The Ideal King and His Ideal People
[Psalm 101]
This week, I was paying attention to a pastor who represents American evangelicalism, Pastor James Dobson, who appeared on the TV news. He was commenting on the presidential candidates of the United States and made several remarks about Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate. One of the things he pointed out was that Senator Obama has a “confused theology.” However, Pastor Dobson also clarified that he would not vote for the other Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, either. It seems that Pastor Dobson would not choose either of the two candidates. I believe this is because, from a biblical perspective, neither of the two Christian presidential candidates is suitable when compared to the teachings of the Bible.
Already, four years have passed. On March 13, 2004, after a Saturday morning prayer service, I heard the news of the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun from my home country. At that time, I meditated on 1 Samuel 15:23: "... because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you from being king." I reflected on this passage from a biblical perspective regarding the impeachment of the president in my country. While meditating on the "abandoned King Saul," I was comforted by the fact that, at the same time, there was also the anointed King David, who was a man after God's own heart. I remember feeling consoled by this fact. How shocking it must have been for the entire nation when their king was rejected! But God had already prepared the next leader. Why was King David a man after God’s heart? I thought of the famous verse from 1 Samuel 15:22: “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” A king who is after God’s own heart is one who listens to and obeys God’s word. At that time, I concluded my meditation with the prayer: "I sincerely pray that God will raise up a king (president) who is after God’s own heart for our country, Korea."
Now, after four years, we are once again seeing protests in Korea, where an elder has become president, and there have been massive candlelight vigils under the slogan of "renegotiating beef imports." I also came across articles on the internet criticizing this president. Later, I met a Christian who shared his perspective, wondering if this president had not been arrogant. As we listened to various opinions, we all have our own thoughts about not only the president of our home country, but also the current president of the United States, and the candidates running in the November presidential election. Let's take a moment to set aside those thoughts, and today I would like us to meditate on Psalm 101:1-8, to reflect on what the Bible teaches us about what makes an ideal king and what qualities an ideal people should have.
The first thing I want to reflect on is: What kind of king is the ideal king?
The ideal king has a perfect heart. Therefore, he walks with attention to the perfect way. Let’s look at verse 2 of today’s passage, Psalm 101: "I will give heed to the perfect way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart." What is the perfect heart of the ideal king, a blameless heart (NIV) or an integrity of heart (NASB)?
First, the heart of the ideal king is a heart that desires mercy and justice.
Look at Psalm 101:1: "I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O Lord, I will sing praises." Mercy and justice are essential when a king governs a nation and its people. These two elements are absolutely necessary for a king to rule his people, much like the front and back of a coin. What happens if either mercy or justice is missing? Mercy without justice leads to weakness, and justice without mercy leads to oppression (Park Yun-Seon). King David, the psalmist, ruled over the people of Israel with God’s mercy and justice.
Second, the perfect heart of the ideal king is a humble heart.
Look at Psalm 101:3: "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me." The "wicked thing" here refers to the "evil of apostasy." Those in power often become arrogant and stray from the truth, falling into corruption (Park Yun-Seon). However, David’s heart was not proud; he humbled himself before God and hated the evil of apostasy. He stayed far away from apostasy. He loved what should be loved and hated what should be hated. In other words, he loved mercy and justice and hated the evil of apostasy.
Third, the perfect heart of the ideal king distances itself from a wicked heart.
Look at Psalm 101:4: "A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness." The "perverse heart" here refers to a deceitful heart, a life that is different on the inside and outside (Park Yun-Seon). In other words, a perverse heart refers to hypocrisy. David kept away from such hypocrisy, from a deceitful heart. A king who acts in this way can identify and drive out traitors (Park Yun-Seon). The ideal king does not have a deceitful heart. He never leads a life that is different on the inside and outside. King David was an ideal king because he despised hypocrisy and stayed far from it.
The ideal president loves the people of the nation he governs. If he only acts with justice and does not love his people, he will eventually become a tyrannical president. Therefore, the ideal president not only loves the people but also acts justly toward them. Love without justice inevitably flows into weakness. Such love is a misguided, unbalanced love. Therefore, the ideal president harmonizes love and justice in balance, governing the people entrusted to him by God. The ideal president humbly serves the people. He never abuses his power just because he holds authority. The ideal president never commits evil deeds with arrogance. The ideal president distances himself from hypocrisy. He does not associate with deceitful people. He never keeps hypocritical rulers close to him.
The next thing I want to reflect on is: What kind of people are the ideal citizens of the ideal king?
In a word, the ideal people also walk in the perfect way. Let’s look at the second half of verse 6 in today’s passage, Psalm 101: “… the one who walks in the perfect way, he will serve me.” The idea of walking in the perfect way can be thought of in five ways:
First, the ideal people love their neighbors.
Look at the first part of verse 5 in Psalm 101: "I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor..." Here, "secretly slanders his neighbor" refers to "someone who harms others through covert evil schemes" (Park Yun-Seon). If there are many such people in government, they are treacherous individuals who harm the loyal. The psalmist David, as a king, says that such people should be destroyed. From this passage, we can conclude that the ideal people are not those who harm others, but those who love their neighbors.
Second, the ideal people are humble.
Look at the second part of verse 5 in Psalm 101: "... I will not tolerate those with haughty eyes and a proud heart." The ideal king never tolerates the arrogant. If an arrogant person interferes in the affairs of the nation, they will have a contemptuous attitude toward the people, oppress them, and try to sit only in positions of power, eventually plotting rebellion (Park Yun-Seon). Therefore, for the ideal king, there must be ideal people—those who are humble.
Third, the ideal people are those who are faithful.
Look at Psalm 101:6: "My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me." The ideal king carefully observes his people and selects those who are faithful to serve him. The reason is that the ideal king needs faithful workers, not deceitful ones. Faithful and loyal workers should serve the ideal king. The requirement for a steward is faithfulness (1 Corinthians 4:2). When faithful and loyal workers are with the ideal president, the country will experience peace.
Fourth, the ideal people are those who are truthful.
Look at Psalm 101:7: "He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence." Before a righteous king, a liar cannot stand. Only the truthful can stand. Those who speak lies with deceitful lips are never part of the ideal people. We must guard our hearts so that they do not become corrupt. We must be honest, and from an honest heart, speak the truth.
Fifth, the ideal people do not commit sin.
Look at Psalm 101:8: "Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord." The ideal king, being just, will not let those who commit sin go unpunished, but will judge and punish them. For this ideal king, there must be ideal people, that is, people who do not commit sin.
The ideal president needs ideal people. Ideal people walk in the perfect way. The people who walk in the perfect way love their neighbors, are humble, faithful, and truthful. And the ideal people who walk in the perfect way do not commit sin.
This week, I heard another piece of news from a country called Zimbabwe, where, in the lead-up to the presidential election, people who support the current president are reportedly cutting off the hands, beating, raping, and even killing those who support the presidential candidate running against him. It makes me question: does an ideal president really exist in this world? Is there a president with a perfect heart, who is attentive to the perfect way, as David described? ... This tragic reality in the world is also clearly reflected in the history of ancient Israel. If we look at the kings of Israel, starting with King Saul, we see that they all committed sins. Even David committed a crime. There was not a single perfect king. The reason is that all the imperfect kings point to the King of kings, Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings. He is the King who governs God's kingdom with mercy and justice. He is the humble King. In Him, there is no deceitful heart at all. So, what should the citizens of God’s kingdom, which is ruled by the King Jesus Christ, be like? Today's scripture teaches us that we should love our neighbors, be humble, faithful, truthful, and turn away from sin, just as Jesus commanded. As citizens of the heavenly kingdom, who follow the ideal King, Jesus Christ, let us strive to be increasingly built up as those who walk in the perfect way with perfect hearts, just like Him.
Serving the King of kings,
Pastor James Kim
(With a heart that desires to live as citizens of the heavenly kingdom)