Summary:
In Psalm 101, we learn from David - how he was resolved to walk and behave perfectly. His resolve to walk perfectly began in his house, and in his behaviour, he set out to stay away from wickedness, as well as not to slander, deceive, and lie. When Jesus comes again, what will be revealed in us? Pride and arrogance? Or, a perfect heart? Let’s emulate David in his resolve.

“Oh, when will you come to me?”
Who spoke these words? The first time the speaker read it, he was reminded of an oldie. However, the ‘You’ in the title is capitalised and refers to God. What is similar is often expressed as the love you have for the other party, it expresses the desire and hope the other party will come to you. This title is taken from a very old song in the Bible. Turn to Psalm 101:2;

‘I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.’

The first and last part of the verse talks about ‘perfect’ and in the middle of the verse is a sudden interjection, “Oh, when will You come to me?” This outburst shows David’s deep feelings to God. David is impatient and wants God to come to him NOW. If we take a look at the entire Psalm of Psalm 101, this phrase not only reveals his desire for God to come to him but also reveals more of his will and resolve to prepare himself for when God comes to him. This afternoon, the speaker would like to take a look at Psalm 101.

What was David prepared to do so that God may actually come to him?

Let’s take a closer look at v2;

‘I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.’

There are a few things for us to take note in this verse. David was resolved to walk and behave perfectly.
On the other hand, we as human beings, often give the excuse that we are human and hence sin. Some reckon that it is impossible to achieve perfection. Why then did David insist on perfection? Because he knows that God is perfect. Turn to Deuteronomy 32:4;

‘He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.’

In other words, everything that God does is perfect. There is not a single thing that God does that is bad; not a single thing that God does is wrong. The nature perfect of God requires Him to hold everyone accountable. Because He is perfect and just, His work and word is perfect. Therefore, David also aspires to be perfect. If you want God to come to you, you must aspire to be perfect.

There was once when the American Humanist Association ran an advertising campaign. The message was this: Why believe in a God? Just be good for goodness sake.
Is this true? The problem is, what is the standard of goodness? Is it my standard? Your standard? Or the standard of the American Humanist Association? Apart from God, there is no real goodness. The second issue is that there is no need to believe in God; you take God and accountability out of the picture. Because if you are not accountable to God, no one will aspire to be good. It is precisely such an accountability that makes David want to be perfect. If the perfect God is coming, and we have to be accountable to Him, how can we not aspire to be perfect?

We turn back to Psalm 101:2;

‘I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.’

1. “Walk within my house with a perfect heart”

Why does it start with his house? This is because we reveal our true self at home. When we are out and there are other people, we usually tend to show the better side of ourselves; we tend to handle ourselves better, we tend to handle our temper better. This is because we do not want to embarrass ourselves in front of others. This does not only apply to adults, young children also do this. Sometimes when the speaker’s daughter is naughty at home and is about to be disciplined, she will be given one last chance, “Do you want to be a good and bad girl?” When there is no one around, only family members, she would then answer in defiance in a mix of Hakka and English, “I want bad girl!”, But sometimes their neighbour would walk past and hear her daughter throwing a tantrum. He would then say, “Girl, why are you crying?” Her tears would miraculously dry up. She wasn’t taught this but she also knows to want her face. This is generally true to most of us — we reveal our true self at home. The children at home also know when the parents are quarrelling. It is the siblings at home that know each other inside out. Very often, we are not so concerned about how our family views us, which is why we tend to reveal our true self at home.

Therefore, this is why David resolved to walk with a perfect heart at home first. If we strive to walk with a perfect heart at home, we will also do so outside. If we cannot do it at home, how can we do it outside?

2. “I will behave wisely in a perfect way”

In other words, we need wisdom to behave perfectly. Why is wisdom so important? This is because we don’t like in a world that is very conducive for Christian living, we live in a world that is crooked and perverse. Present world that thinks what is right and wrong is different from the Bible’s. What the world thinks is important is different than that of the Bible. The Christian value system is different from that of the world.

Recently, the speaker was editing an article (not a part of his work) to be published. He had to refer to a baby. He didn’t know the pronoun of the baby. We were taught since young that if you don’t know the pronoun, just use ‘he’. However, he was told that this was wrong; not that it was grammatically wrong but that it was politically wrong. He was told that you should use ‘it’. He thought that it was dehumanising because the baby is human. Or, ‘they’ could be used. He thought that it was a singular baby, why was ‘they’ to be used? He found it alright as long as he doesn’t have to refer to God as a ‘she’. Presently, there are gender-inclusive Bibles that refer to God as a ‘she’.

The speaker was fine with it but it was just awkward because the article was filled with ‘he/she’. In other countries, you cannot refer to the other person as how you think he/she is. You have to first ask the other person which pronoun they identify with. The speaker always thought that gender was something factual. But today, it is no longer factual but subjective; you identify it yourself.

Today, companies have many corporate guidelines that test our Christian values. To navigate in the world we live in today requires wisdom to live in a perfect way.

Let’s take a look at Daniel and his three friends. They were taken captive from Israel and placed in present Babylon. It was an environment that tested their faith. When we read the story of Daniel and his 3 friends, we see that whatever they did, they did it wisely. Read Daniel 2.

The king had a dream and no wise man could interpret his dream. Hence, they wanted to kill all the wise men. V13;

‘So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.’

V14;

‘Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; ‘

“With counsel and wisdom, he answered”
Think about it. The other men who were killed were also wisemen. But before they could even ask anything, their heads got chopped off. The speaker believes that they would have tried to delay even though it was inevitable. But here tells us that when Daniel spoke to Arioch, things were different. What did Daniel accomplish that others couldn’t? First he convinced Arioch to not chop his head. Then, he convinced the king what had happened and then to go to the king. Then, he convinced the king to give him some time. This was what the other wisemen can’t do. This wisdom doesn’t refer to your intelligence or how sweet your mouth is. This is wisdom from above, this is the wisdom from God that we need today.

Why did God give them this wisdom?
Because they resolved like David to live in a perfect way. In Daniel 1, they were resolved to not eat the king’s delicacies. This wisdom is not just for them to get out of sticky situations. They were resolved to the extent that they were willing to lose their lives. We know that Daniel’s 3 friends were ready to be thrown into the fire. Daniel was resolved to pray even if he was to be thrown into the lion’s den. First, they were resolved to do what’s right. Then, God gave them the wisdom to do and say what’s right. This is the wisdom we need to navigate in the world today. First, we need to resolve to walk in the perfect way. Then, God gives us the wisdom as well to do and say what is right.

Turn back to Psalm 101.
What were some of the concrete things that David resolved to do?

1. Stay away from wickedness

Read Psalm 101:3-4;

3 ‘I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.’

David is very sensitive to wickedness. When we hear the word ‘wicked’, what comes to our minds are very wicked crimes (murder, adultery, etc.). In the Bible, wickedness refers to anything that goes against God; you go against God and His standards. David resolved to have nothing to do with wickedness. He will not look at anything evil. What about us? What do we read online? What do we watch online?

“I hate the work of those who fall away”
He was referring to the wicked works and not the people. These are wicked deeds.

“He shall not cling to me”
He will not have anything to do with them

“A perverse heart will depart from me”
Everything begins with the heart. If your heart has a tendency to go astray, you will have the tendency to do wicked. In other words, he will keep his heart from going astray.

“I will not know wickedness”
This is not “good if I achieve it, it’s okay if I don’t”. He had set his mind to be intolerant to wickedness. If we take a look at the trend of the present world, it tends to go against the Bible. The world tells us to be tolerant of anything.

The speaker read an article recently. The author said this about marriage: Instead of trying to go for a monogamous marriage, we should strive for monogamy-ish — not monogamous but similar. Because humans are imperfect, you strive for the possible instead of being perfect. In other words, you strive to be faithful to each other but if there are occasional flings, you should be okay with it. It is not that we should not tolerate other beliefs and viewpoints. Even God doesn’t force anyone to believe in Him. But we should not tolerate wickedness. If we think back to the time we were praying for the Holy Spirit, many of us had the same heart as David here. We know that God is holy, “How can the Holy Spirit dwell in me if I am unfaithful?” Then, you think of all the sins you have committed. You think of all the weaknesses you have and resolve to change. That was our focus.

What happened after receiving the Holy Spirit? Very often there is a decline in our focus, we forget about our resolution. We become complacent. We think that we are better than the past; we have sins but we are now better than before. This is complacent because our battle is not over. Just as the opening hymn that we sang, don’t think that we are already victorious, we should still stay on guard.

There is an elder who always likened our faith to a soccer match. He says that you can have a good first-half. But if you play badly in the second-half, what’s the use of the first-half? You will still lose. Recently, the speaker was watching a few MBA matches. The better team was leading by 15 points in the first-half. Many thought that they were going to win and hence turned back to the other channel. When they turned back, they were shocked. The less talented team by paper won! What happened? The stronger team became complacent. They didn’t play with the same focus as before. When it was 0-0, they played with intensity and focus. When they were leading with more than 15 points, they thought that they were going to win and let their guard down. They played with less intensity and therefore lost.

This was what happened when David sinned.
Why did David sin with Beersheba? At that time, it was supposed to be the kings fighting. The kings were supposed to lead people in wars. David probably got tired of fighting. He hence sent Joab out and stayed behind in the palace. He slept and slept and it was recorded that he woke up in the evening. In the Psalms, he said that he would offer morning and evening sacrifices. He said that he would pray to God in the morning and noon. But that day, he woke up in the evening. He probably missed the morning prayer and offering. He let his guard down and committed sin.

Some may say that David made such a strong resolve to not sin and hence is a hypocrite. The lesson is not this, but that we should never let our guard down. Because we have an adversary that is our opponent — the devil. Of all the attributes of the devil, he is not lazy. Laziness is our weakness, but the devil is never lazy. He knows that he has no time. Therefore, the devil works very hard. If we don’t work as hard and let our guard down, the devil is just waiting to pounce on us. The lesson to learn is that we need to maintain the same mindset from the beginning to the end; we cannot have any wickedness. Use the mindset from when we were praying for the Holy Spirit. If we don’t, when the Lord comes to us, will we be found lacking?

What other things did he set out to do?

2. Do not slander, deceive, and lie

V5;

‘Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.’

V7;

‘He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.’

Some say that deceit is lying through our words. What is lying? Lying is spoken deceit. Here talks about working deceit and the one who tells lies. V5 talks about the slanderer who brings it further. In other words, you are trying to harm the other person. If we think about it, why does anyone want to work deceit, lie or slander? What is the reason for lying? The latter portion of v5 says;

The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.’

“Haughty look and a proud heart”
Very often, we lie because of our pride. Take the example of Ananias and Sapphira. Why did they lie to the Holy Spirit? Everyone was selling their possessions and bringing their portion to the apostles. They didn’t want to lose face but they weren’t as generous as others. They wanted money as well. Hence they sold their possessions and brought only some. Ananias didn’t exactly tell a lie because Peter didn’t ask if this was the amount. But he was lying; he lied through his actions. He did the same as everyone, he brought money to the apostles. If God didn’t reveal this, they would have thought that this was the amount. The wife explicitly lied because Peter asked if this was the amount. Hence, it doesn’t matter if you are saying it out or deceiving through your actions. Even if you try to deceive through actions, it’s still lying. In the end, they both died. If we examine the root cause, it was pride. They were not that good but wanted to look good. If we think about why we lie, isn’t that often the case? We want to cover up our true self. In English, there is a saying, “We flatter, we deceive.” We want people to think that we are better than we are.

What about slandering?
Very often, it is for the same reason we slander others. Take a look at Numbers 12:1-2;

1 ‘Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. ‘

Here says that Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses. In other words, they were slandering him. You may say that what they said was factual, Moses did marry an Ethiopian woman. When you slander others, what you say may be factual but with a negative twist. This is so others will look at him with a bad light. This is what the slanderers of Jesus did as well. They took the works of Jesus but twisted it to slander him. The lie is in the negative twist. Why did they want to slander their own brother? This is because of pride! The latter portion of Numbers 12:2;

“Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. ‘

In other words, they were trying to say, “What is so good about Moses? We are also as good as him, God also spoke through us!” They brought Moses down to lift themselves up. Moses’ response is good for us to learn. How did Moses respond? V3;

‘(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)’

If you spoke badly of others as well, it would be vengeance. We should never slander anyone but we should also not return tit for tat. What is really important is what God thinks of us. What’s important is if God will rise up to defend us.

Finally, how does David deal with the deceiver, slanderer, and liar? Here it says that He will destroy him. V7;

‘Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.’

This is because David knows that these people will also have no place before God, he will not be allowed in the house and presence of God. They will ultimately be destroyed by God. When God finally comes to us, all these facades that we have put up will be stripped away. We may flatter to deceive, or put up a front so that people think that we are better than we are. We may slander others and others may actually think that we are better than we are. But we can never deceive God. One day, when God comes, He will strip away all these things. We will all stand naked before God. When all these things are taken away, what is that thing left behind? Is it pride, arrogance and wickedness? Has it all been just a lie? Or will what be revealed be a perfect heart? Will we tell God to not come because it is just a lie? Or will we, like David, say, “Oh, when will You come to me?”

May God help us.