christ is going to reignand David never reigned like this:

Psalms 101:4

Dr. Gaebelein translates these verses a little more clearly: “A perverse heart shall depart from Me, an evil person I will not recognize. Whosoever slandereth his neighbor, I will destroy; him with a lofty look and proud heart I will not suffer. Mine eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with Me; He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve Me. He that is given to deceit shall not dwell within My house, he that speaketh lies shall not be established in My sight. Morning after morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all workers of iniquity from the City of Jehovah” (The Book of Psalms, p. 379).

This is a picture of Christ’s reign here on this earth. During the Millennium you will not be able to take your case to the Supreme Court, for the very simple reason that Christ is the Supreme Court. He is the only One who will judge. The Father has turned over all judgment to His Son, and He will judge everyone every morning. They will have to toe the mark. The Lord is going to be a dictator when He reigns on earth, and everyone will do His will. Then they will sing a new song to the King who rules in righteousness and judgment.