Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

Psalm 16 is an important Messianic Psalm, quoted by Peter & Paul to prove Jesus is the promised Messiah. At Pentecost, Peter quoted Ps16:8-11 in Acts 2:25-28 and expounded it in Acts 2:22-33, as a central part of his sermon. It speaks of a Man who dies and His soul goes to Sheol, but is resurrected before His body sees corruption (within 3 days). Also, He is then exalted to God's right hand (v9-11). He points out the Psalmist, David, died and is still in his tomb (his body saw corruption). Thus, it was not fulfilled by David, but rather he was speaking by the Spirit of Prophecy about Christ, the Son of David, that He would be resurrected before his body saw corruption (v29-31). He then declared Jesus fulfilled this amazing Prophecy by His resurrection on the 3rd day, proving He is the Christ (v32,36). He also pointed out Jesus was exalted to God's right hand, fulfilling Ps 16:11 & 110:1, as confirmed by the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:33-35). Likewise, Paul in Acts 13:35 quoted Ps 16:10, and expounded it in Acts 13:36-39 to prove Jesus is the Christ, whose sacrificial death for our sins was accepted by God, so through faith in Him we can receive forgiveness. Thus though we can read much of Ps 16 as David's words of trust in God for preservation & provision in this life and hope for his eternal life in God's Presence forever, the words only find their ultimate fulfilment in Christ. So, we should read them as Christ's words, given by the Spirit of Prophecy, as He approached His death, expressing His faith in God to resurrect Him. Although He is God, He had to live as a man totally depending on God for everything, including His resurrection: "Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust...You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You (or 'every good thing comes from You')” (v1-2). He's our perfect example of how to live by faith. He describes the saints on earth (those who trust in Him) as the excellent (noble) ones, in whom is all His delight (v3). This shows Christ had us on His heart & mind as He went to the Cross. We are precious in His sight, and so gave Himself for us, so we might be His forever: "for the joy (us, His Bride) set before Him, He endured the Cross" (Hebrews 12:2).

As our example, He reveals an important part of living by faith - the total rejection of all other gods & idolatry (v4). This includes covetousness (Col 3:5), for the reason men turn from a pure devotion to the true God and hasten after (seek) other gods is to possess what they offer (prosperity). But the more they multiply their gods & idols the more their sorrows are multiplied (v4). A classic example is the Fall of Man. God provided for man abundantly, and would have given them more, as they proved themselves faithful, but listening to Satan made them dissatisfied with His Presence and their allotted inheritance, so they became covetous to gain more, and so rejected His authority, claiming autonomy as their own gods, and left God's Presence to go their own way. They soon found they gained nothing, but rather lost His Blessing, and their sorrows multiplied. The truth is if we seek first the Kingdom (reign) of God over our life and to live by His righteous Spirit in our heart, all things will be added to us (Matt 6:33). Thus, we need to learn to be satisfied & content with God Himself (His Presence in our heart), and with whatever inheritance of possessions & experiences He chooses to give us (as a bonus), both now, in the future, and in eternity (Rev 21:7, Phil 4:11-13, 1Tim 6:6). This is exactly what David & Christ declare: "O Lord, YOU are the PORTION of my INHERITANCE and my CUP (that which God appointed for me to experience); You maintain my LOT (if we trust Him, God will guard our eternal inheritance, so none can steal it). The (boundary) lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a GOOD INHERITANCE" (v5-6). God is generous (good), giving us much more than we deserve, so we can look to Him, submit to Him and trust Him day by day for His Presence & gracious provisions, rather than turning away from Him in striving, anxiety & lust to grasp what He's not giving us at this time. In this manner, He declares: "I have set the Lord (not things or experiences) always before Me... I shall not be moved" (v8). As a result, He has the assurance God will guide & preserve Him by His Presence on the path of life, through this life, then thru death & resurrection, and exaltation to God's right hand in Heaven, where He'll give Him fullness of joy in His Presence and pleasures (experiences) for all eternity: "You will show me the path of life. In Your Presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (v11). These verses also apply to us, for we are "heirs of God & joint heirs with Christ" (Rom 8:17). He is our example to follow, that we should learn to trust in God and be satisfied with His Presence in our hearts, and the possessions, gifts, opportunities, positions, blessings & experi

There is a cry coming from Heaven, calling us to PASSION and INTIMACY with the Lord in worship, and we must begin to respond to Him. Psalm 27:4: “The one thing I ask of the LORD, the thing I seek most, is to live in the House of the LORD (in His Presence) all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty (sweet attractiveness and delightful loveliness) of the LORD, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in His Temple.” Jesus said: “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who ABIDES in ME, and I in him, bears much fruit... As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; ABIDE in My LOVE” (John 15:5,9). JESUS deserves our undying DEVOTION (John 3:16). One way we LOVE the LORD is spending time with Him in His Presence (Psalm 73:28). GOD is the fulfilment of the deepest longings of the human heart (Psalm 73:25). When we have GOD, we have EVERYTHING! Experiencing God’s Love and Presence makes our life so worthwhile.The time we spend with the LORD in private changes us. He shapes the kind of people we become. Our individual personal worship brings the LORD great delight. When we are enjoying regular, intimate fellowship-time with the Lord, He becomes our Source of TOTAL FULFILMENT and we have an INWARD JOY, in spite of bad news, unfavourable circumstances, and personal disappointments. Deep, satisfying communion with the Lord gives us an unshakeable confidence in Him. If we have a regular devotional time with the Lord, we will no longer be dependent on what other people think of us, and whether they like us or not, for we will find our significance, security, and self-worth in God’s love for us. Your worth comes from knowing that God LOVES YOU. He chose you. He delights in you. He passionately pursues you – after all He paid such a great price to have you for Himself. God LOVES you. He delights in you. He passionately pursues you. Our word PASSION comes from the Greek and Latin words to SUFFER. So, God’s passionate love for us means that He is willing to suffer for us. He proved His love for you by paying such a great price to have you for Himself. That’s how much He values you.

As you WORSHIP Him in your special private time with Him, as you TELL Him how much you LOVE Him, you will begin to SEE your true VALUE, through His eyes. You will begin to see that your true value as an individual does not rest in your personal achievements, popularity or even your spiritual maturity. It does not depend on people, and what they think of you. It depends on the Lord’s love for you. Your sense of self-worth rests entirely upon knowing deep inside you, that God DEEPLY LOVES you, and this will cause you to return His love and to be deeply in love with Him (1John 4:19). As God pursues you, will you respond to God’s call? He is calling you to Himself, saying: “Come closer to Me.” Let us respond to the Lord by saying: “I will love You LORD, with all my HEART, with all my SOUL, with all my MIND, and with all my STRENGTH.” God passionately wants you to know Him more intimately - more than you have ever imagined possible.

When we WORSHIP God, we are blessing and enjoying Him. This is the greatest privilege of every believer. DEVOTIONAL WORSHIP is being in the SECRET PLACE with the LORD. This is available to all of God’s children. It is our private time with the Lord, when no one else is around or listening. We can WORSHIP as an act of FAITH. We enter into the Secret Place by purposefully pushing past all the barriers in our thoughts and emotions, by choosing to praise and thank God, for all He is and all He does for us. We do this by FAITH, and not by our fickle feelings. God is calling you to intimate fellowship with Him, which will satisfy the DEEPEST YEARNINGS of your HEART, and it is available to anyone who DESIRES it. You can ENTER into the SECRET PLACE whenever you want to. The Secret Place is the place of exclusive, personal, whole-hearted devotion to the Lord your God. The SECRET PLACE is your very own private HOLY of HOLIES in the heart of God, where You delight in God (your Maker, Redeemer and Lover of your soul), and He delights in you, and you revel in your love for one another. A special blessing of the SECRET PLACE is that whatever happens there is SECRET, confidential, personal, private, sacred and holy. It is as individual, as the relationship between each human being and God. The Greek word for worship is proskuneo, pros = towards, kuneo = to kiss (Luke 7:37-38).

Psalm 15 starts by asking: "Who may abide in God's Presence", enjoying His hospitality, provision, protection & fellowship (v1), and then gives 10 descriptions of the character of those able to dwell with God (v2-5a), followed by a concluding promise of blessing for those who do abide in Him (v5b). It describes how to abide in FELLOWSHIP with God; not a prescription for salvation, which is not based on our righteousness, but Christ's. (Ps 24:3-10 deals with salvation). The mention of God's Tabernacle in v1 points to the picture of the Tabernacle of Moses, which reveals that our access into God's Presence is only by the Blood of Christ.

In Christ, we can now enjoy fellowship with God, by abiding in His Presence and partaking of His blessings. However, fellowship is not automatic. By its very nature, it requires the co-operation and participation of both parties. Fellowship is based on reciprocation, giving & receiving. Whereas salvation is binary, fellowship differs by degrees. The more their hearts & lives harmonise and the more each is willing to give to the other, the deeper their fellowship becomes. God invites us into fellowship, but the degree to which we abide in His Presence depends on us. The more we turn to Christ and draw near to Him, the more of His Spirit, glory & light we will receive, transforming us into His image from glory to glory, and the more our heart is united to him, in harmony with Him, the closer we can be to Him, and the greater fellowship we'll enjoy with Him. He has opened His heart to us, and it's now up to us how much we enter into His Presence - we determine how close we are to God. What hinders us? To draw near to God in fellowship requires that our we harmonise our heart & life to Him, in submission to and agreement with His will, which includes obedience (Amos 3:3). Thus, we must be willing to repent, change & align our lives with His ways, which is contrary to our flesh, so we must die to self (our independent soul-life).

Thus v2-5 describe 10 aspects of the righteousness & nature of Christ, of which we partake when we are saved. The more we abide in Him, the more these qualities are manifested in our lifestyle. Thus they are the characteristics of those who are in harmony with God, walking in fellowship with Him. Also, the more we embrace these aspects of righteousness into our character & lifestyle, the more we harmonise with God, so our walk with God becomes closer. Our fellowship with God depends on our heart condition, which depends on our obedience in our life. When we act contrary to God's righteousness, we harden our heart, so our fellowship decreases, but when we obey God, our heart becomes softer (more submissive) to God, bringing us into more intimate fellowship (John 15:1-14). Thus these 10 points shows us areas, where we can increase our obedience to God, so we can abide in Him more deeply. The 1st characteristic: "He who walks uprightly" (v2a) speaks of being devoted wholly to the Lord. All the other 9 speak of how we are to express this devotion in the way we treat others, made in His image (see 1Jn 2:9-11, John 15:9-14, Mark 11:25, which teach our fellowship with God is conditional on whether we walk in love towards people). The 2nd & 3rd characteristics summarise our righteous lifestyle before men, doing what is right and speaking the truth from the heart (v2b). These are then developed in more detail. The 4th, 5th & 6th are negatives, which the righteous man refuses to do: (4) back-bite, gossip and slander others, (5) he does no harm to his neighbor, and (6) his ears are not open to gossip, he does not believe the worst of people without basis or evidence, and is not quick to take up an offence against someone (v3). (7) He is discriminating and disapproves of those given over to evil. He hates sin (Prov 8:13), but honors those to love God, and (8) he is faithful to his word, keeping his promises & commitments even when it costs (v4). He's not a greedy money-lover, but is honest and generous with his finances. He handles his money with integrity. (9) He does not charge excessive interest, which is usury (v5a). Interest can be charged to foreigners and as part of normal business transactions (Deut 23:19,20; Matt 25:27), but not to a fellow brother (Israelite) who has fallen on hard times, thus adding to his hardship. It's wrong to profit from the poor and helpless. In such cases they were not to charge any interest (Lev 25:35-38, Ex 22:25, Neh 5). (10) He does not use bribery to corrupt the judicial process (v5b, Ex 23:6-8, Deut 16:18-20, 27:25). He doesn't treat people as more important than things.

Psalm 15 concludes with the promised blessing of the man who practices these things and so abides in God's Presence - He'll never be moved or shaken (v5b). Through dwelling in God's Presence, he is filled with His peace and strength, giving him stability (Psalm 1).

(1) DANIEL had the RIGHT PREPARATION. He studied the Word and the Promises of God before praying (Daniel 9:2,3, Jeremiah 29:10, Matthew 24:35, Psalm 119:89).

(2) DANIEL had the RIGHT PERSPECTIVE. He recognised God’s righteousness and man’s sinfulness (Daniel 9:4-5,16,18)

(3) DANIEL had the RIGHT PURPOSE. He desired for God to be glorified and honoured above all else, that God would answer His prayer for His own sake (Daniel 9:17,19, Isaiah 48:11).

(4) DANIEL had the RIGHT PERSISTENCE. He continued steadfastly until the answer was manifest (Daniel 9:16-19). James 5:16: "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." AMP: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]." Luke18:1: Then He spoke a Parable to them, that men ALWAYS OUGHT TO PRAY and NOT LOSE HEART."

Psalm 14 teaches the safety of godliness and peril of ungodliness. It is almost the same as Ps 53, the repetition emphasising the importance of its truths. It begins by describing the sad condition of men who reject God: "The fool has said in his heart: “There is no God” (v1a). In Hebrew, it is: "The fool has said in his heart: “NO God”or "no God for me." Thus, it's not just talking about atheists, who foolishly deny God's existence, despite all the evidence (Rom 1:19-20), but include those who reject His presence, light, voice and rule in their heart, as they want to be free to be their own god. God put the knowledge of the truth of God in their heart, but they suppress His voice saying 'No! God' (Rom 1:18,21, 25, 2:15). How foolish to reject God, their Creator, the Source of all goodness, love and light in their inner being! As a result, their foolish hearts are filled with darkness (Rom 1:21) and corruption (v1b). Having rejected their God-given moral compass (conscience), that points to God, they lose their sense of right & wrong, and worship created things instead of the Creator (Rom 1:23,25), and in time even call good things evil, and evil good (Rom 1:32, Isa 5:20), becoming moral fools, lacking sensitivity & insight of right & wrong (Rom 1:22). Thus (1) they are fools to say 'No' to God, and also (2) saying 'No' to God makes them into fools (corrupted in their inner moral being which is manifested in their lifestyle: "They have done abominable works (sins of commission). There is none who does good (sins of omission)” (v1c, Rom 1:24-31). Next there is a twist, for we think that the fool (v1) is a certail kind of man, but now God declares in v2-3, that this describes all mankind in our fallen state (depravity), for without His saving grace, we're all lost in darkness under the power of sin. In v2, God looks down to see if any understand the truth of God and seek Him (to know Him), the opposite of saying 'No, God!' In v3, He gives the results of His investigation: “(1) They have ALL turned aside" (from God, saying 'No' to God). As a result (2) "They have all together become corrupt (in their nature, the word describes rancid milk). (3) There is NONE who does good. NO, NOT ONE.” This 3 part description corresponds perfectly to the description of the fool in v1. Thus, this declares the depravity of all men in Adam. v1-3 are quoted in Rom 3:9-12 as a key part of his proof that the whole world is guilty before God and so can only be saved by grace thru Jesus. The Doctrine of Depravity is also seen in Ecc 7:20, Luke 11:13, Eph 2:1-3.

God coming down to investigate mankind (v2) is reminiscent of His judgments at the Flood, Tower of Babel and Sodom & Gomorrah. Before judgment, He always provides a way of salvation (grace), and saves those who turn to Him in faith. In v4, He addresses those who've rejected God's knowledge and grace, and have not called on Him to save them. He describes them as being ripe for judgment, workers of iniquity, who in their covetousness "eat people like bread" (exploiting the poor & helpless, treating people as expendable consumables, with little regret or remorse). Instead of praying to and seeking God, they prey on the helpless. God asks: "Have they no knowledge (of God)?" (v4). That is: "Don't they realise God will hold them to account and judge them?" Then v5 describes their day of judgment when God manifests Himself to them: "THERE (sham) they are in great fear." Jehovah Shammah = the Lord is THERE (present). So this declares that one day they will stand in God's Presence and then they will be in great awe and fear (lit: 'tremble in terror'). The parallel verse in Ps 53 says: “There they are in great fear (terrified with terror), where no fear was." God will especially judge them for persecuting His people, who take refuge in the Lord (v4-6).

He responds to this revelation from God with a prayer for salvation: “Oh, that the salvation (lit: Yeshua) of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity (and restore the fortunes) of His people. Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad” (v7). This has a 2-fold fulfilment in the 2 Comings of the Messiah. From the context, the main captivity from which we need salvation is our captivity to sin. So, this is a prayer for the Messiah (Yeshua) to come from the heavenly Zion to the earthly Zion to save us from our sins - fulfilled in His 1st Coming. Only when we trust in Him will our fortunes be restored. Sadly, Israel rejected her Messiah and His salvation from sin, so her fortunes were not restored at His 1st Coming. But by the end of the Tribulation, she will trust in Yeshua, and call on Him to come out of Zion to save her from physical captivity and destruction at the hands of the antichrist, and restore her fortunes. He will return in response to this prayer and Israel will be established as the most blessed nation in the Millennium, when she will rejoice and be glad in her God.

Mark 8:34-37: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny (ownership of) himself (his soul), and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life (his independent soul-life) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (his independent soul-life) for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

(A) The DIGNITY of HAVING a SOUL. (1) The soul is created by God (Genesis 2:7). (2) The soul is created in God’s image (Gen 1:27, Psalm 8:4-5). (3) The soul is created to be eternal (immortal). (4) The soul is created for fellowship with God (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

(B) The DANGER of WASTING your SOUL (Luke 12:15, 2 Chronicles 1:15, 9:20,22-23, Mark 10:21-22, Ecclesiastes 9:3). (1) You can never gain the whole world anyway. (2) What we do gain, we can’t keep. (3) Even if you could gain the world and keep hold of it, it would never satisfy.

(C) The DISASTER of LOSING your SOUL (Ezekiel 18:4, Mark 8:36-37)

(1) When the soul is lost, its true value becomes clear.

(2) Once the soul is lost, it is irreversible (Hebrews 9:27).

(3) Once the soul is lost, it is lost forever (Mark 9:48).

(4) What we accumulate on earth has no value towards eternity.

(D) The DELIGHT of SURRENDERING your SOUL (John10:10, Romans 5:8, Isaiah 53:6,

2Corinthians 5:17, Romans 10:9-10). Matthew 11:28-29: "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

David gave us this Psalm as a model for how to respond when suffering in soul and body. He turned his sufferings into songs and left them for us to use. What do we do with our negative feelings? We are not to be controlled by them, for they do not necessarily tell us the truth. Storm clouds make it seem there is no sun, but the sun is still there, shining. However, feelings are real, so we cannot just ignore them. David shows us that we can bring our negative feelings to the Lord and express them to Him. So, he starts with a LAMENT, where he MOURNS the apparent absence of God, and seeks more of His Presence in his heart and life, 4 times crying out 'how long?' (v1,2). This is the first step of faith, which is to turn to the Lord and look to Him as our Source, our Helper and Healer. By mourning before God in a submissive way, expressing our feelings of loss (of God's Presence), and looking to Him, we open ourselves up to God, for Him to comfort us by His Presence. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). David had spent many days wrestling with his own thoughts, struggling in his own strength, but this did not help his depression (v2), because only God can restore us. Faith begins when we come to Him and seek Him.

In this situation, David was facing a particular enemy, that was exalting itself over him (v2,4), possibly a sickness, that was threatening his life (v3), as well as people who troubled him, who would rejoice at his death. The Bible calls death an enemy (1Corinthians 15:26), and sickness is incipient death. Having come to God (v1-2), David then takes the next step of faith by making a petition to God, a prayer of faith to receive his deliverance from death and restoration of body and soul (v3-4). David's motivation and basis for his prayer is the glory of God, that he would not die too soon, before he had accomplished God's will for his life, for then his enemies (and God's enemies) would prevail. We also discuss whether the SLEEP of DEATH refers to the body or the soul (Psalm 7:5, Daniel 12:2, 1Thessalonians 4:13-14, John 11:11-13, Isaiah 14:18, 1Corinthians 11:30, 15:51). Through this petition, David put his trust in God for the healing of his body and soul (v5). Thus (1) having come to God in his deep need through a lament (v1-2), he (2) believed he received his restoration of health through a petition of faith (v3-4).

His final step of faith, was to confidently declare his faith, giving thanks to God for His salvation, knowing that God was good and was dealing bountifully with him (v5-6). David's rejoicing was not based on a sudden change in his circumstances or manifestation of healing, but because he was confident that God had heard his prayer and that therefore the answer was assured. He was now trusting in God's covenant love, fully assured that what God promised He would bring to pass. Likewise, when we come to God and believe we receive His promise, we should then express our faith by giving Him thanks, that He has heard and answered our prayer, so that now He is working bountifully and powerfully in our life and restoring our soul and body according to His promise. God releases His answer in the Spirit, so that its manifestation in the natural normally takes place over a period of time. During this time, we should stand in faith, trusting in His love, faithfulness and power toward us, continually giving thanks that He is at work, bringing His promise to pass. For example, when we have put our trust in God for our healing (Exodus 15:26), we should then express our faith by thanking God that His healing power is continually working in our body, driving out all sickness and making us strong and whole.

Jesus preached that He was the fulfilment of the Year of Jubilee. He has come to set us free from all bondage and captivity: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord... And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18-21). "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

The Dictionary defines FREEDOM as: (1) The power to act, speak or think as one wants.

(2) The absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.

(3) The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.

(4) The state of being unrestricted; able to move freely.

John 8:31-36: "Jesus said:“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him: “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if theSon makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

TOTAL FREEDOM means: (1) Freedom for ANYONE (John 6:37, Romans 10:13).

(2) Freedom from ANYTHING (Matthew 28:18, Philippians 2:10-11).

(3) Freedom from EVERYTHING (John 7:23, 1Thessalonians 5:23).

(4) Freedom FOREVER (Exodus 14:13, Galatians 5:1).

Jesus asks you: “Do you want to be made well (made whole)?” (John 5:6).

David cries to the Lord for help, because he is surrounded by faithless, ungodly people, whose speech is just idle chatter, empty gossip, flattery and two-faced lying (v1-2). He asks God to judge those who speak wickedly, using their words to deceive and manipulate others to get their own way; unrestrained by the truth or by any authority, they proudly speak as if they are their own gods, with the right to define and create their own reality, believing that they will prevail (v3-4). When you bring your problems to God, He will respond, and so the Lord answers David by personally promising that He will arise to protect and preserve the poor and needy ones, especially the believers, who are being oppressed by these evil-speakers (v5). These destructive talkers spoke as they pleased, but they could not stop the LORD God from speaking as He pleased.

Having received this PROMISE of God, David declares that all of God's WORDS are pure, precious and perfect: “The WORDS of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified 7 times" (v6). The picture is taken from the process of purifying silver in a furnace or oven built of clay. The clay furnace represents the human element. The silver represents the Divine message, which is to be conveyed through the human channel. The fire, which ensures the absolute purity of the silver, its accuracy as the Word of God, represents the Holy Spirit. The ‘7 times’ indicates the absolute perfection of the Holy Spirit’s work. Each time the silver is heated more purities are removed, so that after 7 times the result is pure silver – the pure Word of God produced through a clay vessel. Thus, this passage assures us that the complete accuracy of the Divine Message in the Scriptures is due to the perfect operation of the Holy Spirit, overruling all the frailty of human clay and purging all the dross of human error from the flawless silver of God’s message to man. Thus, David teaches us that we are to value God's words far above the words of men, and hold fast to them and embrace them, rejecting all the evil words of men, which contradict God's Word, for God's words are fully tested, true and reliable. His words are more precious than all the silver and gold (Psalm 19:10-11, 119:14,72,89, 127,160,162). Moreover, God will PRESERVE His WORDS forever: “You shall keep THEM (His WORDS), O Lord, You shall preserve THEM” (v7), which is why we know the Bible we possess is the Word of God. His providential hand has protected the existence and integrity of His Word through the centuries (Matthew 24:35). Some translations say: “You shall keep US, O Lord, You shall preserve US” (v7). This is the response of God's people to His promise in v5. Both translations are true. God will keep both His WORDS and His PEOPLE. In fact, the means by which God preserves His PEOPLE is by their faith in His incorruptible WORD, which endures forever (1Peter 1:23,25), for His people are those who love and trust His Word, and are thereby united to it by faith, so that they are preserved (saved) by the power of His Word (2Peter 1:4, 1John 2:17). The Psalm ends with a reminder that although God has given us His precious words, we have to continue for a time in an evil world, that exalts foolishness and devalues His Word, which makes it all the more needful for us to hold fast to His Word, which saves our soul and sets us apart from the corrupt community surrounding us.

Jesus is the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit. John 1:33: “I did not know Him (John did not know that Jesus was the Messiah), but He who sent me to baptise with water said to me: ‘Upon whom you see the SPIRIT descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who BAPTISES with the HOLY SPIRIT.’”

The Holy Spirit is vital in our fellowship with the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

*1. The HOLY SPIRIT is the Spirit of POWER. He enables us to receive and fulfil God’s Plan and Purpose for our life.

*2. The HOLY SPIRIT is our wonderful COMFORTER.

*3. The HOLY SPIRIT is the One who ENABLES us to RECEIVE God’s LOVE.

*4. The HOLY SPIRIT is the One who STRENGTHENS us, when we are weak and weary.

*5. The HOLY SPIRIT is the One who opens our heart to believe and receive God’s amazing, extravagant, eternal love, which heals our wounded hearts.

*6. The HOLY SPIRIT is the One who FELLOWSHIPS with us (2 Corinthians 13:14).

*7. The HOLY SPIRIT is here on earth to HELP us in our weaknesses, and to HELP us PRAY God’s will into the earth. Romans 8:26-27: “The SPIRIT also HELPS (sun-anti-lambano = ‘takes hold together with us’) in our WEAKNESSES. For we do not know what we should PRAY for as we ought, but the SPIRIT Himself makes INTERCESSION for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered... He makes INTERCESSION for the saints according to the WILL of GOD.”