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

Psalm 17 is a Psalm of David when he was being pursued by Saul's armies, who have tracked him down and surrounded him (v9-12, see 1Samuel 23, especially v19-29). His prayer is in 3 parts, each part starts by him invoking a name of God. He prays (1) for VINDICATION, for he was being falsely accused (v1-5), (2) for PROTECTION, because his enemies were out to kill him (v6-12), and (3) for VICTORY - for God to intervene and completely overthrow his enemies (v13-14), and finally he expresses confidence (4) in his ultimate eternal SALVATION in God's Presence at his resurrection (v15). It is a Messianic Psalm (the prayer of Christ as He is falsely accused and pursued to death by His enemies). This is because He declares His perfect righteousness (v1-4). Whereas this was true in a limited way for David, in that as far as the specific cause he was praying about, he was innocent, he was being falsely accused. However these verses are only true in an absolute sense of Christ Himself. Thus Psalm 17 is similar to Psalm 16 in emphasising the perfect righteousness of the Messiah and His confident expectation of being resurrected to glory in God's Presence (v15, see 16:8-11). Psalm 17 also prepares the way for Psalm 18, another Messianic Psalm, which begins where Psalm 17 ends, with the Messiah resurrected and exalted as King, giving thanks to God for His deliverance and victory (we will see that Psalm 20 and 21 work together in a similar way). Since Jesus is the greater Son of David, the life of David is a type of the life of Christ. Like Jesus in His 1st Coming, he was anointed and did many great works, but was rejected and persecuted by the Jewish authorities, who wanted to kill him. But eventually David was exalted by God to become king, just as God exalted Jesus at His resurrection, establishing Him as Lord and King. So, this is a prayer of David praying for God's vindication, protection and victory over his enemies (v1-14), which was accomplished at his enthronement, as well as expressing his faith that God would also ultimately give him the victory over sin and death at his resurrection (v15). Likewise, this is also Christ's prayer for vindication, protection and victory during His earthly ministry (v1-14), ending with His confident declaration that God would ultimately answer His prayer by raising Him from the dead (v15), at which time He was also enthroned as King. David's hope of resurrection (v15), as for all believers, is based on the resurrection of the perfectly righteous Man, Jesus Christ (v15), for only through union with Him can we have a glorious resurrection. Their confidence in prayer was based on (1) their innocence and purposeful righteousness in thought, word and deed (v1-4), (2) the nature of God: "Manifest Your wonderful (miraculous) loving-kindness (chesed, steadfast covenant love) by Your right hand" (v7), and (3) their just cause (they were called anointed as God's King to fulfil His purposes, so they were praying according to God’s will. This prayer contains 2 beautiful pictures of God’s protective care for his people in v8: "Keep me as the apple (pupil) of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings" (see Deuteronomy 32:10-11, Proverbs 7:2, Zechariah 2:8, Ruth 2:12, Psalm 36:7, 57:1, 61:4, 63:7, 91:4, Matthew 23:37). v14 describes the godless as men of the world (1John 2:15), who (only) have their portion in this life, who are fully SATISFIED with the things of this life, but have no room for God in their life, who graciously provides these things to them. But, in rejecting God and taking His blessings for granted, they are also building up their measure of God's hidden treasure of wrath (Romans 2:4). By way of contrast, the godly will be SATISFIED with God's Presence (v15). The Psalm finishes with a beautiful picture of our glorious resurrection, just as in Psalm 16: "As for me (in contrast to the men of the world, who have no hope beyond this life), I will SEE Your FACE in RIGHTEOUSNESS; I shall be SATISFIED (with God), when I AWAKE (from the dead - see Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2) in Your LIKENESS (1John 3:2)” (v15). This is our blessed hope, for when we are resurrected in His likeness, in a state of perfect righteousness, without sin, then we can enjoy perfect face to face fellowship and union with Him, and be fully satisfied.

FORGIVENESS is the Christian’s WEAPON to destroy the plans and works of satan in our life. Walking in FORGIVENESS is a major key to overcome the evil in this world, rather than coming under its power. God forgives and forgets our sins, when we repent, for He does not remember our sins any more (Isaiah 43:25, Jer 31:34, Heb 8:12,10:17), for He casts them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), where they can't be retrieved. So, we need to do the same by forgiving others and forgetting their sins, when they repent. We need to dump, delete and destroy our unforgiveness (our remembrance of their sins), just as God totally blots out our sins, when we confess them to Him (Psalm 51:1,9, Isaiah 43:25, 44:22, Acts 3:19). We must FORGIVE one another from our HEART (our will). That is, we must make a DECISION to FORGIVE (Matthew 18:35), and we should affirm it by SPEAKING it out loud (Matthew 12:34). Even if they are unrepentant, we should still FORGIVE them and give them to God (for our own sake). However, their lack of repentance means we cannot FORGET their sin. It may mean that we modify our view of them, and our behaviour toward them, because we cannot trust them as much now, as we did before. When we forgive them and pray that they receive God’s forgiveness and blessing (Luke 23:34), we free them to receive the love of the Lord. FORGIVENESS is NOT a FEELING, but a QUALITY DECISION - an act of our WILL, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of us. Forgiveness is NOT pretending that what they did was acceptable. Forgiveness says: “God has forgiven me so much more than this sin that I need to forgive. So, I will obey His command to forgive others.” Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Ephesians 4:30-32: “Do not GRIEVE the HOLY SPIRIT of God... let all bitterness, wrath, anger, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice... FORGIVING one another, even as God in Christ FORGAVE you.” Unforgiveness is like taking poison, hoping it will kill the other person! Having bitterness in your heart will make you physically & mentally sick. Walking in unforgiveness will separate you from intimate communion with your loving Heavenly Father: “if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15, 18:35, Mark 11:26). When we refuse to forgive, we are not hurting the other person, but ourselves, for we are hardening our heart toward God, which cuts us off from His grace and leads to many negative consequences. We must remember that God's PRIMARY concern is our HEART ATTITUDE. If we have a wise and willing heart, enthusiastic for God's will and we refuse to take offence, and persist in forgiving, then the devil's plans for our destruction (John 10:10) will be destroyed, as nothing now can stop us from being filled by God and used by God. Stephen is a classic example of forgiveness, even though his enemies were stoning him to death (Acts 7:54-60). He FORGAVE them all, including the future apostle Paul, and asked God to FORGIVE them. God used Stephen’s PRAYER for their FORGIVENESS to help bring about Paul's conversion. This is the POWER of FORGIVENESS. Although Saul was involved in his murder, Stephen FORGA VE Saul and PRAYED God’s blessing upon him, releasing him to become the man God intended him to be. In answer to his prayer, Paul received FORGIVENESS from God, and on that basis, he was also able to FORGIVE HIMSELF. Knowing that God is satisfied with the Blood of Jesus as the full payment for our sins, we should trust in God’s promise of forgiveness, and on that basis, we can also forgive ourselves. Our forgiveness can open the door of their heart to the Lord, allowing Him to change and bless them. Let us remember the price our Lord Jesus paid for our FORGIVENESS. He prayed for all those, whose sin took Him to the Cross (including us): “Father, FORGIVE them.” His prayer for our forgiveness was effectual. Likewise, Stephen's prayer for his persecutors was effectual, as proved by Paul’s conversion. Hilary gives another example of the POWER of FORGIVENESS working through a woman, who forgave the man who killed her son. Her love and forgiveness were effectual in transforming that man.

Hilary teaches on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which Jesus gave His disciples, when they asked Him how many times should they forgive someone (Matthew 18:21-35). God, our Master and King, has forgiven us a massive un-payable sin-debt, so we ought to forgive one another. We should always be aware of just how much God has forgiven each one of us through the shed Blood of His Beloved Son, Jesus our Messiah. We should always be aware of just how much it cost God to forgive us. The servant who had been forgiven so much, refused to forgive his fellow servant (v29-30), and as a result his master was angry with him, and delivered him over to the torturers (v32-34).We will be separated from intimate fellowship with our Heavenly Father, if we refuse to forgive others. Jesus suffered and died to pay the price for their forgiveness, as well as for our forgiveness. He paid the price for their sins, as well as for our sins. He was punished in our place, and He released FORGIVENESS from the Cross, including for those who crucified Him, saying: “Father, FORGIVE them” (Luke 23:34). If our Lord forgave even those who tortured Him to death, then as His disciples, we must also forgive those who sin against us. When you forgive them, you are putting them into the Hands of God. You release the judgment to God, because you are refusing to be their judge, and they will now have to answer to God. He is the only Just Judge. If we do persist in judging (condemning) them, then our sin of unforgiveness is now worse than their sin against us, because we are now in pride and rebellion against God’s Word, which tells us to: “forgive one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Harbouring unforgiveness puts a barrier between us and our Heavenly Father, hindering our fellowship, and it can result in physical sickness, mental sickness, depression and self-hatred (Matthew 18:35).

Psalm 16 is a Messianic Psalm which predicted the Resurrection of Christ. In v1-6 we see His single-minded loyalty to God, trusting in God for security (v1), welfare and righteousness (v2). He is singleminded in His mission to save His people, His saints in whom is all His delight (v3, Hebrews 12:2). He is singleminded in His worship of God (v4), His desire for God's Presence (v5), and His trust in God to bring Him into His full inheritance of life and blessing (v5-6). He does not follow other gods in idolatry or other things in covetousness (v4-6). As a result, God gives Him counsel (guidance) by His Spirit instructing Him in His heart (v7), and He can look forward to glorious resurrection unto eternal life and blessings (v8-11). He always sets the Lord before Him, looking to Him for leadership and keeping His focus on Him. He exalts the Lord to the highest place in his life, the place of honour, at His right hand. As a result, the strength of God is always with him, and so whatever happens He will not be moved or shaken (v8). This is true even in the face of death. As He looks ahead to His death He can rejoice, knowing that God will raise Him from the death: "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices, My flesh also will rest (dwell securely) in hope (of resurrection)" (v9). When this verse is quoted in Acts 2:26, the word 'glory' is translated as 'tongue' (following the Septuagint). This agrees with other verses that emphasise the close connection between the heart and the mouth (Matthew 12:34-35), the mouth receiving and expressing what is in the heart, which is the very meaning of 'glory' or 'to glorify' (John 16:13-15). The moon is the glory of the sun, because it receives the light of the sun and then shines it. Likewise, we glorify God by receiving and expressing His Spirit. Likewise, the tongue is our glory, because it takes what is in our heart and expresses it. In v10, he gives more explanation about His upcoming death and resurrection: "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see (undergo) corruption." In His identification with mankind, after death, in His human soul Christ went down to Sheol (Hades), while His body was in the tomb. He calls His body 'Your holy one' for it had no sin-nature (because of the virgin birth), and He continually offered it to God as a living sacrifice to do God's perfect will (Romans 12:1). He declares that God would not allow His holy body to see corruption, as that would be inappropriate. This is a prophecy that the sinless Messiah must be raised within 3 days, as corruption begins on the 4th day, according to the laws of chemistry (John 11:39). He concludes in v11: "You will show me the path of life. In Your Presence (Face) is fullness of joy; at (in) Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” As He walks with God, God shows Him the path that leads to abundant and eternal life, even through death and resurrection (also to walk in this path is to live). Most of all He looks forward to the full restoration to God's Presence (see v5), after His earthly life and suffering the darkness of the Cross. Moreover, He looks forward to fullness of joy (literally 'joys') and eternal pleasures provided by God the Father, at His right hand in Heaven. 'Fullness' means 'wholly satisfying and endlessly varied.' The resurrection (v11) is the ultimate answer to His prayer in v1-2. Notice that because He exalted God to His right hand (v8), God exalted Him to His right hand - the place of highest honour (v11, see also Psalm 110:1, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Hebrews 1:3,13, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, 1Peter 3:22, Phil 2:9-11). Thus v9-11 is a prophecy of Christ's death, resurrection and ascension. Jesus Christ fulfilled this Psalm by His perfect obedience and received His promised eternal inheritance, and He did it for us, that is He received every blessing on our behalf, so that in Christ, we will also receive the fulfilment of the promise of resurrection and eternal life enjoying God's Presence (in face to face fellowship at His right hand) and His pleasures forevermore. We conclude by seeing how the apostles Peter and Paul quoted Psalm 16 and showed how Jesus fulfilled it, proving that He is the Messiah (Acts 2:22-33, 13:33-38).

Psalm 16 is an important Messianic Psalm, quoted by Peter & Paul to prove Jesus is the promised Messiah. 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 spoke by the Spirit of Prophecy about Christ, the Son of David, that He'd be resurrected before his body saw corruption (v29-31). He then said Jesus fulfilled this Prophecy by His 3rd day resurrection, 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. 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, the words only find ultimate fulfilment in Christ. So, we should read them as Christ's words, given by prophecy, as He approached death, expressing His faith in God to resurrect Him. Although 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 (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 a key part of living by faith - the rejection of all other gods & idolatry (v4), including covetousness (Col 3:5), for 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 multiply (v4). A classic example is Man's Fall. God provided 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 went their own way, but soon found they gained nothing, but rather lost His Blessing, and their sorrows multiplied. The truth is if we seek 1st the Kingdom (reign) of God over our life and 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 (what God appoints for me to experience); You maintain my LOT (if we trust Him, He 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 submit to Him and trust Him day by day for His Presence & gracious provisions, rather than turning from Him in striving & 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 assurance God will guide & preserve Him by His Presence on the path of life, thru 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 & 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's our example to follow, that we should trust in God and be satisfied with His Presence in our hearts, and the possessions, gifts, opportunities, positions, blessings & experiences He gives us in this life, knowing He’s prepared a wonderful eternal future and inheritance for us, way beyond our present experience & imagination (1Cor 2:9, Eph 2:7), where we'll be exalted and experience fullness of joy in His Presence.

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."