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Psalms – TJL Compliation

PSALMS 19th Book in the Old Testament

Psalm 10Psalm 11

Psalm 12Psalm 13

Psalm 14Psalm 15

Book 1: Genesis Section: Psalms 1- 41• Man in View: in a state of blessedness, fall, and recovery

• Perfect Man (Last Adam)-Psalm 1• Rebellious Man-Psalm 2• Perfect Man Rejected-Psalm 3• Conflict between Seed of Woman & Serpent-Psalm 4• Perfect Man in Midst of Enemies-Psalm 5• Perfect Man in Midst of Chastisement (Bruising Heel)-Psalm 6• Perfect Man in Midst of False Witnesses-Psalm 7• Repair of Man Comes through Man (Bruising Head)-Psalm 8• Enemy and Antichrist Conflict; Final Deliverance-Psalms 9-15• Christ in Midst of His People Sanctifying Them to God-Psalms

16-41

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Psalm Scripture:Who is writer? Who are they speaking to?What was the situation when the Psalm was written?What is the writer’s attitude as the Psalm begins?

Does the writer’s attitude change? What is the writer’s attitude at the end of the Psalm?

Where in the passage does it first appear? What? – Knowledge

What facts / truths are stated?What knowledge / warnings are imparted?What does this Psalm teach us about God?What does this Psalm teach us about ourselves?What is the primary subject of / purpose for the Psalm?

So What – Understanding, HearingWhat do the facts stated mean for me?How is the Psalm intended to be used?What is the conclusion, the takeaway of Psalm as a whole?

How do I use the knowledge given?What principle do I need to follow?

How can I apply it to my life?How the Psalm intended to be used?

What is the primary subject of / purpose for the Psalm?Are there other scripture passages that apply

Now what? – Wisdom, Listening / Paying Attention: Application

What do I need to do / change in my life based on the knowledge / warnings given?What should I do or change in my life when I am feeling the same emotions as the writer? What should I focus on?

What command(s) should I obey?What principle(s) do I need to follow?Are there promise(s) to claim? What conditions are there?Are there sins to avoid? What should I not do or stop doing?

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Psalm 10:1-18 ESV1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide

yourself in times of trouble?2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be

caught in the schemes that they have devised.3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the

one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all

his thoughts are, "There is no God."5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high,

out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all

generations I shall not meet adversity."7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;

under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he

murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."

12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"?

14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.

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15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psa 10:1-18 ISV1 Why do you stand far away, LORD? Why do you hide in

times of distress?2 The wicked one arrogantly pursues the afflicted, who are

trapped in the schemes he devises.3 For the wicked one boasts about his own desire; he

blesses the greedy and despises the LORD.4 With haughty arrogance, the wicked thinks, "God will not

seek justice." He always presumes "There is no God."5 Their ways always seem prosperous. Your judgments are

on high, far away from them. They scoff at all their enemies.

6 They say to themselves, "We will not be moved throughout all time, and we will not experience adversity."

7 Their mouth is full of curses, lies, and oppression, their tongues spread trouble and iniquity.

8 They wait in ambush in the villages, they kill the innocent in secret.

9 Their eyes secretly watch the helpless, lying in wait like a lion in his den. They lie in wait to catch the afflicted. They catch the afflicted when they pull him into their net.

10 The victim is crushed, and he sinks down; the helpless fall by their might.

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11 The wicked say to themselves, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."

12 Rise up, LORD! Raise your hand, God. Don't forget the afflicted!

13 Why do the wicked despise God and say to themselves, "God will not seek justice."?

14 But you do see! You take note of trouble and grief in order to take the matter into your own hand. The helpless one commits himself to you; you have been the orphan's helper.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; so that when you seek out his wickedness you will find it no more.

16 The LORD is king forever and ever; nations will perish from his land.

17 LORD, you heard the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen them, you will listen carefully,

18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that men of the earth may cause terror no more.

Psa Scripture Probable Occasion B.C.10 Dan 7:28 During the Babylonish captivity 539

The Book of Psalms: Psalm 10The problem in Psalm 9 is the enemy invading from without,

There were wicked nations around Israel (Ps 9:5),

The problem in Psalm 10 is the enemy corrupting and destroying from within.

Wicked people within the covenant community (Ps 10:4), who claimed to know God, but whose lives proved they did not know God (Titus 2:16).

They know there is a God, but they live as though there is no God or no final judgment.

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They are “practical atheists” who are their own gods and do whatever they please.

QuestIonIng God (V. 1).

1] Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

The age-old paradox: why do the wicked prosper? Cf. Job, Jer 14, et al.

The psalmist wrestles with the age-old problem, “Why doesn’t God do something about

the prosperity of the wicked (Ps 10: 2-4, 7, 10, 15)

the misery of the afflicted (Ps 10: 2, 8-10, 12, 14, 17-18)?”

It’s also discussed in Ps 13:1-3; 27:9; 30:7; 44:23-24; 73; and 88:13-15, as well as Job 13:24ff. and Jeremiah 14.

The wicked are marching through the land, but the Lord seems to be distant and unconcerned.

Godly people had lost their homes, jobs, possessions, families, and even their lives because of the ruthless deeds of evil leaders; and where was God?

(See Ps 22:1, 11; 35:22; 38:21; 42:9; 43:2; 71:12; 74:1; 88:14.)

God has expressed a special concern for widows, orphans, and the helpless (Ps 68:5; 82:3; Deut. 10:18; 24:17-21; 26:12-1 3; 27:19), yet He is not to be found.

It is accused that He “covers His eyes” as though nothing is happening (see Lev. 20:4; 1 Sam. 12:3; Prov. 28:27).

Rejecting God (Ps 10:2-13). The psalmist now describes these wicked people, what they do, and why they do it.

He gives four statements that express what they believe, because what they believe determines how they behave.

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2] The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. 3] For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. 4] The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Twenty-two Sins of the Wicked1. Is full of pride (Psa_10:2, Psa_10:4)2. Persecutes the poor (Psa_10:2)3. Sets snares for the just4. Imagines evil against righteous5. Boasts of his great plans (Psa_10:3)6. Blesses the covetous7. Rejects God (Psa_10:4)8. Dismisses religion (Psa_10:5)9. Travails to bring forth sin10. Is blind to God’s judgments11. Puffs at his enemies12. Boasts of getting what he wants (Psa_10:6)13. Blasphemes (Psa_10:7)14. Deceives others15. Cheats others16. Speaks mischief and vanity17. Plots against neighbors (Psa_10:8)18. Murders the innocent19. Takes advantage of the weak20. Plots against the poor (Psa_10:9)21. Manifests cruelty (Psa_10:10)22. Lives secure in his sins (Psa_10:11)

1) “There is no God” (Ps 10:2-4, see v. 4 nasb)Believing this lie frees the wicked to do whatever they please, for they become their own god.

“You shall be as God” (Gen. 3:5; 6:5).

The wicked cleverly plot against the righteous and hotly pursue them until they get what they want.

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These evil workers live to please themselves and fulfill their selfish desires and then brag about their sins (Phil. 3:18-21)

They revile the Lord (Ps 10: 3, 13 NIV) and “stick their nose up” when anybody challenges them.

(2) “I shall not be moved” (vv. 5-7). 5] His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. 6] He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. 7] His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. This arrogant attitude comes from an ignorance of the laws of God, because unconverted people have no understanding of the Word of God or the ways of God (1 Cor. 2:10-16).

Because God is long-suffering, they think they’re getting away with their sins (EccI. 8:11).

Peace and prosperity give them a false sense of security that will end very suddenly. (See Luke 12:13-21 and 1 Thes 5:1-3)

Telling lies and swearing oaths they have no plans to keep, they escape the penalties of the law and pursue their devious ways.

Like people savoring tasty food, they keep lies under their tongues and enjoy them (Job 20:12-1 5; Prov. 4:17).

Paul quoted Ps 10: 7 in Romans 3:14.

It is the godly who have God’s promise of true security (Ps 10:15:5; 16:8; 21:7; 62:2; 112:6).

(3) “God doesn’t see me” (vv. 8-11). 8] He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.

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[poor] Hebrew: cheleka’ (H2489), weak ones.

9] He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. Like ferocious lions, wicked people hide and watch for opportunities to pounce on the helpless prey, and like hunters or fishermen, they catch their prey in their nets.

The wicked is pictured here as a lion watching for his prey; then as a hunter taking wild animals into his net; and finally as a wild beast crushing his prey (Psa_10:8-10).

10] He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

[strong ones] This refers to the powerful teeth and claws of the lion (Psa_10:9), or the companions in crime of the wicked.

11] He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. Twofold false security of the wicked:

1. He thinks that God will not remember.2. He thinks that God is not interested enough in His creation to see evil.

They are sure that the law won’t catch up with them or the Lord notice what they do. The lion is often used as a picture of ruthless sinners who attack others (Ps 17:12; 37:32; 56:6; 59:3; 64:4).

Beliefs of the Wicked• “There is no God” Ps 10:2-4• “I shall not be moved” Ps 10:5-7• “God doesn’t see me” Ps 10:8-11• “God will not judge me” Ps 10:12-13

(4) “God will not judge me” (vv. 12-13). 12] Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the

humble.

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Ten Times God Is Asked to Arise1. Save me, O my God (Psa_3:7).2. In Thine anger (Psa_7:6)3. Let not man prevail (Psa_9:19).4. Lift up Thine hand (Psa_10:12).5. Disappoint him; cast him down (Psa_17:13).6. Cast us not off forever (Psa_44:23).7. Redeem us for Thy mercies’ sake (Psa_44:26).8. Plead Thine own cause (Psa_74:22).9. Judge the earth (Psa_82:8).10. Into Thy rest (Psa_132:8; 2Ch_6:41)

Five requests to God for deliverance:1. Arise, O Lord.2. Lift up Thine hand.3. Forget not the humble.4. Break the arm (power) of the wicked and evil man

(Psa_10:15).5. Destroy his wickedness until there is no more to be found.

Psalms 10:1313] Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in

his heart, Thou wilt not require it. Four Rebuttals (Ps 10:14-17)

• God sees what is going on Ps 10:14• God Judges sin Ps 10:15• God is King Ps 10:16• God defends His people Ps 10:17

Seven Reasons Why God Should Answer1. The wicked blasphemes God.2. The wicked thinks God will not require (investigate) sin.3. God sees sin (Psa_10:14).4. He beholds all mischief and spite.5. God will render justice to all.6. The poor depends upon God.7. God is helper of fatherless.

The psalmist cries out to God for help,

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He uses three different names for God:

Jehovah, the God of the covenant, and El and Elohim, the God of power.

The wicked boast that God will not investigate their sins or judge them, but God says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).

The Lord will keep His covenant promises to His people,

There will be a day of reckoning when sinners will be judged by a righteous God.

“Arise, O LORD” takes us back to Numbers 10:35 and the triumphant march of Israel.

Trusting God (vv. 14-18). As the psalm draws to a close, the writer expresses his full confidence that God is on His throne and has everything under His control.

The Lord may not explain to us why some people seem to get away with their evil deeds, but He does assure us that He will judge sinners and ultimately defend His own.

In this paragraph, the Lord answers all four of the statements of the wicked that are quoted in verses 2-13.

Beliefs of the Wicked• “There is no God” Ps 10:2-4• “I shall not be moved” Ps 10:5-7• “God doesn’t see me” Ps 10:8-11• “God will not judge me” Ps 10:12-13

But(1) God sees what is going on Ps 10:14 (2) God judges sin Ps 10:15(3) God is King Ps 10:16(4) God defends His own people Ps 10:17-18.

(1) God sees what is going on (v. 14).

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14] Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

This answers Ps 10:8-11, that the Lord pays no attention to what the wicked are doing…

God sees the trouble (outward circumstances) and grief (inward feelings) caused by the wicked as they persecute the helpless, and He will take the matter in hand.

The poor and needy can safely commit themselves into the hands of the Lord (Ps 10:55:22; 1 Peter 5:7).

(2) God judges sin (v. 15).

15] Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

This answers the false claim of Ps 10:12-13.

The psalmist prays that the Lord will carefully investigate each sinner’s life and works, until every evil deed is exposed and judged.

He asks that the sinners be judged in this life and their power removed (“break the arm”).

This prayer isn’t always answered. (See Rev. 6:9-11.)

Seven Future Events Predicted in Psa_10:1-181. The arm (power) of the wicked will be broken in the

Millennium (Psa_10:1-18 : Psa_15:1-5; 1Co_15:24-28; Eph_1:10).

2. No wickedness will be found among men at the end of the Millennium (Psa_10:15; 1Co_15:24-28; Rev_21:3-7).

3. The Lord will be King forever beginning with the Millennium (Psa_10:16; Isa_9:6-7; Dan_2:44-45; Dan_7:13-14; Luk_1:32-33; Rev_11:15; Rev_22:4-5).

4. All heathen will be destroyed off the earth at the end of the Millennium (Psa_10:16; 1Co_15:24-28; Rev_21:3-7).

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5. The desire of the humble for universal peace and righteousness will be realized in the Millennium and New Earth (Psa_10:17; Psa_37:11; Isa_2:2-4; Rev_21:3-7).

6. The fatherless and oppressed will be vindicated (Psa_10:18; Isa_11:3-9; Isa_65:20-25; 1Co_15:24-28; Eph_1:10).

7. The lawless will oppress no more (Psa_10:18; Isa_11:9; Isa_65:20-25; Rev_20:1-15).

(3) God is King (Ps 10:16).

16] The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

The wicked claim that there is no God (Ps 10:1-4),

The truth is that God is and that He rules over all! (See Ps 10:2:6; 5:2; 24:7-10; 29:10; 1 Sam. 8:6-7.)

After their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites sang praises to their King: “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever” (Ex. 15:18).

(4) God defends His own people (vv. 17-18).

17] LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

18] To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

The wicked boast (Ps 10:5-7) that they will not be moved;

God has other plans

God hears the prayers of the persecuted, He sees their plight, He strengthens their hearts for whatever trials He permits (Rom. 8:28), and He eventually judges those who abuse them.

People of faith can depend on the God of heaven, but the self-confident and arrogant “people of the earth” have no future with the Lord. Life without the Lord is empty and vain (Ps 49:12- 20; 62:9).

Christians have their citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and their names are written down in heaven (Luke 10:20).

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They don’t belong to this world, although their ministry is in this world. God’s people have been “redeemed from the earth” (Rev. 14:3) and have heaven as their home.

The phrase “them that dwell on the earth” is found often in the book of Revelation 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 12:12; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6; 17:2, 8 and describes not only where these unbelievers live but what they live for- the things of the earth.

The “earth dwellers” may seem to have the upper hand today, but wait until the Lord reveals His hand!

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Psalm 11

Psa 11:1-7 ISV1 To the Director: A Davidic Song. I take refuge in the LORD. So how can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to the mountains."?2 Look, the wicked have bent their bow and placed their arrow on the string, to shoot from the darkness at the upright in heart.3 When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?4 The LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD's throne is in the heavens. His eyes see, his glance examines humanity.5 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence, he hates.6 He rains on the wicked burning coals and sulfur; a scorching wind is their destiny.7 Indeed, the LORD is righteous; he loves righteousness; the upright will see him face-to-face.

Psa 11:1-7 ESV1 To the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a bird to your mountain,2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.5 The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a

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scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.7 For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Psa Scripture Probable Occasion B.C.11 1Sa 19 When David was advised to flee to the

mountains 1062

It’s difficult to determine the exact historical background of this psalm.

David was often in danger, whether

in the court of Saul (1 Sam. 19:1), in the wilderness being chased by Saul, or during the rebellion of Absalom, his son.

David did flee from Saul’s court and hide in the wilderness for perhaps ten years, and he did abandon Jerusalem to Absalom and take refuge over the Jordan, both of which proved to be wise moves.

But during the crisis described in this psalm, David did not flee his post but remained on duty, trusting the Lord to protect him; and He did.

Whatever the crisis, the psalm teaches us that we must choose between fear (walking by sight) or trust (walking by faith), listening to human counsel or obeying the wisdom that comes from the Lord (James

Psalm 11 [To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.]1] In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?What David Should Do (V. 1).

When the crisis arose, David’s counselors immediately told him to leave Jerusalem and head for the safety of the mountains.

They didn’t seem to have faith that the Lord could see him

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through (Ps 3:2; 4:6).

Psa 3:2 Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah

Psa 4:6 There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us

David used the imagery of the bird

But David didn’t need wings like a dove (Ps 55:6- 7);

Psa 55:5-7 NKJV Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6 So I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah

He needed wings like an eagle (Isa. 40:31) so he could rise above the storm by faith and defeat his enemies.

Isa 40:26-31 NKJV Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God"? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

The verb “flee” is in the plural and refers to David and his court.

It’s right for us to flee from temptation as Joseph did

2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure

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heart.

Gen 39:7-13 NKJV And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." 8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" 10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. 11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,

It’s wrong to flee from the place of duty, as Nehemiah was invited to do (Neh. 6:10-11).

Neh 6:10-12 NKJV Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you." 11 And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!"

The leader who flees needlessly from the crisis is only a hireling and not a faithful shepherd (John 10:12-13).

Joh 10:12-13 NKJV But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

[In the LORD put I my trust]

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Beware of listening to unwise counsel.

Put your faith in the Lord, and He will protect you and direct your paths

Sixteen Blessings of Trust in God1. Many blessings (Psa_2:12)2. Defense-protection (Psa_5:11)3. God’s abiding presence (Psa_9:10)4. Deliverance from enemies (Psa_17:7; Psa_37:40;

Psa_91:4-7)5. God a buckler and shield (Psa_18:30; Psa_91:4;

Psa_115:9-11; Pro_30:5)6. Goodness of God (Psa_31:19)7. Fruitfulness (Psa_34:22)8. Safe dwelling place (Psa_37:3)9. Food-daily supply (Psa_37:3)10. Answers to prayer (Psa_37:5)11. Freedom from fear (Psa_56:11; Psa_91:4-10)12. Immunity from evil and plagues (Psa_91:4, Psa_91:10)13. Stability (Psa_125:1)14. Fatness (Isa_55:2)15. Perfect peace (Isa_26:3)16. Everlasting strength (Isa_26:4)

“Flee” (verse 1) is in the plural: it refers to David and his court.

His advisors told him to flee (as a bird), but he refused. They lacked faith that God would see him through.

2] For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.What the Enemy Does (v. 2). “...lo” (look-verse 2): by sight, the threats were visible and real…

“For look” (NIV) suggests that these counselors are walking by sight and evaluating the situation from the human perspective. (See Elisha 2 Kings 6:8-23.)

It’s good to know the facts, but it’s better to look at those facts in the light of the presence and promises of God.

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There was a secret plot afoot, not unusual in an Eastern palace

Perhaps this psalm was written during the early days of Absalom’s campaign (2 Sam. 15:1-6).

The bows and arrows may have been literal, but it’s more likely they are metaphors for deceptive and destructive words (Ps 57:4; 64:3-4; Prov. 26:18-19; Jer. 9:3, 8; 18:18).

David was upright before God (v. 2) and righteous (v. 3, 5), and he knew that the Lord was righteous and would do the right thing (v. 7).

This is why the righteous need to look to God as a refuge.

3] If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?What Can the Righteous Do? (V. 3).“Foundations” (verse 3): Make sure the foundations are right; constant examination (Cf. Rev 2 & 3)

To the Church in EphesusRev 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent

and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

To the Church in SmyrnaRev 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are

about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

To the Church in PergamumRev 2:16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight

against them with the sword of My mouth.

To the Church in ThyatiraRev 2:24 "Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many

as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come.

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To the Church in SardisRev 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard;

hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

To the Church in PhiladelphiaRev 3:10 Because you have kept My command to

persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

To the Church in LaodiceaRev 3:15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I

could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

David was God’s appointed king, so anything that attacked him personally would shake the very foundations of the nation.

God had abandoned Saul as king, and Absalom had never been chosen king, and both men weakened the foundations of divine government.

Psa 82:5 NKJV They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

Psa 75:2-3 NKJV "When I choose the proper time, I will judge uprightly. 3 The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. Selah

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Society is built on truth, and when truth is questioned or denied, the foundations shake (Isa. 59).

“What can the righteous do?” has also been translated “What is the Righteous One doing?”

God sometimes “shakes things” so that His people will work on building the church and not focus on maintaining the scaffolding

Heb 12:25-29 NKJV See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN." 27 Now this, "YET ONCE MORE," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Hag 2:5-7 NKJV 'According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!' 6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts.

“Lay the foundations again!”

Each new generation must see to it that the foundations of truth and justice are solid.

Samuel laid again the foundations of the covenant (1 Sam. 12), and Ezra laid again the foundations of the temple (Ezra 3).

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Despite all his trials, David lived to make preparations for the building of the temple and the organization of the temple worship.

During the checkered history of Judah, godly kings cleansed the land of idolatry and brought the people back to the true worship of the Lord.

Christ’s messages to the churches in Revelation 2-3 make it clear that local churches need constant examination to see if they’re faithful to the Lord, and we need to pray for a constant reviving work of the Spirit.

4] The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.The Lord is still in charge: What God Will Do (v. 4-7). When you look around, you see the problems,

When you look up to the Lord by faith, you see the answer to the problems.

When the outlook is grim, try the uplook!

“In the Lord I put my trust,” said David, for he knew that God was on the throne in His holy temple in heaven (Hab. 2:20; Isa. 6) and that He saw everything the enemy was doing.

“try” = testing metals by fire as in Jeremiah 11:20 and 17:10.

Jer 11:20 NKJV But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause.

Jer 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

[his eyelids try, the children of men] His eyelids are drawn close together so as to get a more single, direct, and penetrating look at people.

God’s eyes penetrate into our hearts and minds

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Heb 4:12-13 ESV For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Rev 2:23 ESV and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

The Lord tests the righteous to bring out the best in them

Satan tempts them to bring out the worst.

When we trust the Lord in the difficulties of life, our trials work for us and not against us.

2Co 4:7-18 ESV But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that

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are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

[heaven] The word "heaven" is used 716 times in Scripture, referring to the air, clouds, sky, expanse, stars, and the planet on which God dwells.

The word heaven is also used of that which is high (Gen_11:4; Deu_1:28).

Sixteen Facts about the Heavens:1. There are three heavens:

(1) Clouds (Gen_1:8-9; Job_26:8; Job_38:9, Job_38:25-34; Psa_77:17-18; Mat_24:30)

(2) Starry space (Gen_1:14-19; Gen_15:5)(3) The planet heaven (2Co_12:1-7)

2. Created by God (Gen_1:1; Gen_2:1; Isa_42:5; Isa_45:12-18)

3. Created before earth (Gen_1:1; Gen_2:1; Job_38:4-7).

4. How made? Materials were brought into existence by God’s Word and then formed by God’s hands. See The Works of God’s Hands.

5. When made? In the beginning-in the dateless past (Gen_1:1; Pro_8:22-31).

6. How long being created? Unknown. God took six days to restore earth to a second habitable state (Genesis 1:3-2:25; Exo_20:8-11; Exo_31:17), but He could have taken much longer to create and form it and the vast heavens originally.

7. Why made? For habitation and maintaining life to glorify God and receive of His infinite blessings (Isa_45:18; Psa_8:3-8; Col_1:15-18; Rev_4:11).

8. Now inhabited (1Ki_22:19; 2Ki_21:3, 2Ki_21:5; 2Ki_23:4-5; 2Ch_18:18; Neh_9:6; Mat_22:30; Eph_3:15; Col_1:15-18; Rev_5:13; Rev_10:6; Rev_12:12; Rev_13:6; Rev_19:1).

9. Kingdoms in (Eph_3:9-10; Col_1:15-18; 1Pe_3:22).

10. Laws (Job_38:33; Jer_31:35-36; Jer_33:25; Eze_28:15).

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11. Rulers (Gen_14:19, Gen_14:22; Gen_24:3, Gen_24:7; Dan_4:35; Mat_6:10; Mat_11:25).

12. How ruled? Not automatically, but by free moral and intelligent agents as earth was (Eze_28:11-17; Col_1:16-17; Dan_10:10-21; Zec_1:8-11; Zec_6:1-8). Lucifer was first ruler of earth (Isa_14:12-14; Eze_28:11-17) and man the present ruler (Gen_1:26-28; Psa_8:3-8). Such habitable planets as heaven are ruled by others (Col_1:15-18; Eph_3:9-10; 1Pe_3:22).

13. Rebellion and wars (Isa_14:12-14; Eze_28:11-17; Luk_10:18; Eph_2:1-3; Eph_6:10-18; 2Pe_3:5-8; Rev_12:7-12).

14. Punishment of rebels (Isa_14:12-14; Isa_24:21; Eze_28:11-17; Mat_8:29; Mat_25:41; 2Pe_2:4; Jud_1:6-7; Rev_9:1-21; Rev_12:7-12; Rev_20:10).

15. Immeasureable (see The Solar System).

16. Eight fallicies about the heavens:

(1) Heaven is only a state of being.(2) Sin cannot enter heaven. See 1Ki_22:19-27; Job_1:6;

Job_2:1; Isa_14:12-14; Luk_10:18; Rev_12:7-12.(3) Saved men send material up to heaven to build their

mansions. See Joh_14:1-3; Heb_11:16; Rev_21:1-27.(4) Nothing to do in heaven but rest.(5) Seven heavens. See 2Co_12:1-4.(6) Heaven moved to earth. (Fact: one city from heaven will

be moved to earth, not heaven itself. See Rev_21:1-27.)(7) Saved to spend eternity in heaven. See Dan_7:18,

Dan_7:22, Dan_7:27; Zec_14:5; Jud_1:14; Rev_5:10; Rev_20:1-10.

(8) Present heavens will cease to exist. (Fact: they will be renovated only. See 2Pe_3:10-13, notes.)

Fifty Facts about the Planet Heaven:1. Heaven is a created planet like earth (Gen_1:1; Gen_2:1)2. A better country (Heb_11:10-16)3. Highest planet (Eph_1:21; Eph_4:10; Heb_7:26)4. A paradise (2Co_12:1-4; Rev_2:7)

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5. God’s dwelling place (Deu_26:15; 1Ki_8:30, 1Ki_8:39, 1Ki_8:43, 1Ki_8:49)

6. A heavenly country (Heb_11:14-18)7. Location: in the north part of the Universe, in relationship to

the earth (Isa_14:12-14; Psa_75:6-7); above (1Ki_8:23); and in the highest part of creation (Job_22:12; Luk_2:14; Eph_1:21; Eph_4:10)

8. Shape: round (Job_22:14; Psa_19:6) like the earth (Isa_40:22; Ecc_1:6)

9. Size: unknown, but perhaps larger than the earth, judging from the size of its cities (Rev_21:9-27), from the size of other planets compared to the earth (see The Solar System), and from the number of its inhabitants (Jer_33:22; Heb_12:22-23)

10. Has real cities (Heb_11:10-15; Heb_13:14; Rev_21:2, Rev_21:9-27)

11. Mansions (Joh_14:1-3)12. Temples (Psa_11:4; Rev_3:12; Rev_7:15; Rev_11:19;

Rev_14:17; Rev_15:5; Rev_16:1, Rev_16:17; Isa_6:1)13. Foundations (2Sa_22:8; Psa_102:25)14. Tabernacle (Psa_15:1; Rev_21:3)15. Sanctuary (Heb_8:2, Heb_8:5; Heb_9:11, Heb_9:23-24)16. Ark of the testament (Rev_11:19)17. Golden altar, censer, etc. (Rev_8:3-5)18. Fire, tongs, etc. (Isa_6:1-7)19. Thrones (Isa_6:1; Dan_7:9-10; Rev_3:21; Rev_4:2,

Rev_4:4; Rev_22:3)20. Books (Luk_10:20; Heb_12:23; Rev_5:1; Rev_13:8;

Rev_20:11-15; Rev_22:19)21. Swords, sickles (1Ch_21:16, 1Ch_21:27, 1Ch_21:30;

Rev_14:14, Rev_14:17, Rev_14:18; Rev_19:21)22. Keys, chains (Rev_9:1; Rev_20:1)23. Trumpets (Rev_8:2)24. Bowls (Rev_15:7)25. Tables (Luk_22:30)26. Food (Rev_2:7, Rev_2:17; Rev_22:1-3)27. Chariots (2Ki_2:11; 2Ki_6:17; Psa_68:17; Eze_1:15-28;

Zec_6:1-8)28. Furniture (Heb_8:5; Heb_9:23; Exo_25:40)29. Floors, rainbows, lightnings, thunders, lamps (Rev_4:3,

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Rev_4:5-6; Rev_15:2)30. Fountains of waters (Rev_7:17)31. Rivers of water (Rev_22:1)32. Musical instruments (Rev_4:8-11; Rev_5:8-14; Rev_7:7-17;

Rev_14:1-5; Rev_15:2-4; Rev_19:1-10)33. Clothing (Dan_7:9; Dan_10:5; Mat_28:3; Act_1:10;

Rev_4:4; Rev_6:9-11; Rev_7:9-17; Rev_16:6; Rev_19:8)34. Feasts (Luk_22:16, Luk_22:30)35. Drinks (Luk_22:18; Rev_7:17)36. Bread (Psa_78:24-25; Exo_16:1-36; Joh_6:31)37. Roast lamb (Luk_22:16)38. Fruits (Rev_2:7; Rev_22:2)39. Hidden manna (Rev_2:17)40. Animals (2Ki_2:11; 2Ki_6:17; Zec_1:8, Zec_1:10; Zec_6:1-

5; Rev_19:11, Rev_19:14, Rev_19:21)41. Stones (Jos_10:11)42. Pillars (Job_26:11)43. Innumeral inhabitants (Jer_33:22; Heb_12:22-23;

Rev_12:12; Rev_13:6)44. Armies (Dan_4:35)45. Trees (Rev_2:7; Rev_22:1-3)46. Streets (Rev_22:1-3)47. Mountains (Rev_14:1; Heb_12:22-23; Zec_6:1)48. All material things like we have on earth (Rom_1:20;

Php_2:10)49. Things not lawful to utter-things which man would not

believe if he heard of them (1Co_2:9-10; 2Co_12:1-4; 1Pe_1:4)

50. People have been taken to heaven and have lived there in natural bodies for thousands of years (Gen_5:24; 2Ki_2:1, 2Ki_2:11; Zec_14:11-14; Heb_11:5; Rev_11:3-11)

5] The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.[trieth the righteous] The Lord tests the righteous (Gen_22:1-24).

[soul hateth] God has a personal soul-the seat of emotions.

6] Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

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God is completely righteous in all His dealings with free moral agents.

David’s Imagery for Judgment• Fire & Brimstone (Gen 19:24; Isa 30:33; Rev 9:17).• Scorching wind (Ps 18:4-19).• Poisonous cup (Ps75:8; Isa 51:17,22; Jer 25:15-17; Ezek

38:22; Rev 14:10; 16:19; 18:6).

David uses three images to describe the judgment that God has prepared for the wicked.

He saw fire and brimstone descend on them, such as the Lord sent on Sodom and Gomorrah

He beheld a terrible storm destroying the enemy, a “scorching wind” such as often blew from the desert (

David used the image of the storm in his song about his deliverance from his enemies and King Saul

The third image is that of a poisonous potion in a cup

“Drinking the cup” is often a picture of judgment from the Lord

On the Lord’s hatred of evil and violent people, see Psalm 5:5.

7] For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.God has planned for His own people “The upright will behold His face” (Ps 17:15.)

Psa 17:15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

1Jn 3:1-10 ESV See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also

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practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

To “see the face” means to have access to a person, such as “to see the king’s face” (2 Sam. 14:24).

2Sa 14:24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.

To “see His face” implies access (Num 6:22-27).

Num 6:22-27 ESV The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, 24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 27 "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

Heb 4:14-16 CSB Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

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For God to turn His face away is to reject us, but for Him to look upon us with delight means He is going to bless us

When Jesus returns, those who have rejected Him will be cast “away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:8-10; Matt. 7:21-23), while His own children will be welcomed into His presence (Matt. 25:34).

2Th 1:8-10 ESV in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

Mat 7:21-23 ESV "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

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Psalm 12Psa 12:1-8 ESV1 To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,4 those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?"5 "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."6 The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.7 You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Psa 12:1-8 ISV1 To the Director: On an eight stringed harp. A Davidic Psalm. Help, LORD, for godly people no longer exist; trustworthy people have disappeared from humanity.2 Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor; they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.3 The LORD will cut off all slippery lips, and the tongue that boasts great things,4 those who say, "By our tongues we will prevail; our lips belong to us. Who is master over us?"5 "Because the poor are being oppressed, because the

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needy are sighing, I will now arise," says the LORD, "I will establish in safety those who yearn for it."6 The words of the LORD are pure, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.7 You, LORD, will keep them safe, you will guard them from this generation forever.8 The wicked, however, keep walking around, exalting the vileness of human beings.

Psa Scripture Probable Occasion B.C.12 1Ch 28:1 Inserted toward the end of David's life 1015

Our ability to speak and write words is a precious gift of God, and this psalm deals with the right and wrong use of that gift.

The Book of Psalms: Psalm 12[To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.]Sheminith 8th group or division sounding the octaves.

H8066 שמיני semiyniy: An adjective meaning eighth.

An ordinal number that points out the eighth of something in a series: the eighth year (1Ki_6:38); the eighth month (1Ki_12:32); the eighth day (Exo_22:30 [29]; Lev_9:1) – a new week, the 8th note of the musical scale – a new octave

1] Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.The Righteous-Despairing Words (V. 1). In Psalm 11, the foundations of society were shaking (v. 3), but here David cried out for help (salvation, deliverance) because the godly remnant of faithful believers was getting smaller and smaller.

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This wasn’t the complaint of a man longing for “the good old days.”

It was the cry of a truly faithful servant of God who wanted to see his nation, Israel, fulfill her divine purposes on earth.

The faithfulness of Israel involved bringing the Savior into the world and blessing all the nations (Gen. 12:1-3).

Gen 12:1-3 NKJV Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

David wasn’t alone in his concern. Elijah thought he was the only faithful prophet left.

1Ki 18:22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

1Ki 19:10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

1Ki 19:18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

The prophets Isaiah (Isa. 57:1) and Micah (Mic. 7:1- 7) expressed their concern at the absence of righteous leaders. (See also Ps. 116:1; EccI. 10:5-7; Jer. 5:1.)

Isa 57:1 The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.

Mic 7:1-7 NKJV Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul

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desires. 2 The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net. 3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together. 4 The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity. 5 Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom. 6 For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man's enemies are the men of his own household. 7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.

Ecc 10:5-7 NKJV There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place. 7 I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants.

Jer 5:1 "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.

When he wrote 1 Timothy, Paul lamented over what “some” were doing in the church (1 Tim 1:3, 6, 19; 4:1; 5:15; 6:10), but in 2 Timothy, that “some” had become “all” (2 Tim 1:15; 4:16).

1Ti 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

1Ti 1:6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,

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1Ti 1:19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

1Ti 5:15 For some have already turned aside after Satan.

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

2Ti 1:15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

2Ti 4:16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.

One of the tragedies today is that a new generation of believers doesn’t seem to know what it takes to be a godly leader, so they borrow leadership ideas from secular society and choose all kinds of unequipped and unqualified people to be leaders.

End-Time Faith Will the faith be found among men at His second coming?

Luk 18:7-8 NKJV And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

When all who are saints before the tribulation will have been raptured? (1Th_4:16; 2Th_2:7-8, note.)

1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

2Th 2:7-8 NKJV For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so

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until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

When men that are left will be at the height of apostasy?

(Mat_24:24; 1Ti_4:1-16; 2Ti_3:5; 2Ti_4:1-4; 2Th_2:1-17; Rev_9:20-21; Rev_13:1-18.)

When those who get saved during the tribulation will be killed by the multitudes?

(Rev_6:9-11; Rev_7:9-17; Rev_13:16-18; Rev_15:2-4; Rev_20:4-6.)

The WIcked-DeceptIve Wods (vv. 2-4). One mark of a Spirit-filled believer is the ability to detect lies and liars and avoid them (1 John 2:18-29), and David knew that he was living in a society controlled by deception.

It wasn’t that only a few people were telling lies; deception was a major characteristic of the whole generation. (Ps 5:9; 28:3; 34:13; 55:21; 141:3.)

Psa 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.

Psa 28:3 Do not take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts.

Psa 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.

Psa 55:21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.

Psa 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.

2] They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

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[Help] Hebrew: yasha‛ (H3467), save; give safety. Translated help 12 times (Psa_12:1; Psa_116:6; Exo_2:16-19; 2Sa_10:11, 2Sa_10:19; 2Sa_14:4; 2Sa_19:1; 2Ki_6:26-27; 1Ch_19:12, 1Ch_19:19; 2Ch_20:9).The faithful cry out due to the apparent dearth of faithful leaders

(1 Kgs 18:22;19:10,18; Isa 57:1; Micah 7:1-7).

Five reasons for calling for help:1. The godly (saintly) man ceases to exist.2. The faithful man has passed away.3. The wicked speak vanity (Psa_12:2).4. They speak flattery.5. They speak with a double heart.

Saul used lies to deceive his leaders about David, and Absalom used flattery to poison the minds of the naive people of Israel against David.

Flattery is not communication; it’s manipulation

Pro 26:28 A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

Pro 28:23 He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue.

Even in Christian ministry it’s possible to use flattery to influence people and exploit them (1 Thess. 2:1-6; Acts 20:28-31).

1Th 2:1-6 NKJV For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. 4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

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Act 20:28-31 NKJV Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

Flattery plays on the ego and especially influences people who want to appear important (Jude 11).

Jud 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

You can flatter yourself (Ps 36:2),

Psa 36:2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.

You can flatter others (Ps 5:9; 12:2), and

Psa 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.

Psa 12:2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

You can even flatter God (Ps 78:34-37).

Psa 78:34-37 NKJV When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. 35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. 36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; 37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

What the lips speak comes from the heart (Matt. 12:33-37)

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Mat 12:33-37 NKJV "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

This is the opposite of the “perfect heart,” total loyalty to God and His truth (Ps 86:11; Rom. 16:17-18).

Psa 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Rom 16:17-18 NKJV Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

David accuses these liars of duplicity, which is a divided heart (literally “a heart and a heart”).

Double-speak from double hearts!

If David were alive today and witnessed the propaganda and promotion that make up what we casually call “the media”, he describe today’s “communication” as he did centuries ago:

empty and useless words (“vanity”), smooth talk (“flattery”), double-talk from double hearts, and boastful talk or “proud words.”

Political correctness-and its popularity in almost every area of human life is evidence that language and communication are in serious trouble.

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On uNIVersity campuses, what once was called “Home Economics” is now “The College of Applied Life Studies.”

In Tucson, Arizona, potholes are no more, are now known as “pavement deficiencies.”

“new taxes” are “revenue enhancements,” a

In military jargon, “retreat” is “backloading of augmentation personnel.”

If, while you’re “backloading,” you get shot, the bullet hole is “a ballistically induced aperture in the subcutaneous environment.”

This kind of artificial evasive language is “doublespeak,”

3] The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Two things God will cut off:

1. All flattering lips Flattery is manipulation.Great words of promise and flattery (2Pe_2:18-19).

2Pe 2:18-19 NKJV For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.

2. Tongues that speak proud things Quoted in Jas_3:5.Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts

great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

“proud words,” boastful speech that impresses people by its oratory and vocabulary.

“Great swelling words” is the phrase used in 2 Peter 2:18 and Jude 16.

2Pe 2:18 NKJV For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh,

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through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.

Jud 1:16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

Daniel (Dan 7:20, 25) and John (Rev. 13:2, 5) both tell us that the Antichrist will speak in this way and rule the world.

This kind of speech is motivated by pride and is used by people who think they’re in control and will never need to answer to anybody, including the Lord.

Dan 7:20 and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

Dan 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.

Rev 13:2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

Rev 13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.

4] Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?Their lips are their own, and they can speak just as they please.

[With our tongue will we prevail] The smooth tongued man relies upon his lips and flattering speech to deceive and overcome others (Psa_5:9; Psa_36:2; Psa_55:21; Psa_78:36; Pro_5:3; Pro_7:5, Pro_7:21; Pro_20:19; Pro_26:28; Pro_28:23;

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Pro_29:5; 1Th_2:5; Jud_1:16).

[our lips are our own] Many think that because they have a gift for speaking they can say what they please, but such shall receive greater damnation (Mat_12:36-37; Jas_3:1).

Mat 12:36-37 NKJV But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Jas 3:1-2 NKJV My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

The Lord-Delivering Words (w. 5-8)5] For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

God will arise and judge two things:1. Oppression of the poor2. Causing the needy to shriek

God sees the oppression of the weak (Ex. 3:7) and hears the pain in their cries,

He declares that He will arise and judge the liars and deceivers.

Exo 3:7 And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

“I will arise” H6965: to rise, arise, stand up, become powerful; come on the scene

takes us back to

Psa 3:7 Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

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Psa 7:6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded!

Psa 9:19 Arise, O LORD, Do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged in Your sight.

Psa 10:12 Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.

Num 10:35 So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: "Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You."

Isa 33:10-12 NKJV "Now I will rise," says the LORD; "Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up. 11 You shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, shall devour you. 12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

Safety H3468 ישע yesa‛, ישע yesa‛: A masculine noun meaning deliverance, rescue, liberty, welfare, salvation.

“Safety” (“protect,” NIV) in verse 5 comes from the same Hebrew root as “help” in verse 1

It is the basis for the names “Jesus” and “Joshua” (“Jehovah is salvation”).

David used the word salvation to describe the hope and welfare he had in the midst of strife due to his covenant with God (2Sa_23:5).

2Sa 23:5 "Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase?

God saves communities, as when He promised relief to Jerusalem (Isa_62:11) as well as individuals (Mic_7:7)..

Isa 62:11 Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To the end of the world: "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation

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is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.' "

Mic 7:7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

The last phrase in verse 5 should read as in the New American Standard Bible: “the safety for which he longs.”

When God comes to deliver His people, He will “cut off” those who practice flattery and deception (Ps 12:3), which means separation from the covenant community (Gen. 17:14), like the separation of the goats from the sheep (Matt. 25:31 -33).

6] The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.Twelve Things about the Word in Psalms

1. It is pure (Psa_12:6; Psa_119:140).2. It is tried (Psa_12:6; Psa_18:30).3. It is right (Psa_33:4).4. It creates (Psa_33:6).5. It heals (Psa_107:20).6. It quickens (Psa_119:25, Psa_119:50, Psa_119:154).7. It is eternal (Psa_119:89).8. It is sweet (Psa_119:103).9. It is a lamp to the feet (Psa_119:105).10. It is a light (Psa_119:130).11. It is true (Psa_119:160).12. It controls the weather (Psa_147:18; Psa_148:8).

The Lord’s Word is precious and must be valued

Psa 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.

Psa 119:72 The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

Psa 119:127 Therefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold!

Psa 119:162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.

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Unlike the worthless words of the deceivers, the Word of the Lord is like precious silver (Ps 19:9-10) that is heated seven times in the crucible before it is poured out into the mold.

Purified of all impurities in a furnace or crucible, purified of all dross.

His words are pure; flawless; can be relied upon.

Psa 19:9-10 NKJV The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

How paradoxical that society today sees the Scriptures as something relatively worthless and yet pays great sums of money to the people who manufacture deception and flattery.

The things that God abhors have become “exalted” in our entertainments

No matter how many lies this generation tells, God’s Word is safe, for He said,

“…I am watching over My word to perform it” (Jer. 1:12 NASB).

He exalts His Word even above His Name (Ps 138:2). (Ps 138:2 CSB) I will bow down toward your holy temple and

give thanks to your name for your constant love and truth. You have exalted your name and your promise above everything else.

(Ps 138:2 TNIV) I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame.

(Ps 138:2 NLT) I bow before Your holy Temple as I worship. I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness; for Your promises are backed by all the honor of Your name.

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7] Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.God is able to protect His godly people from the lies of the enemy.

God’s people are “the generation of the righteous” (Ps 14:5), the generation that seeks God (Ps 24:6), the generation of His children (Ps 73:15), the generation of the upright (Ps 112:2).

Psa 14:5 There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.

Psa 24:6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

Psa 73:15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.

Psa 112:2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.

1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The church is always one generation short of extinction, so we must be faithful to win the lost and teach the believers, or vileness will conquer the land.

If God’s people will saturate themselves with God’s Word, they won’t be seduced by “this lying generation.”

When the church adopts the techniques and motives of the world system, the church ceases to glorify the Lord.

8] The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.The final verse issues a call to action, for “the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land” (NLT).

Vileness (“cheapness”) is promoted and exalted in the media: immorality, brutality, murder, lies, drunkenness, nudity, the

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love of money, the abuse of authority.

The things that God condemns are now a means of universal entertainment, and the entertainment industry gives awards to the people who produce these things.

People boast about things they ought to be ashamed of

Php 3:18-19 NKJV For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

Isa 5:18-23 ISV "How terrible it will be for those who parade iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin along as with a cart rope; 19 who say: 'Let God be quick, let him speed up his work so we may see it! Let it happen! let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near, so we may recognize it!'"

20 "How terrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute what is bitter for what is sweet and what is sweet for what is bitter!"

21 "How terrible it will be for those who are wise in their own opinion, and clever in their own reckoning!

22 "How terrible it will be for those who are heroes at drinking wine, and champions in mixing strong drink, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of justice!"

God’s people are still (or could be) salt and light

Mat 5:13-16 NKJV "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

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If there were more light in the land, there would be less darkness, and

If we had more salt, there would be less decay.

As God’s people worship God, pray, and share the gospel with the lost, more people will trust Christ and increase the salt and light in the land.

We must also share the truth of the Word with the next generation (2 Tim. 2:2) and prepare them for the battles and opportunities to come (Ps 78:1-8; 102:18).

2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Psa 78:1-8 NKJV A Contemplation Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6 That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, 7 That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; 8 And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Psa 102:18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

2Ch 7:14 …. when my people humble themselves-the ones who are called by my name-and pray, seek me, and turn away from their evil practices, I myself will listen from heaven, I will pardon their sins, and I will restore their land.

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Psalm 13 Psa 13:1-6 ISV1 To the Director: A Davidic Psalm. How long? LORD, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?2 How long must I struggle in my soul at night and have sorrow in my heart during the day? How long will my enemy rise up against me?3 Look at me! Answer me, LORD, my God! Give light to my eyes! Otherwise, I will sleep in death;4 Otherwise, my enemy will say, "I have overcome him;" Otherwise, my persecutor will rejoice when I am shaken.5 As for me, I have trusted in your gracious love, my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has dealt bountifully with me.

Psa 13:1-6 ESV1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,4 lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him," lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

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Wait and Commit

My soul also is greatly troubled; but You, O Lord—how long?Psalm 6:3With each advancement in technology our patience has diminished. Today, when we can send a message around the world in seconds, we can hardly abide waiting at all.

In God’s spiritual economy, waiting is sometimes part of His plan. God doesn’t need to delay His answers or actions at all. Sometimes He has His reasons.

The psalmists often prayed, “How long, O Lord?” (Psalm 13) when they found themselves in anguish or trouble.

53 times in scripture NKJV, many more in other forms of the question

Asked by God of His people, by individuals and His people of God, of people to other people

Psa_4:2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah

Psa_6:3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD—how long?

Psa_13:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Psa_35:17 Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions.

Psa_62:3 How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.

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Psa_74:9 We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet; Nor is there any among us who knows how long. 10 O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?

Psa_79:5 How long, LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

Psa_80:4 O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?

Psa_82:2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah

Psa_89:46 How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?

Psa_90:13 Return, O LORD! How long? And have compassion on Your servants.

Psa_94:3 LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?

Rev_6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Yet in balanced amounts came this exhortation: “Wait on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14; 37:9, 34).

Psa_27:14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psa_37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

Psa_37:34 Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

Isa_8:17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

Isa_40:31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

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God is with you and His timing is perfect. While you are waiting, remember to commit your way to Him and to trust Him for the answer (Psalm 37:5).

Psa 37:1-7 NKJV A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

The Book of Psalms: Psalm 13This psalm was probably written during David’s difficult years of exile when King Saul was pursuing him.

This was perhaps written during his sin with Bathsheba or during his reaping in the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa 11:1-18:33)

It could not have been written during the captivity in Babylon which was long after David’s time.

[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.]1] How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?2] How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?The Inward Struggle-HIs FeelIngs (vv 1-2). In this brief psalm, David deals with his feelings, his foes, and his faith.

“There is one step between me and death” (1 Sam 20:3).

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“My times are in your hands” (Ps 31;15).

Feelings are deceptive and undependable (Jer 17:9).

There were storm clouds in the sky, hiding the sun, but the sun was still shining.

By the grace of God, David turned his sufferings into songs and left those songs behind to encourage us in our trials

2Co 1:2-11 NKJV Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. 8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many..

[How long …?] is a familiar question in Scripture (Ps 6:3) and is a perfectly good question to ask if your heart is right with God.

Psa_6:3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD—how long?

The saints in heaven even ask it (Rev. 6:10).

Rev_6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

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When we’re in trouble and pray for help, but none comes, we tend to feel deserted.

Repeated four times in Psa_13:1-2 :

[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.]

1] How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever?

how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2] How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?

how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

1. God will never forget.

2. God will never hide His face unless sin is involved. Then He will turn from the sinner as long as he lives in sin

Gal 6:7-8 NKJV Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

3. Man can take counsel in his soul and have sorrow as long as he chooses. He can stop when he chooses

Isa 26:3 NKJV You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Mat 6:25-34 NKJV "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the

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field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Php 4:8 NKJV Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

4. The enemy will be exalted as long as sin is committed (1Jn_3:8; Joh_8:44) or as long as reaping is necessary (Gal_6:7-8).

1Jn 3:3-10 NKJV And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Joh 8:42-44 NKJV Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen

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to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.


To behold God’s face by faith and see His glory were always an encouragement to David

Psa 11:7 NKJV For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

Psa 17:15 NKJV As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

Psa 27:4 NKJV One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

Psa 27:8 NKJV When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."

Psa 31:16 NKJV Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies' sake.

Psa 34:5 NKJV They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.

Psa 67:1 To the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm. A Song. God be merciful to us and bless us,And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah

But now he felt abandoned.

David felt that God was ignoring him and that this alienation was final and complete.

He felt that God was hiding His face from him instead of smiling upon

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Psa 30:7 NKJV LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

Psa 44:24 NKJV Why do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression?

Lam 5:20 NKJV Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time?

Isa_8:17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

These complaints of David are normal for man who is oppressed, condemned, and reaping what he sows.

Faith is living without scheming.

It means not leaning on our own experiences and skills and trying to plot our own schedule

Pro 3:5-8 NKJV Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

Feeling like he was left to himself, David tried to devise various ways to overcome the enemy (“wrestle with my thoughts,” v. 2 NIV), but nothing seemed to satisfy him.

It’s a dangerous thing to give in to our feelings, because feelings are deceptive and undependable

Jer 17:9-10 NKJV "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

When Jacob heard the news about Simeon being left hostage in Egypt, he gave up and announced that everything was against him (Gen. 42:36) when actually God was causing everything to work for him.

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Gen 42:36 And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me."

We must not deny our feelings and pretend that everything is going well. There is no sin in asking, “How long?”

But at the same time, we must realize how deceptive our feelings are and that God is greater than our hearts and can lift us above the emotional storms of life.

1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

David eventually learned to replace the question “How long, O LORD?” with the affirmation “My times are in thy hand” (Ps 31:15).

A lesson that all believers must learn.

3] Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;The Outward Danger-HIs Foes (vv. 3-4). It’s good to have peace within you, but you also need protection around you.

[Consider and hear me, O LORD: lighten mine eyes]

David prayed to the Lord and made three requests.

1. Consider me

“Look on me,” was a plea for the Lord to fix His eyes on His servant and scrutinize him.

David felt that God had hidden His face, and he wanted Him to turn His face toward him again.

2. Hear me

His second request was that the Lord answer him and send some kind of encouragement.

David felt that he had been deserted and that his prayers were accomplishing nothing.

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3. Lighten my eyes (receive me)

This involved not only spiritual enlightenment (19:8) but also physical and emotional vitality and strength (Ezra 9:8; 1 Sam. 14:24-30).

When the mind and body are weary, how easy it is to be discouraged!

4] Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.Perhaps David was even ill and in danger of death

Psa 13:3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Psa 7:5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust. Selah

[lest I sleep the sleep of death]

Three reasons:1. Lest I die.2. Lest my enemy brag of victory (Psa_13:4).3. Lest those that tempt me rejoice over my fall.

People might underestimate God, and think He couldn’t fulfill His promises…

As much as David was concerned about his own needs, he was concerned even more with the glory of God (Ps 13:4).

God had chosen David and had commanded Samuel to anoint him king, and if David failed, God’s name would be ridiculed.

“Don’t allow the enemy to gloat over me!” was his prayer.

[moved] H4131 to totter, shake, slipto be shaken, be moved, be overthrownto dislodge, let fall, drop

Psa 10:6 He [ the wicked] has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity."

If David began to waver, the faithful people of the land would think that God was unable to fulfill His own promises

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Psa 35:19-21 NKJV Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. 20 For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful matters Against the quiet ones in the land. 21 They also opened their mouth wide against me, And said, "Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it."

Psa 38:16 NKJV For I said, "Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me." 17 For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.

5] But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.6] I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.The Upward Look-HIs Faith (vv. 5-6). In their false confidence, let the enemy rejoice, but David will rejoice in the Lord his God!

“But”: the transition from fear to faith; from questioning to claiming God’s promises

God’s people live on promises, not explanations.

God’s people don’t live on explanations; they live on promises, and those promises are as unchanging as the character of God.

Mat 8:13 NKJV Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

Mat 9:29 NKJV Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."

Jas 1:5 NKJV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

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Heb 11:6 NKJV But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Mar 11:22 NKJV So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

David’s feelings had been on a roller coaster, but God was still on the throne, and His character had not changed.

God’s mercy (steadfast love) was all that David needed, for it would never fail

Psa 25:6 NKJV Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.

Isa 63:9 NKJV In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.

Lam 3:22-23 >> NKJV Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Salvation = Yeshua!

Relying on the Lord leads to rejoicing in the Lord and His salvation (yeshua).

The word bountiful focuses on the goodness of God and His generosity in dealing with His people in grace

The NIV translates it, “[The Lord] has been good to me.”

Psa 103:2 NKJV Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:

Psa 116:7 NKJV Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

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Psa 119:17 NKJV Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word.

Psa 142:7 NKJV Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me."

David’s circumstances haven’t changed, but the Lord has changed him, and that occurred when David stopped looking at his feelings and his foes and by faith started looking to the Lord.

[thy mercy] God’s mercy is conditionally promised to all men

Exo 20:6 NKJV but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Exo 34:6 NKJV And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

2Ch 30:9 NKJV For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him."

Psa 62:12 NKJV Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.

Isa 55:7 NKJV Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

Eph 2:4 NKJV But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Tit 3:5 NKJV not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

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1Pe 1:3 NKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1Pe 2:10 NKJV who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Rom 2:1-11 NKJV Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who "WILL RENDER TO EACH ONE ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS": 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God..

[my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation]

Two effects of trusting God’s grace:1. Rejoicing in salvation2. Singing to God (Psa_13:6)

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Psalm 14 Psa 14:1-7 ESV1 To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psa 14:1-7 ISV1 To the Director: A Davidic Psalm. Fools say to themselves, "There is no God." They are corrupt and commit evil deeds; not one of them practices what is good.2 The LORD looks down from the heavens upon humanity to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.3 All have turned away, together they have become corrupt; no one practices what is good, not even one.4 Will those who do evil ever learn? They devour my people like they devour bread, and never call on the LORD.5 There they are seized with terror, because God is with those who are righteous.6 You would frustrate the plans of the oppressed, but the

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LORD is their refuge.7 May Israel's deliverance come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.


The “Practical Atheist”During the reign of King Saul, the spiritual level of the nation was very low, and many Jews followed the bad example of Israel’s first king.

But even in the worst of times, God has cared for His faithful remnant and has been their refuge in times of trouble

Psalm 14 is duplicated in Psalm 53 with two changes:

Psalm 53 uses the name “God” (Elohim) instead of “Jehovah” and replaces Ps 14:6 with an addition to verse 5.

Psa 14:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart,"There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

Psa 53:1 To the Chief Musician. Set to "Mahalath." A Contemplation of David. The fool has said in his heart,"There is no God." They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.

Psa 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

Psa 53:2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

Psa 14:3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

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Psa 53:3 Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

Psa 14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the LORD?

Psa 53:4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon God?

Psa 14:5 There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.

Psa 14:6 You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his refuge.

Psa 53:5 There they are in great fear Where no fear was, For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to shame, Because God has despised them.

Psa 14:7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psa 53:6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psalm 14 identified two groups:

“the workers of iniquity” (Ps 10 & 12) and

“the generation of the righteous” - the believing remnant

Mal 3:16-18 NKJV Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name. 17 "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him." 18 Then you shall again discern

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Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.

Psalm 14 deals with the character and conduct of the “practical atheist” and adds to the messages of Psalms 10 and 12.

The three psalms present a vivid picture of the ungodly

- their proud attitude (Ps 10), - their deceitful words (Ps 12), and - now their corrupt deeds (Ps 14).

All that they are, say, and do comes from their arrogant (and ignorant) belief that “there is no God.”

Note: Psalm 15 is not a prescription for being saved, but a description of how saved people ought to behave if they would

please God and fellowship with Him.

The Book of Psalms: Psalm 14[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.]1] The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.Willful Folly-They Ignore God (w. 1-3). The “Fool” [April 1st is “Atheist’s Day.”]

Our English word fool comes from a Latin word that means “bellows,” suggesting that the fool is a person “a blowhard”; “full of hot air.”

In the Hebrew language, there are three basic words for “fool”: kesyl, the dull, stupid fellow, simpleton, arrogant one

ewiyl, the unreasonable and perverted fool; foolish; of one who despises wisdom; of one who mocks when guilty; one who is quarrelsome, licentious; and

nabal, lacking moral sense; the brutish person who is like a stubborn animal.

Hebrew: nabal (H5036), stupid, wicked, impious, vile. From nabel (H5034), to fall away, lightly esteem.

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Translated "fool" (Psa_14:1; Psa_53:1; 2Sa_3:33; 2Sa_13:13; Job_30:8; Pro_17:7, Pro_17:21; Pro_30:22; Jer_17:11);

foolish (Deu_32:6, Deu_32:21; Job_2:10; Psa_39:8; Psa_74:13, Psa_74:22; Eze_13:3); and

vile person (Isa_32:5-6).

Nabal is the word used in Ps 14:1, and it was the name of a man who was brutish and refused to help David (1 Sam. 25).

[said in his heart, There is no God.]

Two things fools say:

1. There is no God (Psa_14:1; Psa_53:1).2. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry

Luk 12:18-19 NKJV So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '

People who say “There is no God” are not necessarily lacking normal intelligence; in fact, they may have good minds.

They lack spiritual wisdom and insight.

The nabal fool has a moral problem in the heart, not a mental problem in the head.

The American evangelist Billy Sunday used to say that sinners can’t find God for the same reason criminals can’t find policemen-they aren’t looking!

Nabal fools are self-righteous and don’t need or want God.

They want to live their own lives the way they please.

Their problem is willful ignorance and not lack of normal intelligence (2 Peter 3:5; Rom. 1:18-28)

2Pe 3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

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Rom 1:18-32 NKJV For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

[corrupt, they have done abonimable works]

The Hebrew word for corrupt means “rotten, putrid, decayed.”

It is used to describe Jeremiah’s useless sash (Jer. 13:7).

Jer 13:1-11 NKJV Thus the LORD said to me: "Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water." 2 So I got a sash according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist.

3 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, 4 "Take the sash that you acquired, which is

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around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock." 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, "Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there." 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 "Thus says the LORD: 'In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. 11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,' says the LORD, 'that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.'

By leaving God out of their lives, they cause their inner person to become more and more corrupt-the heart (v. 1), the mind (vv. 2, 4), and the will (v. 3).

[there is none that doeth good] Quoted in Rom_3:10-12.

Rom 3:10-12 NKJV As it is written: "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS; THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS AFTER GOD. 12 THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE; THEY HAVE TOGETHER BECOME UNPROFITABLE; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE."

Twelve Characteristics of Fools1. Deny the existence of God2. Live corrupt lives3. Do abominable works4. Are without understanding (Psa_14:2)5. Ignore God-do not seek Him6. Are not good, not one (Psa_14:1, Psa_14:3)

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7. Have all gone astray from God (Psa_14:3)8. Have become filthy in life9. Live in ignorance of God (Psa_14:4)10. Destroy God’s people11. Never pray12. Oppress the poor (Psa_14:5)

2] The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.[looked down from heaven] Literally, bowed Himself over to get a closer look at men and their wicked ways (Psa_53:2; cp. Gen_11:5; Gen_18:21).

When God looks down to investigate (Gen. 6:5, Gen 6:11-12; Gen 18:21),

Gen 6:5 NKJV Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Gen 6:11 NKJV The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Gen 18:21 NKJV I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."

Note what He saw (Psa_14:1, Psa_14:3-6).

He sees people who are filthy (v. 3), a word that describes milk that has become rancid.

[children of men] I.e., the sons of Adam whom He created.

[to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God]

This is what God is constantly looking for among men (Psa_33:13-14; Psa_69:20; Job_33:27; Isa_63:5).

Psa 33:13 NKJV The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth;

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Psa 69:20 NKJV Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

Job 33:27 NKJV Then he looks at men and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.'.

Isa 63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me.

3] They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one

[gone aside, they are all together become filthy] A statement of fact-the whole race had left God and the straight way for crooked paths.

The denial of God is the first step in total apostasy

Rom 1:21-32 NKJV 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things

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which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

“Gone aside” means they have turned their backs on God and refuse to fulfill the purpose for which they were created-to glorify God.

Jer 2:21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me Into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?

This indictment is universal:

All people, individually or all together, cannot do anything at all that is good enough to merit heaven-no one, no, not one.

Paul quotes from this passage in Romans 3 as part of his proof that the whole world is guilty before God and can be saved only by the grace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ

Rom 3:9-28 NKJV What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS; THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS AFTER GOD. 12 THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE; THEY HAVE TOGETHER BECOME UNPROFITABLE; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE." 13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN TOMB; WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY HAVE PRACTICED DECEIT"; "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS"; 14 "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS." 15 "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD; 16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR WAYS; 17 AND THE WAY OF

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PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN." 18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law..

Human depravity doesn’t mean that all persons are as wicked as they can be, or that all are equally bad, or that no man or woman can ever do anything good.

Luk 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

It simply means that all have a fallen nature they cannot change and that apart from the grace of God none can be saved from eternal judgment.

[become filthy] Becoming filthy is the result of forsaking God and going aside.

[there is none that doeth good, no, not one] See Ps 14:1 and quoted in Rom_3:10-18.

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Ten "Isms" in Error about God1. Atheism, a denial of the existence of God.

This is the belief of fools (Psa_14:1; Psa_53:1).

2. Agnosticism, not knowing-I do not know. It denies the ability to know God, or that God can be known.

This is contrary to Scripture which pictures God as being clearly understood, even to His eternal power and Godhead (note, Rom_1:20).

3. Polytheism, the belief in many gods-gods for everything in nature and for every phase of life.

This is the result of apostasy (Rom_1:21-25).

4. Pantheism, all is God-God is in all things, animals, trees, etc. This teaching, like others, is a result of apostasy (Rom_1:21-25).

5. Dualism, two eternal and opposing principles, or beings-one good and the other evil.

6. Deism. God created the world, as a watchmaker fashions a watch, and set it in motion to run by itself without divine interference.

This is based on natural reasoning, with disbelief in revealed religion and the supernatural dogmas of Christianity; natural religion based on reason.

7. Monism. All things are made of one substance; Man and God are one in essence and substance, though not necessarily the same individuals. The whole Universe and each thing in it is a manifestation of God.

8. Materialism. This denies any distinction between mind and matter.

All manifestations of life and all forces are properties of matter. It gives priority to matter rather than mind. Man’s brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile. Man is a mere machine, not responsible for his actions.

9. Metaphysicalism. This is the speculative theory of mind over matter. Everything is mind; there is no matter.

God is universal mind. Matter, material creations, sin, death, a personal God, a personal Christ, a personal Holy

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Spirit, atonement, sickness, pain, suffering, a personal devil, demons, and angels are said to be errors of the mortal mind.

10. Unitarianism-a doctrine which denies the Divine Trinity..

Eight Arguments for God’s Existence1. Creation.

That the material worlds had a beginning is not only declared by Scripture, but is confirmed by geology, astronomy, and other sciences.

Everything begun owes its existence to some producing cause greater than its production.

Since creations are great, the cause of them must be infinitely greater. The cause must be intelligent and personal, for pure force is not personal.

The original cause must be aside and apart from the things caused.

This is God-the cause of all causes. Creation proves this.

To think of the vast array of creation-from the stars and planets in the Universe to the various forms of life-without concluding that some intelligent being planned, designed, and formed them, is blind and willful unbelief.

It is like thinking there is no intelligent person responsible for every watch, car, radio, television, or any other human invention.

If someone made all these things, certainly someone made the vast creations in space.

The heavens do declare the glory of God. The firmament does show His handiwork (Psa_19:1-6).

Psa 19:1-6 NKJV To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.

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3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

We can understand God by His creation

Rom 1:19-20 NKJV because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Job 12:7-25 NKJV "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. 9 Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, 10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? 11 Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? 12 Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. 13 "With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. 14 If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 15 If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. 16 With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. 17 He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. 18 He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. 19 He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. 20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21 He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. 22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And

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brings the shadow of death to light. 23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. 24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. 25 They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Job 38:1-41:34 NKJV Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2 "Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? 3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. 4 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb; 9 When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; 10 When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; 11 When I said, 'This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!' 12 "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place, 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? 14 It takes on form like clay under a seal, And stands out like a garment. 15 From the wicked their light is withheld, And the upraised arm is broken. 16 "Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, 20 That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home? 21 Do you know it, because you were born

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then, Or because the number of your days is great? 22 "Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, 23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war? 24 By what way is light diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth? 25 "Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt, 26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no man; 27 To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? 28 Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? 30 The waters harden like stone, And the surface of the deep is frozen. 31 "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion? 32 Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? 33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? 34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you? 35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, 'Here we are!'? 36 Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart? 37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, 38 When the dust hardens in clumps, And the clods cling together? 39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 When they crouch in their dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? 41 Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food? 39:1 "Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth? 2 Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young? 3 They bow down, They bring forth their young, They deliver their offspring. 4 Their young ones are healthy, They grow strong with grain; They depart and do not return to

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them. 5 "Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager, 6 Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwelling? 7 He scorns the tumult of the city; He does not heed the shouts of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searches after every green thing. 9 "Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger? 10 Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys behind you? 11 Will you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him? 12 Will you trust him to bring home your grain, And gather it to your threshing floor? 13 "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork's? 14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust; 15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them. 16 She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern, 17 Because God deprived her of wisdom, And did not endow her with understanding. 18 When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider. 19 "Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder? 20 Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror. 21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He gallops into the clash of arms. 22 He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin. 24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded. 25 At the blast of the trumpet he says, 'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting. 26 "Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south? 27 Does the eagle mount up at your command, And make its nest on high? 28 On the rock it dwells and resides, On the crag of the rock and the stronghold. 29 From there it spies out the prey; Its eyes observe from afar. 30 Its

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young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there it is." 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said: 2 "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it." 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 4 "Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. 5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further." 6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 7 "Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me: 8 "Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9 Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? 10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, And array yourself with glory and beauty. 11 Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. 12 Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness. 14 Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you. 15 "Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. 16 See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles. 17 He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. 18 His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. 19 He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword. 20 Surely the mountains yield food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there. 21 He lies under the lotus trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh. 22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him. 23 Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth, 24 Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare. 41:1 "Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? 2 Can you put a

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reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? 4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? 5 Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? 6 Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? 7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? 8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle— Never do it again! 9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? 10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? 11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. 12 "I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. 13 Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? 14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? 15 His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal; 16 One is so near another That no air can come between them; 17 They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted. 18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. 20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. 21 His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth. 22 Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him. 23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves. 26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. 27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him. 29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at

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the threat of javelins. 30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire. 31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair. 33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. 34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride."

2. Design. The design and purpose of all creation proves an intelligent Designer to order and direct all things to useful ends.

Nature without God would be like a piece of complicated machinery without a designer, maker, and maintenance man.

Who but God orders, arranges, and maintains the vast Universe and all life in it to the minutest detail?

Who causes the solar systems to run eternally in their own orbits and spheres without the slightest deviation from fixed laws?

Just as the Bible was not written and produced by the laws of spelling and grammer, but by intelligent minds according to those laws, so the Universe was not created by the laws of nature, but by an intelligent Being who made all things, established the laws of nature, and upholds them by His own power (Heb_1:3).

Heb 1:1-3 NKJV God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Col 1:16-17 NKJV For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for

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Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

The average snow storm produces about 1 trillion crystals.

Yet out of thousands of pictures of snow flakes catalogued, no two are exactly alike.

Only an intelligent Being could design so many forms.

Each flake has 6 points crossing at a 60 degree angle.

If one is like a fern it has 6 outpointing leaves; If like a windmill, it has 6 sails; If like a starfish, 6 ribs; or If like a fir tree, 6 stems with plumes set in perfect symmetry.

This makes 3 distinct triangles to each flake.

The Hebrew word for snow equals 333 (Hebrew letters stand for numbers).

God set His symbol of the Trinity in each flake?

This same infinite design is carried out with every detail of creation, proving an infinite mind.

If design is seen in such details as snow, how much more are they seen in larger and more visible creations in the earth and heavens?

3. Intuition. This means direct, inborn, self-conscious, sense-perception knowledge; comprehension without effort or reasoning; instinctive knowledge.

All men have an intuitive belief in God.

Some have so ignored and stifled such natural faith by unnatural and destructive efforts that they no longer recognize it.

However, in times of sudden danger and in the face of difficulties they automatically call out to God for help.

This proves the intuition is still there, but suppressed.

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Such faith is as much a part of man’s faculties as breathing, eating, drinking, etc.

It is as natural as the instinct of a chicken out of the shell who starts to peck in the sand for something to eat, or a calf who knows where to get its first milk.

The calf doesn’t peck the sand and a chicken would never go to a cow for milk.

Nothing in nature has to be educated to act according to its own special nature.

So man does not have to learn that there is a God. He knows intuitively that there is one and that in Him he lives, moves, and has his own being (Act_17:22-28).

Act 17:22-31 NKJV Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. 30

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Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

4. Nature.

Man’s moral and spiritual nature knows there is a God who approves or condemns all acts of right or wrong.

Conscience is the voice of God in man.

Moral law makes him a responsible creature and requires him to consecrate himself to fulfilling the highest good of being and of the Universe.

It must be that there is a God or moral nature is a lie.

Man’s native obligation to moral law implies a moral Lawgiver and moral Governor of the Universe.

Willing or unwilling, man lives in the sense of such a Presence in his life and conduct.

It lives in constant respect and fear of the pleasure or displeasure of Him

Conscience does not lay down the law but it recognizes it.

Thus man’s moral and intellectual being proves the existence of God to whom he is responsible.

5. Universal hunger. Physical hunger argues and demands something to satisfy it.

When a man hungers for God, that hunger likewise argues and demands Someone to satisfy it.

All men hunger for spiritual satisfaction and long for a Savior to deliver them from the ills and curses of life.

There must be a supreme Being capable of meeting this universal craving when men turn to Him and meet His terms of reconciliation and fellowship (Joh_3:16-20; 2Co_5:17-21; 2Co_6:14-18; 1Jn_1:1-9)

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Joh 3:16 NKJV For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

2Co 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2Co 6:14 NKJV Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." 17 Therefore "COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU." 18 "I WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU, AND YOU SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY."

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1Jn 1:1 NKJV That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

6. Harmony. To believe in the existence of God is the only natural, practical, beneficial, satisfying, factual, necessary, and Scriptural way to believe.

When one has the key that will unlock a door he knows he has the right key.

Even so, when one has the answer to every question, the explanation for every mystery, the satisfaction to every hunger and desire, the answer to the perplexing problems of the past, present, and future-he knows that he is right in believing there is a God.

Atheism doesn’t solve a single problem.

It makes lies of nature, creation, the Bible, and God, and leaves helpless and floundering man a victim of misery and despair.

7. History.

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The record of events in all history gives overwhelming evidence of the existence and providence of God

- in the rise and fall of nations, the preservation of races, the government of peoples, and innumerable events which had no natural or possible explanation other than the acts of a supernatural Being called God.

Multitudes of men have been blessed by Him and redeemed from lives of sin and shame.

Some have seen God with the natural eyes.

Others have had visions and revelations from Him.

Still others have known God in an intimate and personal way.

These millions of actual contacts and experiences cannot be denied.

Healings, miracles, deliverances, and real contacts with God have revolutionized individual lives and whole nations countless times.

To deny the existence of God is as foolish as to deny the existence of creation, electricity, heat, light, cold, and innumerable other things, seen and unseen.

Multitudes today can testify of changed lives by faith in God, answers to prayer, and personal experiences of many kinds.

While this is true among Christians, not one infidel, agnostic, or atheist can boast of any benefit whatsoever from his unbelief.

The acid test of Christianity and atheism is the actual benefits of their converts.

8. Scriptures. The Bible begins by assuming, declaring the existence of God and His creation of all things (Job 38-40).

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created H1254 the heavens and the earth.

H1254 bara' to create, shape, form

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In over 20,000 statements about God in Scripture we get to know all that we need to know about the subject.

Joh 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

[ God ] Twenty-two Attributes of God 1. A Spirit Being with a personal spirit body, soul, and spirit

through which He manifests Himself (note, Joh_4:24).

2. Invisibility (see Invisibility.

3. Immortality (note, 1Ti_1:17).

4. Eternality.

5. Infiniteness: in presence (1Ki_8:27); power (Mat_28:18); acts (Mat_19:26); in time (Deu_33:27; Psa_90:2; Isa_57:15); knowledge (Rom_11:33); and in greatness (Psa_145:3).

6. Oneness - in unity with others of the Godhead (The Trinity)

7. Omnipotence (all powerful, Rev_19:6). God can do all things consistent with His nature and plan, but He cannot lie or act contrary to Himself and the best good of all (see Thirty Limitations of God.

8. Omnipresence (not omnibody, 1Ki_8:27; Psa_139:7 - 12). Presence is not governed by physical contact, but by knowledge and relationship (Mat_18:20; Mat_28:20; cp. 1Co_5:3 - 4). God’s body is not omnipresent, for it is only at one place at one time like others (Gen_3:8; Gen_11:5; Gen_18:1 - 8, Gen_18:33; Gen_19:24; Gen_32:24 - 32), but His presence can be realized any place where men know Him and seek Him (Mat_18:20).

9. Omniscience (all - knowing) as far as His nature, plan, and work are concerned (Rom_11:33). As to free moral agents, God learns certain things about them (Gen_6:5 - 7; Gen_11:5 - 7; Gen_18:21; Gen_22:12; 2Ch_16:9; Job_12:22; Job_24:23; Psa_7:9; Psa_44:21; Psa_139:1 - 6; Pro_24:12; Jer_17:10; Eze_11:5; Zec_4:10; 2Co_2:10 - 11; Rom_8:27; 1Th_2:4). God sends messengers on innumerable errands to help Him carry on His rulership of all things (Dan_10:13 - 21; Dan_11:1; Dan_12:1; Zec_1:7 - 11; Zec_6:1 - 8; Mat_18:10 -

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11; Heb_1:14). He permits free moral agents freedom of action as to their conduct and destiny (note, Rom_8:29).

10. Life (Jer_10:10; Joh_5:26; 1Th_1:9; Heb_7:16; Rev_11:11).

11. Self - existence (Exo_3:14; Exo_6:3; Joh_1:4; Joh_5:26).

12. Immutability (Psa_102:27; Mal_3:6; 2Ti_2:13; Heb_6:18; Jas_1:17). He is immutable as to His plan for the highest good of being and of the Universe. His plan includes change of methods or ways to save as many men as possible. For example, when He abolished the law of Moses it was no change in God’s plan, but rather the execution of that plan (2Co_3:6 - 15; Gal_3:19 - 25; Gal_4:21 - 34; Hebrews 7:11 - 10:18). When man fell and He had to send Christ, it was simply the fulfillment of the plan (Gen_3:15; Gal_3:13 - 14; Gal_4:4 - 5). The plan was made to be executed when obedience was rendered and terms met. See 210 Plain Laws and Warnings. When the terms are not met, it is not failure or change with God, but with man.

13. Perfection (Deu_32:4; Psa_18:30; Mat_5:48). If any imperfection is noted in creation or redemption it is sin and rebellion in free moral agents that have caused it. God does not change His original plan of creation and redemption. He plans to redeem and restore all creation (except rebels) to perfection (Act_3:21; Eph_1:10; 1Co_15:24 - 28; Rev. 21 - 22).

14. Truth - the perfect harmony of God’s Word (Deu_32:4; Joh_17:3; 1Jn_5:20).

15. Wisdom (Rom_11:33; 1Ti_1:17).

16. Love by which God communicates to others His infinite goodness (Joh_3:16; Rom_15:30; 1Jn_4:8).

17. Holiness - absolute purity of nature (Exo_15:11; Isa_6:3; 1Pe_1:16).

18. Righteousness - holiness in action. All His acts are right (Rom_3:21 - 31; Heb_12:5 - 12; 1Jn_1:9).

19. Faithfulness - absolutely trustworthy (1Co_10:13; 2Co_1:20; Heb_6:18).

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20. Mercifulness, which is divine goodness manifest to relieve His creation of misery and suffering (Rom_12:1 - 2; 2Co_1:2; Tit_3:5).

21. Goodness - divine goodness by which life is preserved and mercy extended (Mat_5:45; Act_14:17; Rom_2:4).

22. Providence. God cares for and provides for all creation (Job_38:41; see The Doctrine of Providence).

All these attributes require a concept of God as having a soul with feelings, emotions, passions, and desires; as having a spirit of intelligence, will, self-consciousness, and self-determination; and as having a spirit body through which these faculties are manifested (see Anthropomorphism.)

4] Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.5] There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.Paul quotes this in Romans 3:9-26; all are of a fallen race…willful

ignorance = 2 Pet 3:5; Rom 1:18-28. God is the general and refuge of the righteous.

2Pe 3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

[knowledge] The knowledge here is true understanding of the fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom

Psa 111:10 NKJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

Pro 1:7 NKJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Pro 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Pro 15:33 NKJV The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

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Isa 11:2 NKJV The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

1Co 12:8 NKJV for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

[eat up my people as they eat bread] An idiom of destruction

Jer 10:25 NKJV Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, who do not know You, And on the families who do not call on Your name; For they have eaten up Jacob, Devoured him and consumed him, And made his dwelling place desolate.

Amo 8:4 NKJV Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,

Mic 3:3 NKJV Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron."

Num 14:9 NKJV Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them."

[call not upon the LORD] The soil of prayerlessness produces a crop of sin and damnation (Gal_6:7-8).


[God is in the generation of the righteous] This gives the reason for the terrors of judgment upon the wicked.

God dwells among His people and reserves the right of vengeance for their mistreatment (Heb_10:30-31).

Heb 10:30 For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. And again,

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"THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

[generation of the righteous] Circle or class of the righteous.

Sudden Fear - They Meet God (vv. 4-6). The time comes when God and the sinner suddenly meet.

See Beishazzar in Dan. 5, the rich farmer in Luke 12:13-21, and the people in Rev. 6:12

These practical atheists take advantage of the weak and the poor, and they will not call upon the Lord.

To “eat people like bread” is a biblical metaphor for exploiting the helpless

(Ps 27:2; 35:25; 53:4; Mic. 3:1-3; Lam. 2:16; and see Isa. 3:12; Jer. 10:25; Amos 2:6-8; Mic. 2:2; 7:2-3).

People must never be used as a means to an end or treated as consumer goods

Instead of praying to God, the wicked prey on the godly. But then the Lord suddenly appears in judgment, and He identifies Himself with the remnant of faithful believers.

We don’t know what event David was referring to, but the parallel passage in Ps 53:5 suggests a great military victory that left all the enemy dead, unburied, and therefore humiliated.

Some interpret the scene as a metaphor of a court case and connect it with verse 6: “You evildoers frustrate the plans [counsel] of the poor” (NIV).

Imagine God suddenly appearing in court and ousting the crooked judge!

God is in the generation of the righteous, God is their refuge when the enemy attacks, and God will protect His own people.

6] Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.

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7] Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. [Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD

is his refuge] Your shame of the counsel of the oppressed has been in vain, for the Lord is his refuge.

[Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad]

This verse is a prophetic cry for the Messiah who shall yet come to Zion and bring deliverance to Israel.

Isa 59:20-21 NKJV "The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," Says the LORD. 21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."

Rom 11:25-29 NKJV For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB; 27 FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Joyless Future-They Have No God (V. 7).

God has promised that the Redeemer will one day come to Zion and deliver His people in mighty power.

Isa 59:16-21 NKJV He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own

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arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. 19 So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. 20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," Says the LORD. 21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."

Jer 31:33-34 NKJV But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Paul affirmed this at the close of his great discussion of the future redemption of the Jewish nation.

Rom 11:25-32 NKJV For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB; 27 FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God

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are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

The word captivity doesn’t refer to the Babylonian captivity, for Jeremiah made it clear that it would end in seventy years

Jer 25:6-14 NKJV Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.' 7 Yet you have not listened to Me," says the LORD, "that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. 8 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the LORD, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 'Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,' says the LORD; 'and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)' "

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The phrase “bringeth back the captivity” means “to restore the fortunes, to radically change circumstances from bad to very good.”

The day will come when Jesus Christ will return, defeat His enemies, cleanse the nation of Israel, and establish

His righteous kingdom on this earth (Zech. 10-14).

What a time of rejoicing that will be when the prayer “thy kingdom come” is fulfilled!

Rom 11:25-31 NKJV For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB; 27 FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.

But what about the wicked?

They have no future with the Lord because they preferred not to know the Lord or live for Him.

They lived according to the desires of their own hearts, not to please the Lord and glorify Him.

Those who reject Jesus Christ will spend eternity apart from the Lord and will honestly be able to say in hell, “There is no God-here!”

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Psalm 15 Psa 15:1-5 ISV1 A Davidic Psalm. LORD, who may stay in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain?2 The one who lives with integrity, who does righteous deeds, and who speaks truth to himself.3 The one who does not slander with his tongue, who does no evil to his neighbor, and who does not destroy his friend's reputation.4 The one who despises those who are utterly wicked, but who honors the one who fears the LORD, who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,5 who does not loan his money with interest, and who does not take a bribe against those who are innocent. The one who does these things will stand firm forever.

Psa 15:1-5 ESV1 A Psalm of David. O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.


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Psalm 14 informs us that there were two groups in Israel: the “workers of iniquity” and “the generation of the righteous” (Ps 14:4-5).

The former group forsook the law,

The latter group was a believing remnant that kept faith alive in the nation of Israel (Mal. 3:16-18).

Mal 3:16-18 NKJV Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name. 17 "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him." 18 Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.

Today, the church is that “righteous generation,” citizens of that heavenly Zion (Heb. 12:19-25), that ought to make a difference in this world (Phil. 2:12-16).

Heb 12:19-25 NKJV and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: "AND IF SO MUCH AS A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT SHALL BE STONED OR SHOT WITH AN ARROW." 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I AM EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID AND TREMBLING.") 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

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Php 2:12-16 NKJV Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Psalms 10 and 12 focus on those who are not acceptable to the Lord,

Psalm 15 describes those who are acceptable and are invited to dwell in His tabernacle.

David may have written this psalm after his second -and successful-attempt to bring the ark of the covenant to Mount Zion (2 Sam. 6), where it was housed in a tent.

Obedience of the RighteousThe rabbis taught that there were 613 commandments for the Jewish people to obey if they wanted to be righteous, but this psalm brings that number down to eleven.

Isaiah 33:15-16 gives six requirements,

He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Micah 6:8 lists three.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but

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to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Habakkuk 2:4 names but one- faith

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4

Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to have your sins forgiven and be welcomed into the Lord’s presence.

Joh 14:6 NKJV Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Rom 1:7 NKJV To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gal 3:11 NKJV But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

Heb 10:38 NKJV NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; BUT IF ANYONE DRAWS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM."

The psalm says nothing about offering sacrifices, for spiritual Israelites knew that it was their personal faith that brought them salvation (Mark 12:28-34).

Mar 12:28-34 NKJV Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have

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spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him.

It’s important to note that Psalm 15 is not a prescription for being saved but a description of how saved people ought to live if they want to please God and fellowship with Him.

The list contains both positive and negative qualities, and these qualities must be present in all of life at all times.

Believers who would fellowship intimately with God must follow David’s example and meet three personal requirements.

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?Psa 15:1 [KJV] A Psalm of David.

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved

The Book of Psalms: Psalm 15[A Psalm of David.]

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1] LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?1. Seeking God’s Presence (v. 1). After his men captured Mount Zion, David made it the site of his residence and of the sanctuary of God, and Jerusalem became “the city of David”.

2Sa 5:1-12 NKJV Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, "Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.' " 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel.

4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, "You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you," thinking, "David cannot come in here."

A Jebusite taunt

7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). 8 Now David said on that day, "Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul), he shall be chief and captain." Therefore they say, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house."

9 Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. 10 So David went on and became great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. 11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. 12 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and

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that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

The tabernacle, the throne, and the “holy hill” belonged together

Psa 24:3 NKJV Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

Psa 2:6 NKJV "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion."

Psa 3:4 NKJV I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

Psa 43:3 NKJV Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.

To the believer today, Mount Zion speaks of the heavenly city where God’s people will dwell forever (Heb 12:19-25).

Heb 12:18-26 NKJV For you have not come to the mountain [Mount Sinai] that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: "AND IF SO MUCH AS A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT SHALL BE STONED OR SHOT WITH AN ARROW." 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I AM EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID AND TREMBLING.")

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

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25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN."

[who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?]

David asked this question because he loved the house of the Lord and desired in his heart to know God better and fellowship with Him in a deeper way.

Psa 26:8 NKJV LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.

Psa 27:3 NKJV Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

Psa 65:4 NKJV Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.

[who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?]

The tabernacle and holy hill no doubt refer to the heavenly Mt. Zion and the city of God, the New Jerusalem where God lives.

They are not types, but the realities themselves.

Heb 12:22-23 NKJV But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in

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heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Rev 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.

The priests could come and go in the house of the Lord, but David, though he was king, had to keep his distance.

“Abide” means “to sojourn as a stranger,” It is where I am tonight…

The word abide means to dwell there as a guest, spend time in worship there. Temporarily stay as in a hotel…

H1481 גור gur to sojourn, abide, dwell in for a time, temporarily dwell with, remain, inhabit, be a stranger, be continuing, to seek hospitality with

“Dwell”: shakan: to settle down, tabernacle, reside. It suggests a permanent residential status, It is where I live, It is home

The word dwell in the Hebrew is shakan and gives us the word shekineh, referring to the presence (dwelling) of God’s glory in the sanctuary.

H7931 שכן shakan to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside; to lay, place, set, establish, settle, fix

Exo 25:8 NKJV And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

Exo 29:46 NKJV And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

1Ch 22:19 NKJV Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the LORD."

Psa 20:2 NKJV May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;

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Psa 78:69 NKJV And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.

Psa 150:1 NKJV Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

The ungodly might worship in the earthly tabernacle, but one has to meet the conditions of Psa_15:2-5 to go to God’s house and dwell with Him forever.

David wanted to enjoy the benefits of being a resident in God’s house-enjoying God’s fellowship, God’s protection, and God’s provision.

David’s great desire was to be with God in heaven and dwell in His house forever, for God is our eternal home.

Psa 23:6 NKJV Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Psa 61:4 NKJV I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

Psa 90:1 A Prayer Of Moses the Man of God. LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Believers today can enjoy intimate fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.

Joh 14:1-3 NKJV "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Joh 14:18-31 NKJV I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

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22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.

29 "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Heb 10:19-25 NKJV Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

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2] He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Twelve Characteristics of the Righteous1. They walk uprightly-without blame.2. They work righteousness.3. They speak truth inwardly.4. They be free from backbiting (Psa_15:3).5. They do no evil to neighbors.6. They receive no reproach about neighbors.7. They hold vile people condemned (Psa_15:4).8. They honor them that fear the Lord.9. They keep word even to own hurt.10. They take no advantage of one in need to increase riches

(Psa_15:5).11. They refuse bribes.12. They protect the innocent.

Honesty: “Righteous Conduct”Three basic areas of life are named in verse 2- blameless character, righteous conduct, and truthful conversation-and then these are applied specifically and practically in verses 3- 5a.

Three Basic Areas of Life• Blameless Character• Righteous Conduct• Truthful Conversation (these 3 covered in (Psa_15:2)

If we are right in these basic virtues, we will “work them out” in every area of life and be obedient to the Lord.

Walk, work, and speak are present participles, indicating that the dedicated believer is constantly, continually obeying the Lord and seeking to please Him.

Integrity - blameless character (vv. 2a, 4a, 4b).

The first emphasis is on godly character

What we are largely determines what we do and say,.

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Isa 33:14-16 NKJV The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:

[They ask”]

"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"

[The answer comes:]

15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:

16 He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

Isa 58:1-12 NKJV "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?' "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness.

You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD?

6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

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7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

"If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

Jer 7:1-7 NKJV The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 "Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!' " 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

"Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.'

5 "For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings,

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if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,

7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

Eze 5:5-9 NKJV "Thus says the Lord GOD: 'This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her.

6 She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.' 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes nor kept My judgments, nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you'—

8 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. 9 And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations.

Hos 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Mic 6:6-8 NKJV With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justly,

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To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Mat 5:1-16 NKJV And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[Those who recognize their own personal impotence / lack of power]

4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

[Those who are sorrowful for their sin and failure toward God]

5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

[Those who recognize God for who He is and themselbes for who they are]

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

[Those who are parched and starving for God’s cleansing and God’s presence]

7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

[Those who recognize that those around them are in the same state and condition of powerlessness without God]

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

[Those whose motives are God’s motives, Who have no ulterior prideful purposes]

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

[Those who being peace to others by leading them to peace with God]

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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]Those who will spread the message of peace with God no matter what]

11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[Those who recognize that the enemies opposition is evidence of the effectiveness of the power and message of God in their lives]

13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Rom 12:9-21 NKJV Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another.

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Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "VENGEANCE

IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. 20 Therefore "IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Integrity: “Blameless Character”“Blameless” doesn’t mean “sinless,” for nobody on earth is sinless.

H8549 מיםת tamıymcomplete, whole, entire, sound

sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity

what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact (neuter adjective/substantive)

Blameless has to do with soundness of character, integrity, complete loyalty to God.

Job was blameless

Job_1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.

The Lord admonished Abraham to be blameless, that is, devoted wholly to the Lord.

Gen 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.

David strove to blameless before God

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Psa 18:23 NJV I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. 25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

Psa 101:2 NKJV I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

Psa 101:6 NKJV My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me

2Sa_12:9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'

1Ki_15:5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

God expected the Hebrews to live blamelessly among the nations..

Deu 18:9 NKJV "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out

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from before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.

Luk 16:13 NKJV "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

People who “work righteousness” are honest in their own dealings and concerned that justice be done in the land.

Sincerity: “Truthful Conversation” (Ps 15:2c, 3- 4c). Truth is the cement that holds society together.

If people can get away with lies, then every promise, agreement, oath, pledge, and contract is immediately destroyed.

The false witness turns a trial into a travesty and causes the innocent to suffer.

We must speak truth in love and use truth as a tool to build relationships as well as a weapon to confront and fight deception.

Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ —

When truth is in the heart, then the lips will not speak lies, spread gossip or attack the innocent.

Lev 19:16 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

People with truthful hearts will keep their vows and promises

Deu 23:21-23 NKJV "When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.

Ecc 5:1-7 NKJV Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the

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sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool's voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.

People of integrity don’t have to use oaths to strengthen their words.

A simple yes or no carries all the weight that’s needed

Mat 5:33-37 NKJV "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

The Most Painful Sin? Gossip!

It is a form of betrayal and a direct violation of a commandment

Talebearing is not limited to spreading falsehoods but includes all ‘talking out of school’; telling tales to those who have no need to know them – usually spread by someone seeking to elevate himself and his own sense of importance in the eyes of others.

Exo 20:16 NKJV "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

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Lev 19:16 NKJV You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

Pro 11:13 NKJV A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

Pro 18:8 NKJV The words of a talebearer are like [swallowing] tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.

Pro 26:22 NKJV The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.

Pro 20:19 NKJV He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips. 20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. 21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.

Quietly, gossip’s venom does its silent work, undermining confidences, betraying relationships, spreading unseen injustices, invisibly promoting misunderstandings and distrust…

More trouble is caused in families, neighborhoods, offices, and churches by gossip and lies and the people who keep them in circulation than by any other means.

The Lord wants truth in our innermost being and He wants us to love the truth and protect it.

Psa 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

The Lord is blameless in what He is, righteous in what He does, and truthful in what He says and He wants those who abide with Him to be able to dwell with Him and to have the same characteristics He possesses

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Ezr 9:15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You,

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in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!"

1Sa 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent."

Integrity applied specifically and practically (Ps 15:3-5)

– Integrity: Blameless Character v. 4– Honesty: Righteous Conduct v. 5– Sincerity: Truthful Conversation v. 3

3] He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.[backbiteth not with his tongue]Jas 3:13-18 KJV Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge

among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Twelve Uses of the Tongue Condemned1. Gossiping (Deu_22:13-19)2. Talebearing (Lev_19:16; Pro_11:13)3. False witnessing (Exo_20:16; Exo_23:7)4. Whisperings (Rom_1:29)5. Slandering (1Ti_3:11)6. False accusations (Tit_2:3)7. Vain talking (Tit_1:10)8. Defaming (Jer_20:10)9. Tattling (1Ti_5:13)10. Lying (Pro_6:17; Rev_21:8; Rev_22:15)11. Deceiving (Rev_12:9)12. Backbiting (Psa_15:3; Rom_1:30)

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4] In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.People with integrity will honor who have integrity and who fear the Lord.

Psa 119:63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.

They will not be deceived by the flatterers or enticed by the sinful.

Psa 12:2-3 NKJV They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

When godly people endorse the words and deeds of the ungodly, there is confusion in the church.

“Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who ... compromises his integrity before the wicked” (Prov. 25:26 AB).

5] He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.In verse 5, David applied the principle of honesty to two areas:

– Exorbitant interest

Exo 22:25 NKJV "If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Lev 25:35 NKJV 'If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend

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him your food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Deu 23:20 NKJV To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.

– Accepting bribes

Exo 23:8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

Deu 10:17 NKJV For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.

Deu 27:25 NKJV 'Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.' "And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'

2Ch 19:5 NKJV Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, "Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. 7 Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes."

Both were “sins in good standing” in the days of the divided kingdom, and the prophets preached against both sins

Isa 1:23 Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

Isa 5:23 NKJV Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

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Isa 10:2 NKJV To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless.

Eze 22:12 NKJV In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD.

Amo 5:11 NKJV Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.

Why would David highlight – Exorbitant interest and – Accepting bribes over all other sins and evil?

1Ti_6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Mat_16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Mar_8:36 Luk_9:25

Mat_19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Mar_10:30

Mat 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Someone defined “politics” as “the conduct of public affairs for private advantage,” and too often that is true.

In the ancient Jewish monarchy, there wasn’t much the average citizen could do about crooked judges or extortion but in today’s democracies, each qualified citizen at least has a vote.

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Ecc 3:16 NKJV Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. 17 I said in my heart, "God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work."

Ecc 4:1 NKJV Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

There can be no justice in a society where money tells the court what is right or wrong.

Vote God’s principles – not personalities

TrustIng God’s Promise (Ps 15:5c). “He who does these things will never be shaken” (NASB).

[doeth these things] The O.T. requirements of salvation in the end are the same as those in the N.T.

One must do, not just hear, as is required:

Mat 7:21 NKJV "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 2 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' 24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the

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floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." 28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Joh 15:10 NKJV If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Rom 8:12 NKJV Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Jas 1:22 NKJV But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Jas 2:10 NKJV For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to

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the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Jas 2:18 NKJV But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

David stressed the value of integrity, honesty, and sincerity.

How might Christians practice these virtues at home, in church, and in the business community?

Mat_5:16; Mat_5:44; Mat_18:15; Mat_18:22, Luk_9:56; Luk_22:51, Joh_5:34, **1Co_15:58, **Gal_6:9, *Eph_4:28; *Eph_4:32, **Php_4:8, +**Col_1:10; *Col_3:23; *Col_3:24, *Tit_3:8; *Tit_3:14, *Heb_6:10, *1Pe_2:12; *1Pe_3:16.

Rom 12:9-21 NKJV Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor

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giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. 20 Therefore "IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

2Pe 1:4 NKJV by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

This means that the godly described in this psalm have security and stability in life and don’t have to be afraid of earthquakes or eviction notices.

[shall never be moved] On condition of doing the things of Psa_15:2-5, one will be eternally secure.

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Psa 125:1 A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

Good works cannot procure our salvation, but they ought to prove our salvation (Eph. 2:8-10).

Eph 2:8-10 NKJV For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

What good works do you believe prove most convincingly that a person has received salvation?

“Moved” comes from a Hebrew word that refers to a violent shaking.

H4131 מוט mot to totter, shake, slip, overthrown, dislodge, fall, dropped

Psa 46:3 NKJV Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

Psa 82:5 NKJV They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

Psa 93:1 NKJV The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.

Psa 96:10 NKJV Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously."

Isa 24:18 NKJV And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the

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foundations of the earth are shaken. 19 The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again.

God’s promise to the godly is that they are firmly grounded on His covenant promises and need not fear.

“He who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17 NKJv).

In these last days, God is shaking things so that the true will remain and the false will be exposed (Heb. 12:18-29).

Jesus closed the Sermon on the Mount with a parable about two builders (Matt. 7:24-27) whose structures (lives) were tested by the judgment storm, and only one stood strong.

It was the life built by the person who did the will of God.

Mat 7:24-27 NKJV "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

The godly life that our Lord discussed in the Sermon on the Mount parallels the characteristics of the godly person described in Psalm 15, and in both places, the promise is given: “You shall never be moved.”

...he that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Mark 12:28-34 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy

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heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION

Psalm 1016. What personal reasons might a person have for refusing to

believe in the existence of God?

What do you believe is the strongest evidence that God exists?

17. Is it harder to persuade “down-and-outers” or “up-and-outers” to believe in God?

Explain.

Psalm 1118. Having to choose between fear and faith, David chose faith.

What fears must your faith overcome?

What Bible promise gives you great comfort when you feel threatened?

Psalm 1219. Dishonesty and deception characterized David’s culture. What

big lies are circulating today in education?In politics?In religion?In the secular media?

20. Why is it so important to accept God’s Word as absolute truth?

Psalm 1321. A fugitive on the run from King Saul, David felt abandoned by

God. But faith eventually displaced doubt, and he exchanged a dirge for a doxology. When have you felt abandoned by God?

What chased the gloom away and restored your hope?

22. How can you live above the circumstances?

Psalm 14

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23. Would you agree that a believing twelve-year-old is wiser than an atheistic philosopher?

Defend your answer.

24. Why might those who deny God’s existence purposely refuse to believe?

Psalm 1525. Good works cannot procure our salvation, but they ought to

prove our salvation (Eph. 2:8-10). What good works do you believe prove most convincingly that a person has received salvation?

26. David longed for heaven. What aspects of heaven are you longing for?

If someone asked “What’s so great about heaven? ”how would you respond?

27. David stressed the value of integrity, honesty, and sincerity. How might Christians practice these virtues at home, in church, and in the business community?

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