Slander and Pride: Lessons from Psalm 101:5

December 17, 2024

bible, faith, god, jesus, pride, Psalms, slander

Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,
Him I will destroy;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,
Him I will not endure.

“Whose privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off.” He had known so bitterly the miseries caused by slanderers that he intended to deal severely with such vipers when he came into power, not to revenge his own ills, but to prevent others from suffering as he had done. To give one’s neighbor a stab in the dark is one of the most atrocious of crimes, and cannot be too heartily reprobated, yet such as are guilty of it often find patronage in high places, and are considered to be men of penetration, trusty ones who have a keen eye, and take care to keep their lords well posted up. King David would lop the goodly tree of his state of all such superfluous boughs,

“Him that hath an high look and a proud heart him will not I suffer.” Proud, domineering, supercilious gentlemen, who look down upon the poor as though they were so many worms crawling in the earth beneath their feet, the psalmist could not bear. The sight of them made him suffer, and therefore he would not suffer them. Great men often affect aristocratic airs and haughty manners, David, therefore, resolved that none should be great in his palace but those who had more grace and more sense than to indulge in such abominable vanity, Proud men are generally hard, and therefore very unfit for office; persons of high looks provoke enmity and discontent, and the fewer of such people about a court the better for the stability of a throne. If all slanderers were now cut off, and all the proud banished, it is to be feared that the next census would declare a very sensible diminution of the population. (Spurgeon)

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Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor: It is a significant and grievous sin to lie or speak in an evil way against another. The worst of this slander is done secretly, and David was determined to oppose all who did so (Him I will destroy). (Guzik)

i. The one who secretly slanders his neighbor seek “to advance themselves by the ruin of others; which are the common pests of courts and kingdoms.” (Poole)

The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart: David listed two additional related sins: the communication of arrogance by the facial expression (the haughty look) and the proud heart behind the expression. To all such who thought themselves better than their neighbors, David said “Him I will not endure.” (Guzik)

i. A haughty look: “Pride will sit and show itself in the eyes as soon as anywhere.” (Trapp)

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Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor – literally, “One who speaks concerning his neighbor in secret.” If a man has any good to say of another, he will be likely to say it openly; if he has any evil to say, it will be likely to be said in secret. Hence, to speak in secret of anyone comes to mean the same thing as to slander him.

Him will I cut off – That is, I will cut him off from me; I will not employ him. He would not have one in his house, or in his service, who did injustice to the character of others; who stabbed their reputation in the dark. This was alike indicative of the personal character of the author of the psalm, and of his purpose as the head of a family. It is hardly necessary to say that no one should employ another who is in the habit of slandering his neighbor.

Him that hath an high look – That is proud – as a proud man commonly carries his head high.

And a proud heart – The Hebrew word here rendered “proud” commonly means wide, broad, large, as of the sea, or of an extended country, Job 11:9; Exodus 3:8. It is applied also to the law of God as comprehensive, and without limit, Psalms 119:96. Then it comes to mean swelled up – made large – inflated Proverbs 28:25; and hence, proud and arrogant.

Will not I suffer – I will not tolerate such a person near me. No one can have peace in his house who has such a class of servants or domestics; no one should countenance such persons. Humility is the very foundation of all virtue. (Barnes)

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Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off,…. That raises and spreads a false report of him; that insinuates evil things of him; that brings false charges and accusations against him, in a private manner, when he has no opportunity to defend himself: such an one David threatens to cut off from his presence, as Kimchi interprets it; from all communion and conversation with him; and yet he listened to the slanders of Ziba against Mephibosheth: but Christ, who knows the hearts and the secret actions of men, will reject and cut off all persons of such a character

him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer; or, “I cannot”; that is, cannot bear him in my presence and company; cannot look upon him with any pleasure and delight: the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and the Oriental versions, render it, “with him I will not eat”: have no familiarity or acquaintance with him; see 1 Corinthians 5:11, such who looked above others, and with contempt upon them, whose hearts were large, as the word signifies, were ambitious and insatiable, and never had enough of riches and honor; such were very contrary to David’s character, and could never be agreeable to him, Psalm 121:1, as the proud and haughty Pharisees were not to Christ, Luke 18:9, and the man of sin that exalts himself above all that is called God, that little horn, whose look is more stout than his fellows, 2 Thessalonians 2:4. (Gill)

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With slanderers, and those who take a pleasure in wounding their neighbor’s reputation secretly (v. 5): “Whoso privily slanders his neighbor, either raises or spreads false stories, to the prejudice of his good name, him will I cut off from my family and court.” Many endeavor to raise themselves into the favor of princes by unjust representations of persons and things, which they think will please their prince. If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked, Prov. 29:12. But David will not only not hearken to them, but will prevent the preferment of those that hope thus to curry favor with him: he will punish not only him that falsely accuses another in open court, but him that privily slanders another. I wish David had remembered this vow in the case of Mephibosheth and Ziba. (Henry)

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The Chaldee gives a remarkable meaning to the Hebrew, מלשני בסתר רעהו melasheni bassether reehu, which we translate, Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, and which it renders thus, דמשתעי לישן תליתי על חבריה demishtaey lishan telitai al chabreyah: “He who speaks with the triple tongue against his neighbour.” That is, the tongue by which he slays three persons, viz.,

1. The man whom he slanders;

2. Him to whom he communicates the slander; and,

3. Himself, the slanderer.

Every slanderer has his triple tongue, and by every slander inflicts those three deadly wounds. Such a person deserves to be cut off. On this subject St. Jerome speaks nearly in the same way: Ille qui detrahit, et se, et illum qui audit, demergit; “He who slanders ruins both himself and him who hears him;” he might have added, and him who is slandered, for this is often the case; the innocent are ruined by detraction. (Clarke)

(My understanding is that “The Chaldee” refers to a language similar to the Hebrew Language……..Bill)

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Geneva Bible 1560

Psalms 101:5

5 Him, that prively (d) sclandereth his neighbor, wil I destroy: him that hath a proud look and high heart, I can not suffer.

(d) In promising to punish these vices, which are most pernicious in them that are about Kings, he declares that he will punish all.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”