Psalms 100:4 (DRB)

Passage

The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.

Nearby Context

Psalms 100:2 And I will understand in the unspotted way, when thou shalt come to me. I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.

Psalms 100:3 I will not set before my eyes any unjust thing: I hated the workers of iniquities.

Psalms 100:4 The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.

Psalms 100:5 The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.

Psalms 100:6 My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "perverse", "heart", "cleave", "malignant", "turned", and "aside". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "perverse" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "I will not set before my eyes..." into verse 5's "The man that in private detracted his...", so "perverse" and "heart" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "perverse" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.