PSALM 17 Preparing for the next world

Now is the time we have to prepare for eternity.
From the start, the living God is the Saviour of those who put their trust in Him.
So that is the community in which we stand in the presence of God.

From the book of COMMON PRAYER ,  Psalm 17:7
Shew thy marvelous loving kindness,
thou art the Saviour of them that put their trust in thee:
from such as resist thy right hand.

We must definitely NOT stand in the crowd who resist God's right hand.
Those of us who believe that God's will
is the most beneficial thing for everyone,
seek constantly to be in harmony with God's purposes,
socially, morally,  politically, and one in the Spirit spiritually

Psalm 17:3a
Thou hast proved and visited mine heart in the night season;

The psalmist has nightly meditated on the word of God !
not just in an academic way, but in a way which has allowed himself
 to respond to God's presence and prompting
during , and after, his contemplation.
These benefits leak into our everyday lives,
Just as the mercy which poured from the wounds of Christ
still swirls around us
.We seek and need the grace of God.

Psalm 17:5
O hold thou up my goings in thy paths:
that my footsteps slip not.

The power of God is the effective influence in the person of the believer
and in the circumstances in the community of hope
in which the purposes of God are being fulfilled.
We often joke that life's challenges are character building.
But our personal experience of the working out of His truth....
marching on in our society and in ourselves
is what fills our heart and mind with Trinitarian love and awareness.
Such love puts things in perspective !
It is not only that God is the source of love,
but that all his intentions and activity are loving and wise,

1 JOHN 4 : 7-13  + 17  RSV
Beloved , let us love one another; for love is of God,
and he who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world so that 
we might live through him. In this is love,
not that we loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also  ought to love 
one another. No man has ever seen God; 
if we love one another, God abides in us and love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because 
he has given us his own spirit.
17 In this is love perfected in us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgement,
because as he is so are we  in this world.   !!!

May trinitarian love and awareness prepare us for the next world.

PSALM 16 Our eternal journey

On a day to day basis
the congregation of the righteous
put their hope in the LORD
and in practice, trust everything
(their present and their future) to the living God.

ACTS 2:25-28 ESV
25     For David says concerning him,
         "I saw the Lord always before me,
         for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26     therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
         my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27     For you will not abandon my soul to Hades'
         or let your Holy One see corruption.
28     You have made known to me the paths of life;
         you will make me full of gladness with your presence"

So, year in, year out, (from the book of Acts until now),
 the community of hope is fulfilling the prophecy of  Psalm 16.
We can proclaim Psalm 16:8-11.

Psalm 16:8-11  NRSV
8      I keep the LORD always before me;
        because he is at my right hand,
        I shall not be moved.
9      Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
        my body also rests secure.
10    For you do not give me up to Sheol,
       or let your faithful one see the Pit
11   You show me the path of life.
       In your presence there is fullness of joy;
       in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Those who daily walk in the presence of the Lord
and put our hope and trust in Him
are in practice, fulfilling the words of prophecy
in Psalm 16.
So we are witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus !

Psalm 16:11 NCV
You will show me the path to life
you will fill me with joy in your presence
and everlasting delights at your right hand.

The NCV translation of verse 11
alludes to divine preparation for life in the next world.
    You will show me the path to life.
This grace will be experienced in joy
in the presence of the living God.
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.
This is the beginning of our eternal journey
where, at God's right hand,
there are pleasures forever.

PSALM 16 Community of Hope

How excellent are the LORD'S faithful people !
My greatest pleasure is to be with them.                
                                                Psalm 16:3 Good News Bible
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people
and he exalts the meek with salvation.
                         Psalm 149:4  New English Translation of the Septuagint.
If we love one another,
         God dwelleth in us
                    and his love is perfected in us.
                                                 1 John 4:12 King James Version.

In the communion between Christ and believers;
he delights in them and they delight in him.
As Christ delights in his saints,
so they delight in one another.
"Here"  says David  "is my greatest pleasure."

And this commandment have we from him.
That he who loveth God love his brother also.
                                                  1 John 4:21 King James Version
The Lord taketh  pleasure in them that fear him,
in those that hope in his mercy.
                                                   Psalm 147:11 King James Version
Love one another with mutual affection
                                                   Romans 12:10 NRSV

Who belongs to  the group of righteous which the psalmist describes?
A group which realizes that they  have no other resource than
The LORD our God........
the community who put their hope in our God
and will continue our song of praise.
We are one group.....
the people of God,  in the community of hope.

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,
all ye that hope in the LORD.
                                                    Psalm 31:24 King James Version.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him
on those who hope in his unfailing love
                                                    Psalm 33:18 New International Version
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope ?
  My only hope is in you.          
                                                    Psalm 39:7  New Living Translation 
For You are my hope; O Lord God,
You are my trust from my youth
and the source of my confidence.
                                                    Psalm 71:5  The Amplified Bible
Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob
Whose hope is in the LORD his God.
                                                    Psalm 146:5 Revised Standard Version.
People whose hope is in the Lord our God are a delight to be with.
You can trust that their attitudes, their social justice, their love and peace
 and even their  joys are coming from the same place.
There is one God and Father of us all
by whom we are called to the one hope,    see Ephesians 4:4.

PSALM 16 Trust in God

Psalm 16:1 KJV
Preserve me,  O God;   for in thee  do I  put  my  trust.

If you are utterly convinced that God's will for you
is the most wholesome for yourself and everybody else,.........
If you are sure that God's will is the absolute best that anyone could experience,
and that anything else would fall short of
God's purpose and intentions for each of us personally,..........
then you are at one with all those who have said
"Let it be done to me as you say"                     LUKE 1:38 NAB

For all of God's will is the very best for all of God's people.
The converse is also true;-
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
                                                                              Martin Luther King.

Luke 1:38  ESV
And Mary said," Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word."
ESV footnote 1:38
The section ends with Mary's example of true discipleship,
in submission to God's word and promise.
When we trust fully in the love and nearness of the LORD
we are quite at one with both the Psalmist David and
the blessed virgin Mary.

from  Psalm 16: ESV;-
1  Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2  I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;"
    I have no good apart from you.
5  The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.
8  I have set the LORD always before me;
    because he is at my right hand 
    I shall not be shaken.

With our Lord Jesus we draw in daily prayer
to love and trust "Our Heavenly Father"as we pray
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
                                                               Matthew 6:10 KJV

We also reflect on the words of Paul from Acts 17:28
"In him we live and move and have our being"
For Paul's God is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

In joyful submission to the will and and purposes of THE LORD OUR GOD,
we seek, in grace, to make our desires and plans,
in harmony with His loving intentions for us.
If the Father calls you to love as He loves you
in the fire of the Holy Spirit,   blessed are you !

Psalm 16:11 ESV
11  You make known the path of life;
      in your presence is fullness of joy;
      at your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

The joy we share reaches past the grave.....for evermore.
Death does not separate us from the love of God.
The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.                      Romans 6:23 

PSALM 15 Careers

According to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Third Edition 1967,
A career is;-                     a race course,
                                  a short gallop at full speed,
                      a persons course or progress through life,
           a profession affording opportunities for advancement.
Psalm 15 gives details of a course of progress through life
                which will afford opportunities of advancement .
                Persons following this career will be blessed
                and live in a stable way , unshaken by change and adversity.

Walk blamelessly and do what is right, maintaining moral standards,
( before God and men)
Speak truth from the heart.
Be a person of integrity.
Speak up for what is right and verbally defend justice and peace.
Take no part in verbal abuse, neither mocking nor disparaging people
in conversation, in song or in hurtful humour.
Neither do wrong to to fellow men, nor take unfair advantage over anybody.
Do not leave other people's children hungry or without medical attention,
or without a good education, or without a home,
 and never use another persons need to your own advantage.
A good salesman will extol the benefits of his own products
without knocking the opposition ! It would be better if politicians
justified their own policies without maligning other politicians.
Casting a slur on others does nothing to enhance themselves.
Discern the actions of those who are harming people,
and doing harm to society.
Hitler is not the only tyrant in living memory.
The wicked need to be identified and strongly opposed.
Those who despise the vile man and honour the God fearing members
of the community, are in harmony with the will of God.
The truth must be spoken and defended in every walk of life.
Evil must be confronted and justice allowed to prevail.
Participating in the fight for justice and peace is second nature
to those who choose to live in the presence of the GOD who
 identifies with the poor and afflicted.
Bribery and corruption can be seen to hold back the development
of countries where there there is no integrity in public life.
Those who follow God's career plan
become pillars of the community
and continue to grow in the love and knowledge of the LORD
A man who's word can be depended upon, keeps his promises.
All commerce is built on trust.
All that can be done to build mutual trust is positive
for people and nations.
If politicians and other people in the media, lived in the will of God,
malicious deriding attitudes would disappear and their programs
would sound less immature.
The same applies to a persons course or progress through life.
The psalmist advocates a career in the will of God.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
with Him at my right hand 
I will not be shaken.
                                     Psalm 16:8

PSALM 15 Qualifications

Psalm 15 is the word of God.
Can we see what our God is saying to us today?
Does He still require "Workers of righteousness" ?
The answer is Yes, there are several vacancies,
and the qualifications for these jobs are;-

a      Those who obey God in everything
b      and always do what is right,
c      whose words are true and sincere.
                                                                  PSALM 15:2
                                                                  GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION
A shortlist for those required today includes;-
        Those who lead blameless lives
        who walk with integrity
        and speak the truth from sincere hearts.
Those who seek these positions should know,
        " I will look with favour  on the faithful of the land
           that they may dwell with me;
           He who walks in the way of the blameless
           shall minister to me.                    PSALM 101:6

It will be good working here because our fellow employees
will all be people ;-
           whose tongue utters no slander
           who do no wrong to a neighbour
           and cast no slur on others,          Psalm 25:3  NIV
and
           Those who despise flagrant sinners 
           and honour the faithful followers of the LORD
           and keep their promises even when it hurts.
                                                                 PSALM 15:4

Those who take joy in doing what is right,
are disgusted by paedeophiles, human traffickers, drug dealers ,
corrupt piliticians, fraudulent business people and other thieves.
People really prefer to deal with those who can be  trusted,
who are dependable and would not undertake anything they
could not see their way to fulfill.

Psalm 15  A Psalm for David
LORD,  who may lodge in your tent ?
Who may dwell in your holy mountain?
One of blameless life, who does what is right
and speaks the truth from the heart;
who has no malice on his tongue,
who never wrongs his fellow,
and tells no tails against his neighbour;
who shows his scorn for those the LORD rejects,
but honours those who fear the LORD
who holds to his oath even to his own hurt,
who does not put his money out to usury,
and never accepts a bribe against the innocent.
He who behaves this way will remain unshaken.
                                                    REVISED ENGLISH BIBLE

PSALM 15 Vacancies

Psalm 15:1 KJV
LORD, who shall abide in your tabernacle,
who shall dwell in the holy hill ?

Psalm 15:1 GNB
Lord, who may enter your Temple?
Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill?

Psalm 15:1 ESV
O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent ?
who shall dwell on your holy hill ?

Psalm 15:1 NLT
Who may worship in your sanctuary ?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill ?

Psalm 23:6 KJV
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell
in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 84:4 ESV
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise !

Psalm 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 43:3 ESV
Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling !

Psalm 15:1 could be asking how to get in,
how to join the holy community, or who is eligible ?

The tent in the wilderness was the place where
the presence of God was manifest in the midst of the people of God.
The holy hill is Mount Zion , where the nation of Israel
came to worship at the temple where they acknowledged
the presence of the of the God of Israel.

The veil of the temple was that separating the Holy Place
from the Holy of Hollies,  It was rent at the time of the
crucifixion to show that all men can freely come to God.

By becoming man, the Word has pitched His tent among us.

Matthew 18:20 KJV
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there I am in the midst of them.

According to Strongs 3319, The Greek word for "midst" means;-
before them, between them, and among them.