A Blameless Life

“A Blameless Life”

Psalm 101

Pastor Paul Barreca

Have you ever been the victim of a crime? When I was ten years old, my parents gave me brand new ten speed bicycle. It was a genuine Schwinn, and I couldn’t have been any happier. Although I was still growing, they purchased the bike with a full frame, knowing I would soon catch up to the size of the bike and the awesome features. I really though I was “hot stuff” riding my bike to little league practice, that is until I was confronted by a much bigger teenager who threatened to kill me unless I gave him my bike.

My world was shaken, and I was devastated.

Whether or not you have ever had something precious stolen from you, all of can relate to the sense of loss that is experienced when we are robbed of something important. Today I want to share that almost everyone of us has been robbed by a subtle intruder that is in our homes. The intruder has stolen precious family time, corrupted the minds of our children and introduced them to wicked and shameful things. The intruder has halted our children’s creativity, driven a wedge between them and their parents and caused them to crave things their parents cannot provide. What is this vile intruder? It is the television set and the programing we allow into our homes every day.

Today we are studying Psalm 101. It is referred to as "The Homebuilder’s Psalm," or "The Psalm of Pious Resolutions." This Psalm is practical for us today, as it provides an exhortation to guard what comes into our lives.

In this Psalm, King David expresses his commitment to build a godly home and palace. This Psalm was most likely composed at the beginning of his reign. It served as a pledge that he would guard his home from becoming overrun by hostile intruders that would steal away the hearts of his children and family. We can learn much from David’s Psalm of commitment.

The Psalm can be examined in three parts: The Object of our Commitment (101:1), A Commitment to a Pure LIFE (101:2-4), and A Commitment to a Pure Home (101:5-8).

The Object of our Commitment. 101:1

“I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise" (Psalm 101:1).

David’s song is to the Lord (to you). His desire is to speak of the Lord’s love and justice. His focus in establishing a home of purity was to please the Lord who treated David according to His love, and demanded justice from all those who follow Him. These two thoughts are not contradictory to one another. God’s love never excuses sin. In His love He demands that we obey. David understood the relationship of these two attributes.

In our day of permissiveness and toleration, we must remember that God will judge sin. We ought not misinterpret His patience with thinking He overlooks our sinful behavior. When David himself sinned against God, he confesses that "to you and to you alone have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). Had David heeded the words of his own song in Psalm 101, he would not have needed the words of confession he prayed in Psalm 51!

A Commitment to a Pure Life. Psalm 101:2-4

"I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil." (Psalm 101:2-4)

Here, David speaks of guarding his personal life. He mentions having a “blameless life” three times in these three verses. Blameless had the idea of being "without blemish," a reference to the standard of perfection required for the animal sacrifices offered to the Lord. The root of this word dealt with something complete. Nothing could be lacking. The same word is used in Proverbs 28:18 "He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall." David commits himself to walk before the Lord with a blameless heart.

The place to begin a blameless heart is in our home. You might put on a good front on Sunday mornings, but your family knows the real you. They see how you respond to difficulty. They know what books you are reading, and what shows you are watching. They hear your unguarded language. David commits himself to lead a life of integrity beginning in his own home.

He commits "I will set before my eyes no vile thing." The world vile means "worthless or wicked.” It is used in Proverbs 6:12 (KJV) "A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth." Another occurrence of this is found in Proverbs 6:12 (NIV) "A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth.” Also, Proverbs 16:27 declares “A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.”