destroying the wicked

Lately I've been reading the One Year Bible (ESV) - just the NT, Psalms, and Proverbs. Today's Psalm made me cringe:

Psalm 101
3 I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall way;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look
and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.
7 No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord.


I am sure there is something poetic or cultural that I just don't know, something that would explain away any need for cringing. Perhaps it's just hyperbole intended to demonstrate a true commitment to personal purity (that's really not enough of an answer for me, though). Perhaps what the Psalmist is really saying is that he will "destroy" those parts of himself that are haughty and slanderous and deceitful and wicked. Perhaps the writer is demonstrating his commitment to the Jews being set apart and holy as God's chosen people. Obviously it's descriptive, not prescriptive, but still...Someone with insight or a commentary at hand, please inform me!

Because all I can think about is the scene in Caprica where a teenage boy becomes a suicide bomber on a train because he is so disgusted by the depravity of his society that he feels his only recourse is to destroy it. He is part of a monotheist cult that believes "there is a right, and there is a wrong," that is revolted by the debauchery of their culture. (And when you see the culture, that response of revulsion seems reasonable, even if the action is unacceptable.) "Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land..."

The Old Testament has the best stories, but it's so hard to understand.

---

Later in the day thoughts:

1. The ESV sounds much harsher than the NIV.
2. David was writing as a King, talking about the kind of justice the government should pursue and the kind of statesmen who could serve under him?
3. Tim Keller says we must be aware of how strongly our culture shapes our understanding of which parts of the Bible are "offensive".