In Psalm 101, David expresses his longing to lead after God’s own heart. As king he strives to model covenant faithfulness to the people and calls them to follow his faithful–if imperfect–pattern. When Christ comes, he proves to be the perfect King, living a perfect life, and calling us to follow his pattern of love and faithfulness, to become a people he loves to reward.

“I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me.” (Psalm 101:6)

Psalm 100 is a universal call for joyful thanksgiving to the King. The key to joyful thanksgiving is knowing God and belonging to him, The call for joyful thanksgiving to the King is one that is to be repeated by his people, to his people, and to all the earth.

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” (Ps. 100:1-2)

Psalm 99 is a portrait of a holy God, worthy of all our worship, whose reign, revelation and reconciliation are compelling. “The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!... They called to the LORD, and he answered them… O LORD our God you were a forgiving God to them…” (Ps. 99:1, 7-8).

Psalm 98 celebrates God as king over all humanity and all of creation. “The LORD has… revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations… All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” (Ps. 98:2-3).

Yahweh’s righteous reign invites the joy of the nations. “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Ps. 97:1)

The Church is defined in Christ, developed in love and deployed in mission.

Christians are assured that God will never forget that he has always loved them, that he is inseparably in love with them and that his love changes how they love.

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

The apostle Paul was familiar with suffering and pain. Though persecuted, imprisoned, and oppressed, he was confident that the suffering he experienced in this age could not compare with future glory. When armed with this perspective, we too can join creation in joyful hope because we know that those who share in the suffering of Christ today will share Christ’s glory in the age to come.

God creates a new reality in the lives of his people. Through the Spirit, God leads them to be spiritually minded, indwelt and adopted, changing the way they think, hope and live.

A call to stop living like we have the power to control sin and to start living in God’s new sin-condemning way of the Spirit.

“An honest and humble acknowledgement of the hopeless evil of our flesh, even after the new birth, is the first step to holiness. To speak quite plainly, some of us are not leading holy lives for the simple reason that we have too high an opinion of ourselves.” – John Stott