Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-039 Sunday 24 Feb 2002

Reading: PSALM 101 – A ROYAL MANIFESTO

(From ‘Encounter with God’ Bible Reading Notes)

Be prepared to ask yourself some searching questions as you meditate on ‘the blameless life’ described in this psalm.

Only the thoughtless reader will make a comparison between this psalm and the prayer of the Pharisee in the Temple.(Luke 18:1O-14)

There are three distinct clues that mark out the difference. The first is that here the psalmist is declaring his intentions, not boasting of his achievements. The second is that the speaker is kingly, not only because of the ascription to David but because he has power and authority over his people (v 8), and actively cares for them (v 6). Thirdly, the psalm is a liturgical composition, designed for regular use in the worship of the Temple, almost certainly by David’s successors in office as they each in turn make a public declaration of the way they intend to rule the country. It is in fact a royal manifesto.

The tragedy is that few, if any, lived up to their promises. David himself notoriously fell short, not only in his private life (but what can be private in a leader of God’s people?) but in the court intrigues to which he was never immune – and he was a star compared with some of his descendants. That, however, need not deter us from making his intentions our own, and using these words to nerve us for the ethical battles we shall have to face in the coming week.

As in the Ten Commandments, there is a preponderance of negatives (vs 3,4,5,7,8), reminding us that saying ‘no’ is still one of the hardest things to do, and the most necessary. Without such specific renunciation of evil, the endearing positive intentions of verses 1,2 and 6 could easily be blurred. The delicate balance of the whole psalm is well summed up in the phrase ‘I will be careful’ (v 2).

The grossly overused parting shot ‘Take care!’ could take on new meaning if we interpreted it in the light of today’s reading.

– Bishop John B Taylor

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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