Psalm 101: 1-8 “I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. 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. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.”

Psalm 101 “I will sing . . . I will behave . . . I will set no wicked . . . I will early destroy”

Most accept that this is a Psalm written by David when he was a mere youth. David had just assumed his place on the throne in Jerusalem. Within the psalm, we can see David’s determination of praise, “I will sing” (vs.1), practice, “I will behave” (vs.2), purity, “I will set no wicked thing” (vs.3), and purging, “I will early destroy (vs.8).” David had a desire that these virtues might abide and abound in not only his life, but the lives of those whom God had given him to govern! The presence of these spiritual virtues would result in a nation of peace and prosperity. While these virtues may randomly appear in one’s life, their perpetual presence requires continual cultivation and that requires the personal determination of our will! On four specific occasions within the psalm, David said, “I will.” If there was to be any praise in David’s life, it was because he had made the personal determination to praise God. Whether it is the practice of living right, encouraging pure thoughts by setting a guard about the mind or driving spiritual enemies from the boundaries of our life; David knew a determined will would be required! That determination would cause David to become known as “the man after God’s own heart” (see I Samuel 13:14). David would accept responsibility for the condition of his spiritual life! The simple truth is, “Most of us could elevate our level of Christian living with something as simple as the personal determination of our will!”