The ideal king and his ideal people
[Psalms 101]
In this week's TV news, Pastor James Dobson, one of the pastors representing evangelicalism in the United States, came out so I looked at it with a little concern. He came out on the news and made some remarks about Senator Obama, a Democratic candidate among the United State presidential candidates. And I heard him pointing out that Obama had “confused theology.” That doesn't mean Pastor Dobson is going to elect another Republican presidential candidate, John McCain. Pastor Dobson is unlikely to vote for both. I think that's because the pastor's view of two presidential candidates from the biblical point of view is less suitable to be the next president of the United State.
Four years have already passed. After hearing the news of the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun in South Korea after the morning prayer meeting on March 13, 2004, I meditated on the word of 1 Samuel 15:23, “… Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.” Focusing on this word, I saw a little bit of the biblical perspective on the impeachment of the President in South Korea. I remember being comforted by the fact that even though there was King Saul who was abandoned in the midst of suffering and crisis, at the same time there was also King David who was a man after God’s heart. How shocked would it have been to all the people when the king of a nation was abandoned? However, God was preparing another king. When I asked the question why King David was the man after God’s heart, the famous word of 1 Samuel 15:22 came to mind: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” The king who is after God's heart is the one who hears and obeys God's Word. At that time, I ended my meditation with the words, ‘I earnestly pray that God will raise up a president who is after God’s heart in Korea.’ Then, four years later, we saw a huge candlelight demonstration in Korea under the slogan of renegotiation of beef, shortly after the church elder became president. I also read the criticism of President Lee as I was exposed to this incident on the Internet. Then later, I met a Christian, and from his point of view, he thought that President Lee was proud. As we hear these and that, each of us will have our own thoughts on not only the president of South Korea, but also the current president of the United States where we live, and the candidates running for the presidential election in November. After putting those thoughts down for a while, I want to learn what the Bible says about the ideal king is and at the same time about the ideal people are, based on Psalms 101:1-8.
The first thing to think about is ’What kind of king is the ideal king?’ The ideal king has a perfect heart. Therefore, he is be careful to lead a blameless life. Look at Psalms 101:2 – “I will be careful to lead a blameless life-- when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart.” What is the ideal king's perfect heart, blameless heart (NIV), or integrity of his heart (NASB)?
First, the ideal king's heart is a heart that yearns for God’s love and and justice.
Look at Psalms 101:1 – “I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.” In the rule of a nation and his people as a king, love and justice are essential. These two are absolutely necessary in governing the people as king of a country, like the front and back of a coin. What if there is no love or justice? Love without justice fall into weakness, and justice without love falls into tyranny (Park). King David, the psalmist, ruled over the Israelites with God's love and justice.
Second, the ideal king’s heart is humble heart.
Look at Psalms 101:3 – “I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.” Here, the word “vile thing” means “the evil of apostasy. Those who hold the authority tend to become proud, so they may fall away from the truth (Park). However, David hated the evil of apostasy because his heart was not proud but humbled before God. He kept away from apostasy itself. He loved what to love and hated what to hate. That is, he loved the Son of Man and righteousness, and hated the evil of apostasy.
Third, the ideal king’s heart is far from perverse heart.
Look at Psalms 101:4 – “Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.” Here, the “perverse heart” refers to a cunning heart, a life that is different inside and outside (Park). In other words, the perverse heart refers to hypocrisy. David kept away from this hypocrisy, the perverse heart. A king who practices in this way can discern and defeat the treacherous subject (Park). The ideal king doesn’t have cunning heart. He never lives different life inside and outside. King David was the ideal king who disrespected hypocrisy.
As I thought about the ideal king, like the psalmist David, based on Psalms 101, I thought of the ideal president. The ideal president loves the people of his country. If he doesn’t love his people but only does justice, then he will eventually become a domineering president. So the ideal president not only loves his people, but also does justice to them. Love without justice is bound to flow into weakness. Such love is a false love that is out of balance. Therefore, the ideal president harmonizes the balance of love and justice and rules the people whom God has entrusted to him. The ideal president humbly serves the people. He never wield power just because he has power. By no means the ideal president does evil in the midst of pride. The ideal president stays away from hypocrisy. And he doesn't get close to sneaky people. He never puts near-by politicians who act hypocritically.
The next thing to think about is ‘What kind of people are the ideal people of the ideal king’? In a word, the ideal people also walk on the perfect path. Look at Psalms 101:6b – “… he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.” Here we can think of ‘walking blamelessly in five ways:
First, the ideal people love their neighbors.
Look at Psalms 101:5a – “Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence ….” Here, the term “Whoever slanders his neighbor” means ‘a person who harms others with secret propaganda’ (Park). If there are many of these people in the government, they are wicked people who harm the faithful ones. The psalmist King David says that these people will destroy the ideal king. In this passage, we can say that the ideal people are not those who harm others, but those who love others.
Second, the ideal people are the humble.
Look at Psalms 101:5b – “… whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.” The ideal king never tolerates the proud. If the arrogant people participate in the country's affairs, they will abuse the people with the psychology of haughtiness, will try to sit only at the high ranks, and will inevitably seek rebellion (Park). Therefore, the ideal king should have the ideal people, the humble ones.
Third, the ideal people are faithful.
Look at Psalms 101:6 – “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.” The ideal king looks over the people and makes those who are faithful to the land his servants. The reason is because the ideal king needs faithful workers, not cunning people. The loyal and faithful workers should serve the ideal king. “those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). When these faithful and loyal workers are near the ideal president, the country will be able to enjoy peace.
Fourth, the ideal people are truthful.
Look at Psalms 101:7 – “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.” Anyone who lies before a just king cannot stand. Only the truthful one can stand before the king. Those who lie with their sly lips are by no means an ideal people. We must keep our hearts from becoming obscene. We must be honest. And you must tell the truth with an honest heart.
Fifth, the ideal people do not commit sin.
Look at Psalms 101:8 – “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.” The ideal king doesn’t just look on those who do evil but punish them. This ideal king should have an ideal people, the people who don’t commit sin.
An ideal president should have an ideal people. The ideal people walk on the perfect path. People who walk on the perfect path love their neighbors, are humble, faithful and truthful. And the ideal people who walk in the perfect way don’t commit sin.
Another news I heard this week was that ahead of the presidential election in a country called Jimbaway, those who support the current president cut and hit the hands of those who support the other presidential candidates, and rape and kill women. I wonder if there is an ideal president in this world who pays attention to the perfect way with the perfect heart? This unfortunate reality of this world is also evident in the history of Israel in the Old Testament. When I see the kings of Israel, starting with King Saul, I see everyone committing sins against God. Even David sinned. There was no perfect king. The reason is because all imperfect kings refer to Jesus, the King of kings. Our Jesus is the King of kings. He is the King who rules the kingdom of God with lovingkindness and justice. He is the humble King. He has no perverse heart at all. What should the citizens of our heavenly people who belong to the kingdom of God ruled by that King Jesus do? The words of Psalms 101 teach us that we must love our neighbor, be humble, faithful, truthful and not commit sin. I hope and pray that we, the heavenly people, who have the perfect Jesus, the ideal King, will be raised more and more as those who walk on the perfect (blameless) path with a perfect (blameless) heart like Jesus.
Serving Jesus, the King of kings,
James Kim
(With desire to live like the heavenly citizens)