I will carefully attend to the blameless way.

Psalm 101 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

I will sing of mercy and justice;
To You, Lord, I will sing praises.
² I will carefully attend to the blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.
³ I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
⁴ A perverse heart shall leave me;
I will know no evil.
⁵ Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy;
I will not endure one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart.

⁶ My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
One who walks in a blameless way is one who will serve me.
⁷ One who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
One who speaks lies shall not maintain his position before me.
⁸ Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to eliminate from the city of the Lord all those who do injustice.

The psalmist says:  Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to eliminate from the city of the Lord all those who do injustice.  In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus says:  “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!”  It is not our place to judge, condemn or destroy others. We should first remove and destroy the wickedness in our own hearts. We cannot do that by our own good intentions or works. Rather we are made righteous, freed from wickedness, by grace through Christ. It is through eyes of grace then that we should view others and it is through grace that perhaps we can help them to see clearly. 

That we treat others with grace does not mean that we abide with, embrace or tolerate wickedness. The psalmist is right to say:  I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. I will not endure one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart. My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; One who walks in a blameless way is one who will serve me. One who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house. One who speaks lies shall not maintain his position before me.  Our culture and society promote the lie that love means that we need to tolerate, embrace and include everyone and everything. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  God’s love did not accept or tolerate our sin. God’s love was demonstrated in the suffering of Christ on the cross, so that by His grace, we could be free from sin. If we would love and show grace to others then, it would be that they too would clearly see the truth of God’s love. That:  God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

It must begin though with our believing and acting on our belief. Like the psalmist we must say: I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, Lord, I will sing praises. I will carefully attend to the blameless way. I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. A perverse heart shall leave me; I will know no evil.  In Psalm 37:3-6 the psalmist says:  Trust in the Lord and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring out your righteousness as the light.  In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   As we delight and trust in God; as we faithfully cultivate His love and grace in our lives, He will bring out our righteousness, our good works of love and grace, as light to the world. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus Himself says:   Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for Your love and grace, that through the cross I am redeemed; that wickedness no longer has a place with me. As I delight and trust in You, walking in Your grace, may I be a light that others might see, so that when You knock, they will open to You.   Amen.