John Calvin Commentary Psalms 101:6

"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 minister unto me." — Psalms 101:6 (ASV)

My eyes are towards the faithful of the land. David here sets forth another virtue of a wise prince, affirming that he will take care to make all the faithful of the land his intimate friends, that he will make use of their good services, and have as domestic servants only those who are distinguished for personal worth.

Some understand the words, that they may dwell with me, in a general sense, as follows: I will not neglect the good and harmless, nor will I allow them to be unjustly harassed; instead, I will ensure that under my administration, they will live in a state of peace and tranquility.

But his meaning, rather, is that he will exercise discretion and care. Instead of taking people into his service indiscriminately, he will wisely discern each person’s character, so that he may have those who live a life of strict integrity as his most intimate friends and entrust them with the offices of state.

He speaks of the faithful primarily because, although a man may possess great talents, if he is not devoted to faithfulness and integrity, he will never properly carry out the office of a judge. This deserves special attention; for although a prince may be the best of men, if his servants and officers are not of a similar character, his subjects will experience scarcely any advantage from his own uncorrupted integrity.

Servants are the hands of a prince. Whatever he determines for the good of his subjects, they will wickedly overthrow it if they are greedy, deceitful, or predatory. This has been amply demonstrated by experience.

Indeed, most kings, ignoring the good and the upright—or, worse, driving them away—deliberately seek servants who are like themselves and who can be suitable instruments for their tyranny.

Yes, even good and well-intentioned princes often show so much laziness and indecisiveness that they allow themselves to be governed by the worst advice and thoughtlessly debase the offices of state by granting them to the unworthy.