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Dhammapada · narration sample

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The Bible · 579 of 1189

Psalms 101

1.I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.

2.I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

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.

4.A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.

5.Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.

6.Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

7.He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.

8.I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.

Asked of Guide

Why does the psalmist vow to 'set no wicked thing before mine eyes'?

The psalmist makes a deliberate pledge to purity of attention: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” anchors a moral discipline that starts with what he allows himself to see. This vow shapes everything else he promises—avoiding proud eyes, slanderers, and liars—so his house and court remain places where “he that walketh in a perfect way…shall serve me.”

This chapter stages personal reform as political action; by refusing to look at wickedness he intends to exclude its influence from his household and the city of the LORD. Psalm 101 echoes Proverbs’ insistence that watchfulness over the eyes and heart governs conduct, the way Proverbs advises guarding the heart because life issues from it.

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