I Will

I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me? Psalm 101:2 NLT

The fundamental principle in inductive Bible study is observation. That is, looking at the text carefully to see what is actually there. The point is that you can’t interpret what you haven’t seen. So what do you look for? One of the key things is repetition. When we say something again and again, we are expressing something that is important to us, or something that we want to emphasize.
When we observe Psalm 101, one of the things that should jump out at us is the repeated
statements of intention. “I will…” appears in every verse but one (v. 7 – and even there there is a clear statement of intent). What is David saying? He is saying that with God’s empowerment (key point!) he intends to live blamelessly (“walk in a way that is unblemished [KJV perfect],” v. 2). This is the goal for humanity that Yahweh set before Abram already in Genesis 17:1.
So what has to happen if that goal is to be realized? This is often a problem for us as Christians; we want an unblemished walk, but we are not willing to take the hard, careful steps that are necessary to achieve it. What does David say? He will live at home in a completely dedicated way. For one thing, he will not look at worthless stuff (2-3). He will not allow evil of any sort to have a part in his life (4). He will choose as his friends and companions those who will build him up in his walk (3-7). He will not make any place of pride and arrogance, in himself or others (5). He will search out every form of evil and to the degree that he has responsibility, will destroy it (8).
So who are you at home, in privacy? Are you the same person as in public? What are you letting into your mind through your eyes? What kinds of friends, what kinds of “influencers” do you allow to shape you? Do you hate evil – especially in yourself? Do you recognize pride and arrogance for what it is, and do nothing to encourage it? An unblemished animal is all it was meant to be. That’s what we can be – all we were meant to be. Do you want to? How badly?