I Will Sing of Loving Kindness
Psalm 101 summary: what it means
Psalm 101 is a set of promises. The speaker begins by singing of loving kindness and justice, then says how he will live. He will walk within his own house with a blameless heart, set no vile thing before his eyes, and keep a perverse heart far away. Then the promises turn outward, to the people he will allow near him and the people he will not.
The speaker will silence slanderers, refuse the arrogant, and keep deceit out of his house. He will look for the faithful of the land to serve him. The psalm ends with a promise to act every morning against the wicked of the land, keeping the LORD's city clear of wrongdoers. It is written almost entirely in the first person, as a set of vows.
Psalm 101: I Will Sing of Loving Kindness
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-101
Psalm 101 commentary: explained verse by verse
I will sing of loving kindness and justice.To you, LORD, I will sing praises.
I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
The psalm opens with two subjects for song: loving kindness and justice. The speaker addresses his praise to the LORD, and the rest of the psalm shows those two qualities in his own conduct.
Also read Psalm 89:1, Romans 11:22, Psalm 136:10-22, Romans 9:15-18
I will be careful to live a blameless life.When will you come to me?I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.
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.
The speaker commits to a blameless life, starting at home: I will walk within my house with a blameless heart. In the middle of the vow he asks a question, when will you come to me, which shows he is waiting on God.
Also read Isaiah 38:3, Genesis 18:19, Psalm 75:1-2, 1 Kings 11:4
I will set no vile thing before my eyes.I hate the deeds of faithless men.They will not cling to me.
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
I will set no vile thing before my eyes. The speaker guards what he looks at, hates the deeds of faithless men, and says they will not cling to him.
Also read Matthew 5:28, Psalm 18:20-23, Isaiah 30:11, Isaiah 33:15
A perverse heart will be far from me.I will have nothing to do with evil.
A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
A perverse heart will be far from him, and he will have nothing to do with evil. The vow now reaches the inner life, not only actions.
Also read Proverbs 2:12-15, Proverbs 22:24, 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, 2 Corinthians 11:33
I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor.I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
The speaker names two people he will not tolerate: the one who secretly slanders a neighbor, and the one who is arrogant and conceited. Hidden speech and open pride are both ruled out.
Also read Psalm 10:2-4, Titus 2:3, Isaiah 2:11, Daniel 4:37
My eyes will be on the faithful of the land,that they may dwell with me.He who walks in a perfect way,he will serve me.
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.
His eyes will be on the faithful of the land, so that they may live with him. Those who walk in a blameless way are the ones who will serve him. The vow shapes who he keeps close.
Also read Psalm 119:1-3, John 14:3, Revelation 21:3, Psalm 119:63
He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house.He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
Deceivers will not live in his house, and liars will not be established before his eyes. The house of verse 2 is kept free of falsehood.
Also read Acts 1:25, Acts 5:1-10, 2 Kings 5:26-27, Psalm 52:2
Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land,to cut off all the workers of iniquity from the LORD’s city.
I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.
The psalm ends with a daily task: morning by morning he will destroy the wicked of the land and cut off wrongdoers from the LORD's city. The language is that of someone with authority to act, and the psalm does not soften it.
Also read Psalm 46:4, Psalm 75:10, Revelation 21:27, Proverbs 16:12
A prayer from Psalm 101
LORD, I want to sing of your loving kindness and your justice. Help me to be careful about the life I live, and to walk within my own house with a blameless heart. When will you come to me? Keep my eyes from vile things, and keep a perverse heart far from me. Guard my tongue from slander, and my spirit from arrogance and pride. Let me value the faithful and the truthful, and let deceit find no home with me. Morning by morning, I hand the wrongs I see to you, for justice belongs to you. Amen.
Psalm 101 Bible study questions
- In verse 2, the speaker promises to walk within his own house with a blameless heart. Why might the psalm begin with the home?
- In verses 5 and 7, which kinds of speech does the speaker refuse to tolerate?
- Verse 2 also asks, When will you come to me? How does that question sit alongside all the promises the speaker makes?
- Which of the commitments in this psalm feels closest to a choice you face in your own daily life?
- Psalm 15:2 describes one who walks blamelessly and speaks truth. What do Psalm 15 and Psalm 101 share in their picture of a faithful life?
Questions about Psalm 101
What does Psalm 101 mean?
It is a set of vows. The speaker promises to live with integrity at home, to keep evil, slander, pride and deceit away from him, and to surround himself with the faithful.
Who wrote Psalm 101?
The heading attributes it to David.
What does Psalm 101:5 mean?
The speaker promises to silence anyone who secretly slanders a neighbor and not to tolerate anyone arrogant and conceited.
What does Psalm 101:3 mean?
The speaker vows to set no vile thing before his eyes, says he hates the deeds of faithless men, and says they will not cling to him.
What does Psalm 101:2 mean?
The speaker promises to live a blameless life and to walk within his house with a blameless heart, and asks God when he will come to him.
How does the King James Version word Psalm 101:3?
The KJV reads "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me."
Psalm 101 KJV: the King James Version
I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.1
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.2
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.3
A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.4
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.5
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.6
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.7
I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.8
Psalm 101 in Hebrew
The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.
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1 לְדָוִ֗ד מִ֫זְמ֥וֹר חֶֽסֶד־וּמִשְׁפָּ֥ט אָשִׁ֑ירָה לְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה אֲזַמֵּֽרָה׃
2 אַשְׂכִּ֤ילָה ׀ בְּדֶ֬רֶךְ תָּמִ֗ים מָ֭תַי תָּב֣וֹא אֵלָ֑י אֶתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ בְּתָם־לְ֝בָבִ֗י בְּקֶ֣רֶב בֵּיתִֽי׃
3 לֹֽא־אָשִׁ֨ית ׀ לְנֶ֥גֶד עֵינַ֗י דְּֽבַר־בְּלִ֫יָּ֥עַל עֲשֹֽׂה־סֵטִ֥ים שָׂנֵ֑אתִי לֹ֖א יִדְבַּ֣ק בִּֽי׃
4 לֵבָ֣ב עִ֭קֵּשׁ יָס֣וּר מִמֶּ֑נִּי רָ֝֗ע לֹ֣א אֵדָֽע׃
5 מלושני בַסֵּ֨תֶר ׀ רֵעֵהוּ֮ אוֹת֪וֹ אַ֫צְמִ֥ית גְּֽבַהּ־עֵ֭ינַיִם וּרְחַ֣ב לֵבָ֑ב אֹ֝ת֗וֹ לֹ֣א אוּכָֽל׃
6 עֵינַ֤י ׀ בְּנֶֽאֶמְנֵי־אֶרֶץ֮ לָשֶׁ֪בֶת עִמָּ֫דִ֥י הֹ֭לֵךְ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ תָּמִ֑ים ה֝֗וּא יְשָׁרְתֵֽנִי׃
7 לֹֽא־יֵשֵׁ֨ב ׀ בְּקֶ֥רֶב בֵּיתִי֮ עֹשֵׂ֪ה רְמִ֫יָּ֥ה דֹּבֵ֥ר שְׁקָרִ֑ים לֹֽא־יִ֝כּ֗וֹן לְנֶ֣גֶד עֵינָֽי׃
8 לַבְּקָרִ֗ים אַצְמִ֥ית כָּל־רִשְׁעֵי־אָ֑רֶץ לְהַכְרִ֥ית מֵֽעִיר־יְ֝הוָ֗ה כָּל־פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן׃
Psalm 101 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 100 there.
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1 A psalm for David himself. Mercy and judgment I will sing to thee, O Lord: I will sing,
2 And I will understand in the unspotted way, when thou shalt come to me. I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.
3 I did not set before my eyes any unjust thing: I hated the workers of iniquities.
4 The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.
5 The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.
6 My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.
7 He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house: he that speaketh unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.
8 In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land: that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.
Psalm 101 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 100.
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1 Psalmus ipsi David. Misericordiam et judicium cantabo tibi, Domine; psallam,
2 et intelligam in via immaculata: quando venies ad me? Perambulabam in innocentia cordis mei, in medio domus meæ.
3 Non proponebam ante oculos meos rem injustam; facientes prævaricationes odivi; non adhæsit mihi
4 cor pravum; declinantem a me malignum non cognoscebam.
5 Detrahentem secreto proximo suo, hunc persequebar: superbo oculo, et insatiabili corde, cum hoc non edebam.
6 Oculi mei ad fideles terræ, ut sedeant mecum; ambulans in via immaculata, hic mihi ministrabat.
7 Non habitabit in medio domus meæ qui facit superbiam; qui loquitur iniqua non direxit in conspectu oculorum meorum.
8 In matutino interficiebam omnes peccatores terræ, ut disperderem de civitate Domini omnes operantes iniquitatem.
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Psalm 101 at a glance
| Verses | 8 |
| Heading in the text | A Psalm by David. |
| Attributed to | The heading attributes it to David. |
| Type | Royal |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 100 |
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Psalm 101 in other translations
This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 101 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 101 belongs
Psalms of DavidBook 4 of the Psalms
How this page was made
The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.
Sources
- Text: World English Bible and King James Version, both public domain, from ebible.org source
- Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Douay-Rheims: Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Latin text: Clementine Vulgate, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Numbering: Greek and Latin psalm numbering, Wikipedia, Psalms source