Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 101:3
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.
3. I will set no base thing before mine eyes (R.V.), as an aim to be accomplished, or an example to be imitated. Lit. matter of belial, i.e. worthlessness. Cp. Deu 15:9.
the work of them that turn aside ] Or, more probably, the practice of depravities.
it shall not cleave to me ] “If it seized on him unawares, he would shake it off as an accursed thing; Deu 13:17 ” (Kay).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes – That is, I will propose no wicked thing to be done; I will have no such object in view; I will employ no one to do that which is wrong. The margin, as the Hebrew, is, thing of Belial. See the notes at Psa 41:8. It here means that which is worthless, bad, wicked. He would have no wicked aim; he would not look upon a wicked thing for a moment, or with the least favor.
I hate the work of them that turn aside – All their doings, motives, plans. The word rendered turn aside means to turn out of the way; out of the right path: Wanderers – transgressors – those who leave the path of truth and honesty.
It shall not cleave to me – I will have nothing to do with it. It shall not he allowed to attach itself to me. A wicked plan or purpose is thus represented as having a tendency to fasten itself on a man, or to stick to him – as pitch, or wax, as a burn does.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes] I will undertake no unjust wars; will enter into no sinful alliances; will not oppress my subjects by excessive taxation, to support extravagance in my court. I will not look favourably on things or words of Belial. What is good for nothing or evil in its operation, what is wicked in its principle, and what would lead me away from righteousness and truth, I will never set before my eyes.
Them that turn aside] I shall particularly abominate the conduct of those who apostatize from the true religion, and those who deny its Divine authority, and who live without having their conduct governed by its influence, such shall never he put in a place of political trust or confidence by me.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Before mine eyes, to wit, to look upon it with deliberation and design, or with desire and delight, as this phrase here and elsewhere implies. If any ungodly or unjust thing shall be suggested to me, whatsoever specious pretences it may be covered with, as reason of state or worldly advantage, I will cast it out of my mind and thoughts, it, horrency; so far will I be from putting it in execution.
That turn aside from God, and from his laws.
It shall cleave to me, to wit, such work, or the contagion of such examples. I will neither imitate nor endure such works, nor such workers.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. set . . . eyesas anexample to be approved and followed.
no wicked thingliterally,”word,” plan or purpose of Belial (Ps41:8).
work of . . .asideapostates.
not cleave to meI willnot be implicated in it (compare Ps1:1-3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes, Either the eyes of the body, which are the inlets of lust and are easily caught with objects that inflame the heart, and should be turned aside from beholding vanity; or the eyes of the mind; so the Targum,
“I will not propose to my heart;”
or, as Kimchi,
“in my thought”,
that is, I will not set up an evil thing in my imagination, to dwell upon in my thoughts, and take delight and pleasure in meditating upon it; or set it before me, to imitate as a pattern, to work by, and copy after: Christ did not so; he set the Lord always before him, Ps 16:8, not anything of Belial k or Satan, as the phrase here may be rendered; no, he always bid Satan, or anything of his, be gone, and get behind him, Mt 4:10.
I hate the work of them that turn aside; from God, and from his law; from the paths of religion, truth, and virtue; and from the Gospel, and a profession of it; such are not fit for the kingdom of God, and in these God and Christ have no pleasure, Heb 10:38,
it shall not cleave to me; neither the wicked thing, or thing of Belial, nor the work of apostasy; that is, he would have no familiarity nor fellowship with it; not come near it, nor connive at it, but hate and abhor it: the Jews said, an evil disease, or a thing of Belial, “cleaveth fast unto him”, Ps 41:8, but they were mistaken.
k “verbum Belijahal”, Montanus; so Cocceius, Gejerus, Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3 I will not set a wicked thing before my eyes After having protested, that in leading a private life, he would practice virtue and righteousness, even as it becomes good princes to begin with this, he now adds, that in executing the office of prince, he will be the enemy of all injustice and wickedness. To set a wicked thing before one’s eyes, is equivalent to purposing to do something that is wicked. He therefore declares, that he will turn away from all wickedness; and it is certain, that no man can be a just and an impartial punisher of wrongdoing, but he who abhors it with all his heart. Whence it follows that kings, in order to the performance of their duty, must keep themselves entirely free from all consent to wickedness. Some join to the first sentence the word עשוה, asoh, which we translate work, and supply the letter ל , lamed; as if it had been said, I will not set before my eyes any wickedness to do it, or, nothing wicked will be acceptable to me to execute it. But the other sense is more probable, which is, that David, after having declared that he will not suffer any iniquity before his eyes, immediately adds for the sake of confirmation, that he will be an enemy to all injustice. If the last clause is referred to the persons who turn aside, there is a change of the number. It may, however, be explained of the work itself, implying that he would never have any share in wicked defections from the path of rectitude.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) I will set no. . . . . Mark the wisdom of the
resolve in a despotic monarch, who has only to speak to effect whatever he has looked on with desire.
Wicked thing.Thing (or, word) of Belial. (See Note on Psa. 41:8.)
I hate the work of them that turn aside.Or, I hate the doing of false things, according as we take the word in the concrete or abstract.
It shall not cleave to me.Such conduct shall not be mine.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes Literally, No thing of Belial, a designation of worthlessness, lowness, impiety. He would not propose to himself such, as an object of pursuit or desire. His state policy, like his private life, should be upright. With this verse begins especially his plan and vow of kingly conduct, as what precedes more fitly applies to his personal and private life.
Work of them that turn aside Literally, work of deviations; or, taken in the concrete, (as in Hos 5:2; Psa 40:5,) the work of revolters; men who depart, or diverge from, law and truth. Psa 125:5
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 101:3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes Pleasure or displeasure, approbation or abhorrence, may be known by the look or cast of the eye. What we are pleased and delighted with, attracts and fixes the eye. What we dislike or hate, we turn away from the sight of: Thus when the Psalmist resolves that he would not fix his eyes upon any evil thing, he means that he would never give it the least countenance or encouragement, but treat it with displeasure, as what he hated and was determined to punish: for he adds, I hate the work of them that turn aside. Mr. Schultens has shewn, that the word rendered turn aside has a much stronger and more significant meaning; that it is used of an unruly horse, which champs upon the bit through its fiery impatience; and when applied to a bad man, denotes one impatient of all restraint; of unbridled passions, and who is headstrong and ungovernable in the gratification of them; trampling on all the obligations of religion and virtue. Such as these are the deserved objects of the dislike of all good men, whose deviations and presumptuous crimes they detest; none of which shall cleave to them: they will not harbour the love of, or inclination to them, nor commit or encourage the practice of them. Chandler.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 669
INTEGRITY
Psa 101:3. I hate the work of them that turn aside: it shall not cleave to me.
TO improve our influence for God, is our bounden duty, whatever be the station to which he has been pleased to call us. Magistrates, in particular, may render most extensive service to the community, by exerting their power in the promotion of virtue. David felt his responsibility in this respect: and, either on his beginning to reign in Hebron after the death of Saul, or on his coming to the full possession of the kingdom at a subsequent period, he wrote this psalm, declarative of his determination to discountenance evil, and encourage good, to the utmost extent of his power, both amongst his courtiers, and amongst his more immediate attendants in his household.
Let us consider,
I.
The work which he here so determinately reprobates
The two points to which he seems to refer are,
1.
A want of integrity in morals
[A dereliction of principle has often been indulged under the idea of expediency; and the utmost subtlety of argument has been employed in vindication of it. But integrity, undeviating integrity, should possess the Christians mind. There are many things which will consist with what is called a sense of honour, which can never be admitted into the conduct of a real saint. The laws of honour have their origin from man: and as they derive their authority from man, so they have respect only to the judgment of man in the observance of them. These therefore may bend to times and circumstances. But the Law of God is inflexible; and our adherence to it must be uniform under all circumstances. It must regulate the ends which we propose, the means we use in the prosecution of them, and the manner in which we proceed throughout the whole of our deportment. In every thing we must endeavour to approve ourselves to God, and to act as in his immediate presence. Any departure from the strict line of duty, in whatever circumstances we be placed, must be avoided: and our whole conduct towards mankind, in whatever relation to us they stand, must be such as we, in a change of circumstances, should think it right for them to observe towards us. God requires that truth should be in our inward parts [Note: Psa 51:6.]; and every act, every word, every purpose and desire of our hearts, ought to be in strict accordance with it.]
2.
A want of constancy in religion
[Many there are, who, having begun well, leave off to behave themselves wisely, and turn aside from the holy commandment delivered to them [Note: 2Pe 2:21.]. Various are the sources of this declension. Sometimes it begins in a neglect of religious duties, or in the mere formal performance of them. Sometimes it originates in the secret indulgence of some hidden lust. Sometimes the care of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire of other things which have no direct reference to religion, choke the seed that has been sown in our hearts, and prevent it from bringing forth any fruit unto perfection [Note: Mat 13:22.]. But whatever it be that turns us from God, it should be discountenanced in others, and avoided in ourselves. It may have a specious aspect: much may be said for it to extenuate, if not altogether to justify, the practice of it: but if its operation be to turn us aside from God, and from the pursuit of heavenly things, it becomes an evil work, which it behoves us to renounce.
We must, however, be careful not to impute to any line of duty the evils which arise from our own want of care in the prosecution of it There is not any thing which we may not make an occasion of sin. A person may say, I have intellectual pursuits, which occupy my mind with such intensity, that I cannot fix it afterwards upon heavenly things: or, I have a manual labour, which indisposes me for heavenly contemplation. In such cases, the duty of these persons is, not to renounce the labours to which, in the course of providence, they have been called, but to implore of God such a measure of spiritual strength as may enable them to combine the duties which they have been wont to separate: nor can we doubt, but that, if they be upright in heart, they shall have imparted to them grace sufficient for the conscientious discharge of all their duties. The point for them especially to attend to, is, that they guard against every inordinate desire: for it is from their inward desires, rather than their outward duties, that they are in any danger of being drawn from God.]
The conduct of the Psalmist, in relation to such work, shews,
II.
The disposition which we also should manifest towards it
1.
We should abhor it in principle
[There should be in us an attraction towards God, resembling that of the needle to the pole. A needle may, by force, be turned from its proper direction: but it will never cease from a tremulous motion, till it has returned again to its proper rest. So it may be with us. We know not what deviations a sudden impulse of temptation may cause for a moment: but the very instant we perceive that we have departed, even in thought, from the perfect line of duty, we should give neither sleep to our eyes nor slumber to our eye-lids, till we have returned with penitential sorrow to our God. The direction given to us by God is, Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good [Note: Rom 12:9.]. And, whether in relation to morals or religion, this must be the constant habit of our minds. We must be Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile [Note: Joh 1:47.].
2.
We should avoid it in practice
[We never can be too observant of our own ways. As, at sea, the mariner is often drawn from his course by currents of which he was not aware, and only finds his deviation from his appointed course by the observations which he makes; so it is possible for a Christian to be drawn aside by a corrupt bias, till he has carefully compared his ways with the unerring standard of the word of God. Hence the need of attending to that divine counsel, Prove all things; and hold fast that which is good [Note: 1Th 5:21.]. It is not without extreme care that we shall be able to keep a conscience void of offence towards both God and man. We are passing through a polluted world; and it is very difficult to keep our garments altogether undefiled [Note: Rev 3:4.]. But if we come in contact with evil, we must take care that it does not cleave unto us. It must be the one labour of our lives to be sincere, and without offence, until the day of Christ [Note: Php 1:10.].]
Address
1.
Mark well the beginnings of declension
[Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, says the Apostle: prove your ownselves [Note: 2Co 13:5.]. Let the first symptoms of spiritual declension be carefully noted by you, and be made an occasion of augmented diligence in your heavenly course. Many evils will you avoid by such watchfulness. Happy would it have been for David, if he had marked the first risings of desire, which the sight of Bathsheba excited in his soul. And happy will it be for us, if we determine, through grace, to abstain, not from evil only, but from the first motions of it, yea, and even the very appearance of it, whether in heart or life [Note: 1Th 5:22.].]
2.
Avoid the means and occasions of it
[Our Lord teaches us to pray, that we may not be led into temptation. In truth, it we willingly subject ourselves to temptation, we cannot expect to be kept. We must take heed to our ways, and shun the scenes of vice and folly; and avoid the company, and conversation, and books, and sights, that would ensnare us, if we would be preserved holy and unblameable and unreprovable in the world. If we come out from among the ungodly, and touch not the unclean thing, then will God be a Father unto us, and we shall be his sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty [Note: 2Co 6:17-18.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Nothing can be more beautiful, considered as descriptive of the person and work of Jesus, in the days of his flesh, than what is here said. But such views of perfection, as they are nowhere to be found among the fallen race of Adam, considered out of Christ, are only calculated to distress the soul exceedingly. Reader, pause then with me, and say, if it be possible, how blessed, how inexpressibly blessed, is it to behold Jesus in all these perfections of character, and to consider him in all as the great Head and Representative of his church and people!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.
Ver. 3. I will set no wicked thing (Heb. thing of Belial) before mine eyes] That is, in my thoughts, saith Kimchi; for the thinking faculty is in the forepart of the brain, as are also the eyes. I will not gaze upon forbidden objects, nor venture upon a temptation to or an occasion of sin. I will also be wise and wary in the choice of my servants and under officers. Theodosius’s court was virtutum officina, non vitiorum sentina, saith Pareus. And Archbishop Cranmer’s house was schola vel palaestra pietatis et literarum, saith Tremellius. See above on the title of this psalm.
I hate the work of them that turn aside
It shall not cleave to me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wicked thing = thing of Belial.
hate = have always hated.
the work: i.e. the doings, or business.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
set: Psa 18:20-23, Psa 26:4, Psa 26:5, Psa 39:1, Psa 119:37, Psa 119:113, Exo 20:17, 2Sa 11:2, 2Sa 11:3, 1Ki 21:2-29, Job 31:1, Pro 6:25, Pro 23:31-35, Ecc 6:9, Isa 33:15, Jer 22:17, Hos 7:6, Hos 7:7, Mic 2:2, Mat 5:28, Jam 1:13-15
wicked thing: Heb. thing of Belial, 1Ki 21:13
I hate: Psa 97:10, Rom 12:9
them: Psa 14:3, Psa 36:3, Psa 40:4, Psa 78:41, Psa 78:57, Psa 125:5, Exo 32:8, Jos 23:6, 1Sa 12:20, 1Sa 12:21, 1Sa 15:11, Isa 30:11, Zep 1:5, Zep 1:6, Gal 4:9, Heb 10:39, 2Pe 2:21, 1Jo 2:19
it shall not: Deu 13:17
Reciprocal: Exo 23:24 – do after 1Ki 22:43 – he turned 2Ch 29:3 – He in the first Job 31:7 – cleaved Psa 45:7 – hatest Psa 119:104 – therefore Psa 139:22 – hate them Pro 8:13 – The fear Pro 17:7 – much Eze 14:3 – should Luk 19:5 – for Rom 7:15 – what I hate 2Co 6:14 – for Rev 2:6 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 101:3-4. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes Namely, to look upon it with approbation, or design to practise, countenance, or tolerate it. If any ungodly or unjust thing be suggested to me, whatsoever specious pretences it may be covered with, as some reason of state or worldly advantage, I will cast it out of my mind and thoughts with abhorrence, so far will I be from putting it in execution. I hate the work of them that turn aside From God, and from his laws. It shall not cleave to me
Namely, such work, or the contagion of such examples. I will neither imitate nor endure such works nor such workers. A froward heart A man of a corrupt mind and wicked life; shall depart from me Shall be turned out of my court, lest he should infect the rest of my family, or be injurious, or an occasion of offence to my people. I will not know a wicked person I will not own nor countenance such a one, but will keep all such at a distance.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate {c} the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.
(c) He shows that magistrates do not do their duties, unless they are enemies to all vice.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. David’s desire for purity in his court 101:3-8
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
More specifically, David promised God that he would guard his life and his court from sin. Worthless or vile things are things that make no positive contribution to godliness. Like God, David professed to hate departure from the right way. A perverse heart means a crooked or twisted affection, namely, one that turns away from the straight path of rectitude.