I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
Psalm 101 is a psalm of David setting forth the conduct he desired for himself, his house, and his rule. He will behave wisely, walk within his house with a perfect heart, refuse wicked things, reject slanderers and proud men, favor the faithful, and remove deceit and wickedness from his presence (vv.2-8). But before David speaks of what he will do as king, he begins with worship. This verse is praise spoken directly to the LORD, a king’s vow of worship that governs every vow after it. David sings first of God’s mercy and judgment, and then resolves to rule by the same.
“I will sing.” David makes a deliberate resolution. Singing is chosen worship. He has considered what is worthy of praise and determines to use his voice for it. David said elsewhere, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise” (Psalm 57:7). The future form, “I will sing,” shows settled purpose. The rest of Psalm 101 contains strong resolutions about his house and kingdom, but this is the first. Worship comes before administration. Before David judges others, orders his household, rewards faithfulness, or removes wickedness, he remembers that he himself stands beneath God and must first praise Him.
“Of mercy.” David sings first of God’s mercy. He knew mercy personally, but he also knew it as a principle of righteous rule. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). David’s own throne rested upon God’s mercy, for Jehovah had promised concerning his house, “But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee” (II Samuel 7:15). The king therefore did not begin his reign as a self-made ruler. He reigned because God had shown mercy, preserved him, established him, and kept covenant with him.
Mercy must also govern David’s exercise of authority. Wisdom says, “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy” (Proverbs 20:28). Mercy does not mean excusing rebellion, ignoring truth, or refusing necessary correction. It means that power must never become cruelty, pride, vindictiveness, or hardness. God had been merciful to David, so David must rule with mercy. The same principle reaches every father, pastor, employer, magistrate, and man with authority. Power without mercy becomes oppressive; mercy without truth becomes indulgence. God joins mercy to truth, and David sings of mercy before he begins to speak of judgment.
“And judgment.” David also sings of judgment. Jehovah is not merciful at the expense of righteousness. He judges rightly, distinguishes good from evil, rewards faithfulness, and punishes wickedness. David’s own reign was to reflect this, for Scripture records, “And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people” (II Samuel 8:15). Psalm 101 then shows what that judgment required: wicked things rejected, slanderers cut off, proud men refused, faithful men favored, deceivers excluded, and workers of iniquity removed (vv.3-8). David’s song therefore becomes the pattern for David’s government.
Judgment is worthy of praise because God’s judgments are righteous. Moses sang, “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (Exodus 15:3). Heaven likewise praises God because His judgments are true and righteous (Revelation 19:2). The saint must not praise mercy and then apologize for judgment. A God who never judged evil would not be holy. A ruler who refused all judgment would betray the innocent and protect the wicked. David sings of both because God is perfect in both, and because a righteous king must learn both from Him.
“Unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.” David now names the direction of the song. His worship is not aimed at subjects, court, reputation, or public image. It is “unto thee.” LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the ancient Hebrew tetragrammaton, JHVH. Mercy and judgment belong to Jehovah, so praise returns to Him. This also makes every vow that follows more serious. David is not writing a leadership philosophy for public approval. He is speaking before God. When he says he will walk within his house with a perfect heart, reject wicked things, refuse slanderers, and favor the faithful (vv.2-6), those resolutions are made beneath the eye of Jehovah.
This should search every man with authority. Public righteousness without private holiness is hypocrisy. A king can speak of justice before men and tolerate sin in his house. A father can demand obedience from children while excusing himself. A pastor can correct others while protecting his own pride. David places worship first so that rule remains answerable to God. The God praised by the mouth must govern the house, the relationships, the judgments, and the use of power. If David sings unto Jehovah, then David must also live and rule before Jehovah.
Jesus Christ perfectly joins mercy and judgment as King. The Father has committed all judgment unto the Son (John 5:22), and Christ judges justly because He seeks the Father’s will rather than His own (John 5:30). Yet He is also full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The greatest joining of mercy and judgment is the cross. There God did not cancel judgment in order to show mercy; He judged sin in the Substitute and showed mercy to His people through Christ’s satisfaction. God remained righteous while freely justifying the ungodly whom Christ redeemed.
Paul states the doctrine plainly: “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Legal justification rests wholly upon Christ’s work and God’s grace, not upon anything supplied by the sinner. Mercy did not overthrow judgment. Judgment fell where God appointed it, upon Christ for His people, so that mercy could be shown without compromising righteousness. The saint therefore has the highest possible reason to sing of both. The cross proves that God is infinitely merciful and perfectly just at the same time.
Let mercy and judgment fill both worship and duty. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). Sing unto the LORD with grace in your heart (Colossians 3:16), and let His mercy and judgment govern your heart, your house, your duties, and every soul placed under your care.
I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
Psalm 101 is a psalm of David setting forth the conduct he desired for himself, his house, and his rule. He will behave wisely, walk within his house with a perfect heart, refuse wicked things, reject slanderers and proud men, favor the faithful, and remove deceit and wickedness from his presence (vv.2-8). But before David speaks of what he will do as king, he begins with worship. This verse is praise spoken directly to the LORD, a king’s vow of worship that governs every vow after it. David sings first of God’s mercy and judgment, and then resolves to rule by the same.
“I will sing.” David makes a deliberate resolution. Singing is chosen worship. He has considered what is worthy of praise and determines to use his voice for it. David said elsewhere, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise” (Psalm 57:7). The future form, “I will sing,” shows settled purpose. The rest of Psalm 101 contains strong resolutions about his house and kingdom, but this is the first. Worship comes before administration. Before David judges others, orders his household, rewards faithfulness, or removes wickedness, he remembers that he himself stands beneath God and must first praise Him.
“Of mercy.” David sings first of God’s mercy. He knew mercy personally, but he also knew it as a principle of righteous rule. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). David’s own throne rested upon God’s mercy, for Jehovah had promised concerning his house, “But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee” (II Samuel 7:15). The king therefore did not begin his reign as a self-made ruler. He reigned because God had shown mercy, preserved him, established him, and kept covenant with him.
Mercy must also govern David’s exercise of authority. Wisdom says, “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy” (Proverbs 20:28). Mercy does not mean excusing rebellion, ignoring truth, or refusing necessary correction. It means that power must never become cruelty, pride, vindictiveness, or hardness. God had been merciful to David, so David must rule with mercy. The same principle reaches every father, pastor, employer, magistrate, and man with authority. Power without mercy becomes oppressive; mercy without truth becomes indulgence. God joins mercy to truth, and David sings of mercy before he begins to speak of judgment.
“And judgment.” David also sings of judgment. Jehovah is not merciful at the expense of righteousness. He judges rightly, distinguishes good from evil, rewards faithfulness, and punishes wickedness. David’s own reign was to reflect this, for Scripture records, “And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people” (II Samuel 8:15). Psalm 101 then shows what that judgment required: wicked things rejected, slanderers cut off, proud men refused, faithful men favored, deceivers excluded, and workers of iniquity removed (vv.3-8). David’s song therefore becomes the pattern for David’s government.
Judgment is worthy of praise because God’s judgments are righteous. Moses sang, “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (Exodus 15:3). Heaven likewise praises God because His judgments are true and righteous (Revelation 19:2). The saint must not praise mercy and then apologize for judgment. A God who never judged evil would not be holy. A ruler who refused all judgment would betray the innocent and protect the wicked. David sings of both because God is perfect in both, and because a righteous king must learn both from Him.
“Unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.” David now names the direction of the song. His worship is not aimed at subjects, court, reputation, or public image. It is “unto thee.” LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the ancient Hebrew tetragrammaton, JHVH. Mercy and judgment belong to Jehovah, so praise returns to Him. This also makes every vow that follows more serious. David is not writing a leadership philosophy for public approval. He is speaking before God. When he says he will walk within his house with a perfect heart, reject wicked things, refuse slanderers, and favor the faithful (vv.2-6), those resolutions are made beneath the eye of Jehovah.
This should search every man with authority. Public righteousness without private holiness is hypocrisy. A king can speak of justice before men and tolerate sin in his house. A father can demand obedience from children while excusing himself. A pastor can correct others while protecting his own pride. David places worship first so that rule remains answerable to God. The God praised by the mouth must govern the house, the relationships, the judgments, and the use of power. If David sings unto Jehovah, then David must also live and rule before Jehovah.
Jesus Christ perfectly joins mercy and judgment as King. The Father has committed all judgment unto the Son (John 5:22), and Christ judges justly because He seeks the Father’s will rather than His own (John 5:30). Yet He is also full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The greatest joining of mercy and judgment is the cross. There God did not cancel judgment in order to show mercy; He judged sin in the Substitute and showed mercy to His people through Christ’s satisfaction. God remained righteous while freely justifying the ungodly whom Christ redeemed.
Paul states the doctrine plainly: “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Legal justification rests wholly upon Christ’s work and God’s grace, not upon anything supplied by the sinner. Mercy did not overthrow judgment. Judgment fell where God appointed it, upon Christ for His people, so that mercy could be shown without compromising righteousness. The saint therefore has the highest possible reason to sing of both. The cross proves that God is infinitely merciful and perfectly just at the same time.
Let mercy and judgment fill both worship and duty. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). Sing unto the LORD with grace in your heart (Colossians 3:16), and let His mercy and judgment govern your heart, your house, your duties, and every soul placed under your care.