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Psalm 101 · a question people ask

Who is speaking in this psalm? Is it a king?

In the text

The title says "A Psalm by David" (101:1), and it says no more than that. It never uses the word king. What it does show is one who speaks of "my house" (101:2, 101:7), who decides who will "dwell with me" and who "will serve me" (101:6), and who speaks of "all the wicked of the land" and "the LORD’s city" (101:8). It speaks to the LORD in its first verse: "To you, LORD, I will sing praises" (101:1). The next verse asks, "When will you come to me?" (101:2); the psalm doesn't say what coming it means, and it gives no answer. These notes don't add a setting or a date the psalm doesn't give.

The verses

“A Psalm by David. I will sing of loving kindness and justice. To you, LORD, I will sing praises. I will be careful to live a blameless life. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.”
Psalm 101:1-2 · World English Bible
“My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me. He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes. Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land, to cut off all the workers of iniquity from the LORD’s city.”
Psalm 101:6-8 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 101

Psalm 101: Within my house

The "blameless life" the speaker resolves to live (101:2) and the "perfect way" he looks for in whoever serves him (101:6) are the same two Hebrew words. And silence in 101:5 and destroy in 101:8 are one Hebrew verb.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions