Minute Meditations: Psalm 101

In Psalm 101, the psalmist assumes the role of a sovereign, a king, and since this is psalm of David, he was indeed a king by right and by divine decree. The king declares that he will “walk with integrity of heart” in his house and avoid all that is “base.” He will hate evil works and perverseness of heart. He will destroy the one who slanders a neighbor, and he will not tolerate haughtiness or arrogance. He will live with the faithful and the blameless and turn out those who are lying and deceitful. Finally, he claims that he will destroy “all the wicked in the land” and cut off evil doers from God's city.

We might think that this is all well and good for David. He is a king, after all, and he has authority over his subjects. But what about us? We can all try to walk with integrity and avoid what is base and hate evil works. But we can't control other people. We aren't kings like David. Or are we?

When we were baptized, we were anointed as priests, prophets, and kings to share in Jesus' priesthood, prophetic office, and kingship. We are priests in that we offer ourselves to God, giving Him all that we have and all that we are. We offer ourselves and our lives especially in the Mass, joining ourselves to Jesus, Whose sacrifice is made present on the altar in an unbloody way that we might participate in it.

We are prophets when we proclaim the Gospel by our words and deeds, declaring God's plan for His people and for the world. Prophets don't just tell the future. They interpret the meaning of the past and the present according to God's revelation.

We are also kings when we rule over ourselves, striving to obey God's moral law and putting our passions under the control of our reason and both under the control of God's commandments and will. This is how we can live out Psalm 101. We can destroy the one who slanders a neighbor by destroying the temptation to do so and by repenting when we fall into sin in this area. We will not tolerate haughtiness and arrogance in ourselves. We will surround ourselves with the faithful and the blameless, and we will strive to be that way, too. We will turn out lying and deceitful thoughts, words, and deeds from our minds and our lives. We will destroy the wickedness in our own hearts and cut off the evil in the place where God dwells, and He dwells in us.