Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read Leviticus 15, Proverbs 29, and Psalm 101 if you're keeping up with our yearly Bible reading schedule to read through the Old Testament this year. This devotional is about Psalm 101. I will sing of your loving devotion and justice. To you, O Lord, I will sing praises. I will ponder the way that is blameless. When will you come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away. It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me, I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret I will put to silence. The one with haughty eyes and a proud heart I will not endure. My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me. No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house. No one who tells lies shall stand in my presence. Every morning, I will remove all the wicked of the land. that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord. This is God's word. In this song, David sang about the ideals to which he aspired. Each I will expressed his determination as the king to lead his kingdom according to specific moral principles. These moral principles were, first, to lead himself first. We see that in verses 1 through 3b. Before expressing moral goals for his administration, David set some personal goals for himself. Those goals were to praise God and live a godly life in God's sight. We saw that in verses 1 and 2. Also, to act with righteousness in his personal family decisions. We saw that in verse 2c. Also, one of David's moral goals was never to approve of something that God disapproves of. We see that in verse 3a and b. Next, David for himself wanted to cultivate relationships carefully, as we see in verse 3c through 7. Because the king was powerful, many people courted his friendship in order to gain power themselves. David determined to be careful about who influenced him by, and this is the second thing we see in the passage, David determined to be careful about who influenced him by separating himself from those who were dishonest. The word faithless means lacking in faith, and that's in verses three, C and D. So David wanted to separate himself from those who were faithless, from those who had evil hearts, according to verse four, from those who gossiped. In fact, he determined to rebuke anyone who wanted to tell him secrets that slander others. We saw that in verses five, A and B. Also, David wanted to separate himself from those who were proud, according to verse 5 C and D, those who were dishonest liars, according to verse 7. And instead, he wanted to choose to make friends with those who are faithful to God and others, according to verse 6, who are righteous in their lives before God, also according to verse 6, who rule justly, according to verse 8, by silencing those who were wicked and outspoken about it, again according to verse 8, by delivering justice to those who broke God's law intentionally, again according to verse 8. So these were David's principles. This is what he aspired to live by and lead his kingdom by. None of us is a king, but each of us should carefully consider how making these kinds of choices could affect our lives and the lives of others. Do you live your life by a moral code? Have you ever spelled out on paper the kind of life you are determined to live by the grace of God, and the kind of people you won't and will be influenced by, and how you will use the power or influence that you have? As David sang this song, perhaps each morning at the beginning of his day, he was rehearsing what it would look like to do the right thing at the moment of decision, reminding himself of what was important to him, because it was important to God, and resolving to live his life by these principles, principles all drawn from God's Word. As we know, David did not perfectly live by these principles. No one except Jesus was or is able morally to live by these or any other good principles. But these are the principles that David aspired to. He aspired to live up to them personally and to see them cultivated in his kingdom. Who do you aspire to become morally? Have you considered writing out your principles? and reviewing them regularly. This psalm is a great place to start. So think about doing that today, and I'll see you tomorrow. May God bless you. I hope you have a great day today.