Psalm 101:6-8 - October 4, 2009

Ps 101:6-8 "My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. 7 No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. 8 Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD." NIV

These are the decisions of a righteous leader. This Psalm is written by King David during the time of his reign and is a powerful reflection of the holiness of heart that empowered his godly leadership of the nation of Israel. There is tremendous leadership wisdom found in verses 6-8. David is searching for a particular kind of individual. Where are the faithful in the land? This is the cry of his heart as he seeks to surround himself with the right kind of people. David understands the importance of surrounding yourself with people who reflect your heart and your values and so he is looking for the faithful and the blameless. He has made a decision that it is these ones who will find favor under his rule.
Many times people who are in authority make the mistake of promoting people into positions of power and influence solely based upon their gifts and talents. This is a tragic mistake and too often enables people of low character to spread their unclean influence throughout the setting in which they have been placed. David demonstrates his discerning heart in this passage as he defines the standard of his kingdom. “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house…” This principle alone would eliminate a significant portion of the public officials serving on every level of government today. David is unwilling to build his house upon talent alone. He has chosen character and holiness of heart as the standards of his kingdom. This is the foundation of good leadership. Pick good people and put them in places of power and influences and let their character earn the trust of the people and provide a secure and unified setting for the development of the vision that God has given.
David continues his declaration of intent not only by describing the character of those who will serve him but by clearly defining one of his primary goals as a leader. “Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.” David is not only committed to building a strong, character filled team of people around him, he has set his heart on driving wickedness out of the land. One of the significant aspects of this determination is the approach he declares, “Every morning…” David sets an example of a disciplined approach to reaching his goal. He understands that a standard such as this will require constant attention and persevering determination and so he makes this declaration before the Lord to work daily towards this goal of eliminating wickedness from the land. This is noble in and of itself but it is also a powerful example of the heart that is needed to reach any significant goal in our rolls as leaders. Set high goals, surround yourself with people of integrity and holiness of heart and apply a disciplined plan to the mission that God has placed in front of you and you will build in such a way that will both endure and prosper.