Psalm 15(nasb)
1 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And bspeaks truth in his heart.
3 He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor ctakes up a reproach against his friend;
4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He does not put out his money 1at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.
In this psalm David describes the lifestyle of the believer who lives in intimate fellowship with the Lord.
Psalm 16
1 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3 As for the saints who are in the earth,
2They are the majestic ones bin whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
David’s complete personal commitment to the Lord gave him assurance that God was in control of his life and guided his steps. This assurance will bring a matchless sense of security and joy to the life of the believer.
Psalm 17
“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is aworthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
David, confident in his firm commitment to God, remained deeply aware of the dangers faced by a righteous man living in a sinful world. As believers, we have comfort in knowing that God will confront the wicked and the righteous shall find satisfaction in God’s presence.
Galatians 6:1-10
1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill bthe law of Christ.
3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
5 For each one will bear his own load.
6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of cthe faith.
Paul’s letter concludes with a series of exhortations and reminders. The believers have a responsibility to and for each other, as well as to those who teach and preach the word of God. Paul also reminds the believer that the choice they make (to please the passions of their sin nature or to please the Spirit) will have a definite impact on their present and on their eternity.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom 1every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16 that He would grant you, according to athe riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being brooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is bthe breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know athe love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the dfullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
God called the apostle Paul to unite all believers of his time, both Jew & Gentiles and to explain the previously unrevealed truth that God intended to join Jew and Gentile together as one believing community, one body of Christ. Paul was mindful of his faults but rejoices in the untold wonder of God’s eternal plan; and with a deep sense of humility ministers the eternal Good News to the Ephesians. As he ministered, he prayed that the family of one Father (the believers), might discover in their growing love for one another the incomprehensible love of Christ and be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. The apostle concludes with one of the Bible’s most beautifully important doxologies.
