Overview: (NET) The psalmist, who appears to be a king, promises to promote justice in his land and vows to rid his royal court of evildoers.
Structure: Note the verbs of each sentences:
I. From the mouth: Sing and praise (about loyalty and justice) v.1
II. From the action: Walk and conduct business (with integrity) v.2
a. Start from the heart: Will not even consider and hate (dishonest and evil) v.3
b. Determined in action: Have nothing to do with/destroy/will not tolerate (perverse and evil person), v.4-5 vs Favor/allow them to be with me/welcome in my presence (honest person and who walk in the way of integrity) v.6-7.
c. Renew every day: Each morning I will check and remove wicked and evildoers from the city of the LORD v.8
Note:
Where do all these determinations come from?
(EBC) The motivation for the king’s loyalty comes from the Lord’s acts of “love and justice” (v. 1). He is constant in his “love” [loyalty] and full of “justice” in his administration. The Lord’s covenantal acts on behalf of his covenant people bring the psalmist to thanksgiving (“I will sing … I will sing praise”). These qualities are also the motivating factors for his commitment to lead “a blameless life” (v. 2). The verbal phrase... “[I will walk]" derives from the wisdom tradition. It expresses the concern for wise living and acting (cf. 2:10) and attentiveness to the lessons of wisdom, by observation or education (cf. Prov 19:16; Isa 41:20). With diligence, having observed the ways of the Lord, the godly leader gives himself to a life of integrity (“blameless,” [integrity]; cf. 15:2; 119:1; Gen 17:1) in the presence of God as well as in his personal affairs (“in my house with blameless [integrity] heart”; cf. 18:23; 78:72; 1 Kings 9:4; Prov 20:7). Below in v. 7 the theme of personal integrity will be further developed to include all those who form the “house.” Both verses together affirm his commitment to keep himself and his environment free from deviation from the practice of love and justice.
Reflection:
The motivation for our commitment to integrity is God's love and justice. Because of God's love:
1. Do we put into action what we sing and praise? Not that we have to be careful with every single word we sing on Sunday worship or stop singing certain songs that we know we cannot do, but we need to be more mindful of what we sing. Are you going to put them into action? 2. In order to prepare himself for actions, the psalmist did some "works" in his heart first. Do you have a hard time stopping sinning? Perhaps, in your heart we need to hate sin and not even consider doing it. 3. Whom do we associate with? If we hate sins do we choose a habitual sinner to be our closest friend?
Audrey
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