If you are a husband (or a wife to some degree), you are to lead in your home and make choices that will make your home a godly haven for your marriage and your children.

Transition

One of the best things we can do to improve the godliness of our homes is to make upward, inward and outward choices like David did.

David Made Two Upward Choices (v.1)

  1. He chose to sing praises.
    1. He resolved to sing of God’s mercy.
    2. He resolved to sing of God’s judgment. God is just in all his judgments and thus we should sing and praise him for this.
  2. He chose to sing unto the LORD.
    1. The Lord ought to be the one to whom we sing.
    2. Note here that this is Jehovah.

David Made Eight Inward Choices (v.2-5)

  1. He chose to behave wisely in a perfect way (v.2).
    (Psalms 1:1) “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
  2. He chose to have a right attitude at home (v.2).
    1. Husband’s attitudes: care, love, protection,
    2. Wife’s attitudes: submission, love, tenderness.
    3. Children’s attitudes: obedience, honour
      ² “It is easier for most men to walk with a perfect heart in the church, or even in the world, than in their own families.” –Adam Clarke
      For Scriptures on attitudes in the home, study Ephesians 5 and 6, Colossians 3.
  3. I will set no wicked thing before my eyes (v.3).
    1. Including things I look at.
    2. Including things I read.
    3. (2 Timothy 2:22) “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
    4. The next time you sit down to watch television, remember that Jesus is sitting right beside you. Don’t set anything before your eyes that he would not watch.
  4. He chose to hate rebellion (v.3).
    1. Schultens’ commentary on Prov 7:25 claims that the phrase turn aside has “a much stronger and more significant meaning than that of mere turning aside; and that it is used of an unruly horse, that champs upon the bit through his fiery impatience.”
    2. Rebellion if left unchecked infect others by sticking to them as pitch or wax, or a burr. Barnes
  5. He chose not to have a froward heart (v.4).
    Froward means crooked or perverse. I will put away all perverseness of heart.
  6. He chose to avoid wicked people (v.4).
    “I will not know wickedness” or any wicked work and action, approve of it, love it, delight in it, and do it. Gill
  7. He chose to keep slanders out of his house (v.5).
    1. David had known so bitterly the miseries caused by slander. To give one’s neighbour a stab in the dark is one of the most atrocious of crimes. –Spurgeon Now he was determined to put it away from his house.
    2. (Proverbs 10:18) “He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.”
    3. (Exodus 20:16) “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
  8. He chose to stamp out pride (v.5).
    1. (Proverbs 16:18) “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Because God hates pride, we too must resolve to hate it in our lives as well.
    2. If all slanderers were now cut off, and all the proud banished, it is to be feared that the next census would declare a very sensible diminution of the population. Spurgeon

David Made Five Outward Choices (v.6-8)

  1. He chose to make friends of the faithful (v.6).
    1. Those who are faithful are trusty and reliable. They always strive to be honest and do right. They are dependable, punctual, and responsible.
    2. Not only should I seek faithful friends, but I must strive to be an example of faithfulness myself.
    3. Remember that faithfulness is not always pleasant. (Proverbs 27:6) “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
  2. He chose to employ only faithful people (v.6)
    1. To work for me.
    2. To be my friends.
  3. He chose to remove deceit from his house (v.7).
    Deceit was common in David’s day. It was often considered a virtue among Orientals. Seems that people have a similar philosophy even today. Yet God calls for complete truthfulness. Note God’s warning. (Proverbs 20:17) “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.”
  4. He chose to not spend time with liars (v.7).
    Liars are really just sloppy deceivers. A lying tongue is on God’s list of abominations. (Proverbs 6:16-17) “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: (17) A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”
  5. He chose to not welcome the wickedness in his home (v.8)
    David could say he would destroy it for he was the king. However, if you are the king or queen of your castle you can forbid it entrance as well. All forms of wickedness should be shunned. If God calls it wicked, we should flee from it. (1 Thessalonians 5:22) “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Spurgeon once said, “To favour sin is to discourage virtue.”

Conclusion

I believe we would all be benefited if we like David made these choices for our homes.

Song: 394 I surrender all
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Choices for a Godly Home
29 October 2017 PM – Psalm 101:1-8 – Scott Childs