Psalm 15

… Please, to Psalm 15. Psalm 15, and we'll read from verse 1. For the sake of those who haven't been here, we've been occupied with God's covenant with Abram and David and the house of Israel. And we have seen, I think, something of the greatness of the sovereignty of God in His blessing in an unconditional way, those two men and also the nation of Israel. A blessing that has still to be implemented in the future and, of course, implemented by our Lord Jesus Christ because of the work He did at Calvary and His glorious resurrection from among the dead and the place that He occupies at God's right hand. And we have seen a little of God's tremendous love and His power, His authority, and I trust we have been impressed with the one who can plan and scheme and order and do it with the utmost assurance that it will be accomplished. The greatness of our God in His unconditional blessing. You know that every conditional blessing breaks down because of the flesh incapable of responding to God in any way whatsoever. The flesh cannot please God. And no matter what blessing God indicated for man, it broke down, again we say, because of the evil of human nature and the desire to do one's own will. But God in His greatness has indicated that there will be blessing, blessing to Abram and his seed, blessing to David and his seed, blessing to the house of Israel. We weren't speaking particularly about the blessing that belongs to the church, only in passing, but we can add that, yes, the unconditional blessing that belongs to the church in Christ Jesus. And so tonight I thought it might be right to consider a little practical matters that are consistent with blessing that we have received. And it's always good to have a balance, not only to live in objective truth, although that's very, very important, but to live consistently with the objective truth. In other words, to enjoy the unconditional blessing, but to make sure in practice day by day we live in such a way as to indicate we appreciate it and value it and also respond to God in faithfulness. That's very, very important. Now we want to begin with this verse one. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? Just let us write across this verse, the holy presence of God. And let us ask the question that the psalmist asks, who shall abide in that holy presence? Now, if it were possible for each of us tonight to be taken into the holy presence of God, how would we feel? Isn't that a good question? If each of us had the opportunity, the privilege, the honor of being placed into the immediate presence of a holy God, how would we feel? Would we be concerned about our outward appearance, remembering that everything is open to the eye of God? Would we be concerned about God's omniscience, that he knows everything and can look right into our hearts, into our minds, take account of our motives? He knows us through and through. Dear friends, how would we feel? If we think of the blessing that we have in Christ, that we're sheltered by his precious blood, and our position in Christ, we're perfect, accepted and beloved, then no problem. No problem. But if we take account of ourselves practically, that might be another matter indeed. I've felt for a long, long time, dear friends, that perhaps this is one of the most important things that each of us has to consider, our standing with God in practice and faithfulness. No problem at all about our standing before God in Christ. That can never be altered, broken or destroyed. That's done once and for all in Christ because of God's love for us. But you know that in the New Testament, there are many, many, many scriptures presented to us as to our walk in faithfulness. And that's always very, very challenging indeed. Now we just want to go down this psalm and challenge our hearts, first of all, as to how we are walking before God. It says, He that walketh uprightly, and he that worketh righteousness, and he that speaketh the truth in his heart. So you're walking and you're working, and you also have the word, how we use the word, how we use our words. Are they from our hearts in truth? We want to speak first of all about walking, and that's why I suggested we should sing that opening hymn. What a tremendous thing to consider the walk of Christ. That's always a wonderful thing for us to contemplate, to see a man in this world walking in perfection. Not a single thing wrong with what he said or what he did or what he thought. I do always the things that please the Father. And then we remember that John tells us, we ought to walk as he walked. There is the standard of the Christian's walk, to walk as Christ walked. And surely we have every encouragement to do this. We have the Spirit of Jesus, we have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of the Lord. And that indicates to me that the Spirit is able to produce in us features that were seen in Christ, features that were seen in Jesus, features that were seen in the Lord. He's the only one who can do it. And we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And praise God, we take account of this company and look around and say, yes, there are those features to be seen. Thank God for them. And we would have them develop deeper and fuller, I'm sure. Every one of us would admit that, desire that. That these feelings that we have towards Christ, these features that are somewhat like Christ in us should be enlarged. Walking. He that walketh uprightly. Yes, that's the kind of person who can be in the presence of a holy God. A person who walks uprightly. I think you'll agree with me that every book in the New Testament, with its blessings, has a corresponding walk. And if you think of the epistle to the Romans, and you remember the catalogue of sins and departure from God that's mentioned in chapters 1, 2, and 3. No wonder the apostle says later on that we should walk in newness of life. Blessing coming into our hearts, our offenses, our sins gone. Blessed in Christ. Yes, we shouldn't be like the kind of life that we lived before we were converted. That would be absolutely wrong. It would be a denial of the truth of salvation. And so to walk in newness of life, of course connected with the truth of baptism. But walking in newness of life is something that should mark every believer. And thank God we have the power to do it. When we come to the epistle to the Galatians, you remember in chapter 5, the epistle says, Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We have an instance there in that book of those who were not walking uprightly. My, if it happened today, people would say, what a fuss you're making, Paul. What a fuss you're making about Peter eating a meal with the Gentiles. Or eating a meal sometimes with the Jews, to the exclusion of the Gentiles. What a fuss, Paul. Paul says, they are not walking according to the truth of the gospel. And very often, it's the little things in our lives that indicate where our desires lie. The little things that we're required to be faithful in, that really indicates as to whether we have a desire to do what's right or please ourselves. And so it was with Peter, and Paul withstood him to the face. But when it comes to day-by-day living, we're all confronted with the flesh. And it's an evil, powerful force. And we all have it. And there's only one power that can help us to overcome it. And that's the power of the Holy Spirit. What a delightful thing it is to know that that power is operating in us. Operating by our subjection to the word of God. Willing to be led by the Holy Spirit just as the Lord was when he was here in this world. To know the Spirit's power in overcoming those perhaps evil temper, evil desires, greed, and many other features that belong to the flesh that are so uncomely in a Christian. And in the Spirit's power, praise God, they can be overcome. And when we come to the epistle to the Ephesians, you remember Paul unfolds a tremendous scope of blessing presented to us sovereignly by God, through Christ, and in the Spirit's power. And so it says Paul, you ought to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. You're members of the body of Christ. You belong to the habitation of God in the Spirit. You're adopted into this wonderful place of nearness and dignity. You're accepted in the beloved. And so you go on and on and on. Tremendous list of blessings. Paul says, you ought to walk worthy of that vocation wherewith ye are called. Isn't that far more testing than having a standard for ourselves? A standard that we can easily make for ourselves and feel quite proud that we have attained to it. Isn't it much more exacting, more demanding to think of the height of the blessings that God has brought us into and to realize we cannot attain to them except we have a power outside of ourselves. And that power, the power of the Holy Spirit. I shouldn't say outside of ourselves because he's in us. He's in us to help us day by day. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. I'm sure we often see pictures either in books or through television of the Queen inspecting some troops. And they're all spick and span. And they're all standing to attention. And everything is just right. Why? Because the Sovereign is there. It has to meet the eye of the Sovereign. It doesn't matter if each individual is quite happy about what he does. It matters what the Sovereign thinks. And I believe that's what it means to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. It's God who has called us. It's God who has blessed us. And we are to walk consistently with that. When we come to the epistle to the Colossians, you know that Paul, in order to combat the evil that was coming in among the Colossian believers, presents the greatness of Christ. The philosophers were saying, now it's quite all right, you Colossian people, to be Christians. But why not add a little of man's intellect, man's philosophy? It's very, very good, you know. It's very, very cultured. Intellectual. It will improve your Christianity. No, says Paul, ye are complete in him. And if we are complete in him, obviously, we don't need anything from anyone else. Everything we have is in Christ. And Paul says, That's the standard, the greatness of Christ. Not my standard, your standard, any traditional standard, anything that man might suggest, although they might be perfectly good in one sense. No, the standard is much higher than that. The standard is the Lord. Well, that's a very high standard. Very, very high standard indeed. And whatever we might think, it is something we always have to remember, God doesn't lower his standard for anyone. He doesn't bend his standards to suit any condition. He always maintains his standard. The Lord Jesus never lowered the standard of conduct that was obligatory to any believer. He always maintained what was the height of God's desire and God's will. As we said, that was his great desire in coming into this world, to do the will of God and how well he did it. Never deviated, humbly, obedient, faithful, in spite of all that was against him. Walking worthy of the Lord and to all pleasing. Then, dear friends, in the epistle to the Thessalonians, you remember when Paul and his companions were at Thessalonica, he preached unto them that there was another king coming. Obviously, he had spoken to them about the coming kingdom. And that brought him and his companions into conflict with the authorities. They thought that he was saying, well, there's a king coming who will be in conflict with Caesar. No, he was saying there is a coming kingdom and he will take control of the whole world. Paul indicated this in many parts in his preaching. Well, when the Thessalonians believed, they enjoyed this thought that they were going to be part of that kingdom. And Paul enlarges upon it when he wrote to them. Wrote to them to encourage them in the suffering they were passing through. And he says, you ought to walk worthy of God who has called you to his kingdom and glory. Oh, dear friends, we can see clearly that the height of the Christian's walk is not any man-made standard. It's a God-made standard. It's the Lord himself. It's God himself. And people who walk in this way, without a shadow of a doubt, they would be quite happy in the presence of a holy God. There would be nothing incongruous in their life that would make them afraid. They would be quite happy, conscious that what they were doing was pleasing to God. Just as the heavens were opened on the Son of God when he was here in humble manhood, so I believe in some little measure the pleasure of God is expressed when he sees men and women, boys and girls, under the influence of the power of the blessings that they have walking here for God's glory and praise. How pleasing to heaven to see features of Christ produced in us, walking uprightly. Now we haven't time, but I make this suggestion to you, especially the younger people, but it's good for the old people too. Just go through the book of Proverbs and see the things that are mentioned about those who are upright. You'll find it very, very interesting indeed. Those who are upright, the features that attach to them, features that are well-pleasing to God. Then it says, those who work righteousness. Here it is a question of working. Now you know that if there's anything that pleases God, it's righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ, he hated iniquity and he loved righteousness. If you turn to Proverbs chapter 10, you'll find many, many features that attach to a righteous man. Read it carefully, you'll find a great blessing when you read about the righteous man in Proverbs 10. We'll see a few words about it later on. Very, very, very interesting in the way a righteous man is viewed in the sight of God. And those who work righteousness, they too can enter into the presence of a holy God without any fear of being repelled. When we come to the New Testament, a great deal of stress is placed upon working, working not to obtain salvation, but working because it's the outcome of salvation. I understand our dear brother Martin has been giving lectures on the epistle to Titus and without doubt that epistle is an epistle of good works. From beginning to end, there is an emphasis upon it. If I remember rightly, at the end of the epistle it says to be zealous of good works, to be really concerned about producing something good that's pleasing to God. We remember that the man who is mentioned in 1 Timothy chapter 3, the one who desires the work, and I think that's the proper word, not the office of a bishop, but the work of a bishop. I think Mr. Darby's translation renders it that way. If anyone desires the work of a bishop. Now there is a work, a work that is so necessary amongst the people of God, caring in righteousness for the saints, unbiased, impartial, only concerned about what pleases God and what is according to truth. Able to present the word of God as bearing upon any situation, either individually or collectively, because he has a deep, deep concern for the flock. He's not governed by any other motive except that. Not looking for praise, not looking for popularity. Someone mentioned some time ago about being popular. I said I'm not looking for popularity. Popularity is a fickle thing. Don't mind being loved, but don't want to be popular. Because popularity, you have to please this one and that one and the next one in order to remain popular. And that's no use for a Christian. Christians govern by the truth, not popularity. And those who exercise any form of shepherding amongst the people of God have to be marked by this. This working in righteousness to bear the truth of God upon any particular matter. And so this matter of working is a tremendous matter. Tremendous matter indeed. Working in righteousness to meet the eye of God, to please the heart of God, and to bring benefit to those concerned. Then we find it says, and speaketh truth in his heart. Now I've put a few things down here because I can't remember them all. But I first of all want to speak about speaking the truth in his heart. What I need there is to speak truth. Not double-tongued. Not exaggerating. Not lies. Not misrepresentation. Speaking the truth. The truth as it's known without any shadow of doubt. Not one side of any particular problem, but the whole truth. And in the book of Deuteronomy it's said specifically that searching must be given to a particular matter to discover what the truth is before any judgment is passed. Speaking the truth in his heart. Very, very important. Whether individually or connected with the company, most essential in the Christian testimony. And so dear friends, this is a very, very encouraging matter. Well, think of us going into the presence of God. The holy presence of God. Have I lied about anyone? Have I misrepresented anyone? Have I exaggerated in any particular matter to make glory for myself? Have I in any way been double-tongued? Have I in any way spoken a half-truth so that the people might believe the part that's not true? Then I wouldn't feel very, very happy in the presence of a holy God. But if I speak the truth from my heart without any bias and perfectly impartial then I can stand in the presence of a holy God without any fear of being expelled. And again, I want to draw your attention to Proverbs chapter 10. And that's why I've noted them down because I know I couldn't have remembered them. And it says, the tongue of a righteous man is a fountain of life. My, that's a beautiful expression. Someone speaking from their heart like that. A fountain of life. Refreshing. Enlivening. Something that's really worthwhile coming out of one's mouth. A fountain of life. Then it says in verse 20 of chapter 10 of Proverbs, as choice silver. Something valuable. Something that enriches. Something that helps the believer to understand. And of course we know that silver is the well-known emblem of redemption. And something to engage the soul with in this great blessing of redemption and in all its fullness. My, it's good. Can I use the expression to have a silvery tongue? Not a suave tongue that speaks in such a way to create glory for oneself. No, not that kind of tongue. A silvery tongue that presents the greatness of Christ and redemption and all that he has secured for us. Then it says the righteous, the tongue of the righteous man feeds many good, solid, spiritual food coming from the utterances of a righteous man. A man who speaks the truth from his heart without any bias as we've said so often. Speaking the truth, he can feed many. Thank God we've known such men and we've known such women who in a few sentences have been able to give us some spiritual food that has encouraged us and led us on the way pleasing to the Lord. And lastly, it says in verse 32 no, verse 31 rather wisdom. The tongue of the righteous man speaks wisdom. And that's a very, very wise thing today. In the epistle to the Corinthians, one of the gifts is a gift of wisdom. And I believe that that gift is especially concerned about the local company. It's not a tremendous mass of knowledge that brings some glory to the person concerned, but the gift of being able to say the wise thing to meet whatever is necessary. And my that is very, very valuable as you know. And here is the tongue of the righteous man that speaks wisdom. Oh, what a valuable thing that is. Paul was a wise man. Timothy was a wise man. Many, many wise men in scripture. Their tongues fed the saints with worthwhile food. Good, strong, spiritual food that was able to help them and encourage them. And also wise sayings. Sayings that were calculated to help. And then we find lastly, what is acceptable. All these other things that I mentioned like lies and exaggerations and misrepresentations. These are quite unacceptable. When you read the newspapers today and you read about trade union desires and they get made an offer, quite unacceptable. That's the thing that we read continually. Well, all these things that I'm mentioning of a negative character quite unacceptable to God. But the tongue of the righteous man, he speaks what is acceptable. What is good, acceptable to God and certainly acceptable to the saints. Well, then if you like alliterations in this second verse, we have walking and we have also the working and I don't know if I should coin the word. We have wording, but they certainly are very, very valuable features in this matter of standing in the presence of a holy God. And remember, this is always a standard in this psalm. This is the whole object of writing this psalm. David indicating, guided by the spirit, what is acceptable in the presence of a holy God. And we've been saying this recently and it's most important to say God is omniscient. He knows us through and through. It's a wonder he goes on with us. But he knows us through and through, everything about us. Our wills, our desires, what we do. Well, when we're in private no human eye sees us and we might feel well, we have a certain amount of leniency. We haven't, not as far as the eye of God is concerned in his omniscience, in his knowledge, that's the particular meaning of the word. Oh dear friends, God knows us through and through. What a challenge. Wherever we are, every day of our lives, every moment of our lives, he knows us. And also, his omnipresence. In Psalm 139 the psalmist says, Whither can I flee from thy presence? Not one of us can. Always under the eye of God. Always in the scope of his knowledge. Always there to see us and to understand what we're doing. His omnipresence, he is everywhere. Very, very solemn and searching matter. And this is what the psalmist is saying. Who's going to stand in such a God's presence? So he's indicated some moral features. Says in verse 3, very, very negative indeed. He that backbites or slandereth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. Three positive things in verse 2, three very negative things in verse 3. I'm not going to speak about these things in any detail, but they're very, very important. We could put the word slander for backbiting and it would give us the true meaning. And again in the book of Proverbs, I think I'm right in saying there are seven references to slander and the kind of thing that it creates amongst the people of God. Paul says, through evil repute and bad repute, or should I say evil report and good report. Obviously the apostle, great man that he was, knew what it was to be slandered. The Lord Jesus did. He knew what it was to be slandered. And many saints of God down through the ages have been slandered, wrongfully represented, bitterly represented. Oh dear friends, what an awful thing when anyone uses their tongue to deliberately, willfully misrepresent anyone by a slanderous tongue. And yet, unfortunately, it's done. And so we are warned here that that kind of thing is of no use whatsoever for the presence of a holy God. You remember when Aaron and Miriam they spoke against Moses? Remember what it says? Just a few words. And the Lord heard. That's a challenge. And the Lord heard. Every word that we speak, the Lord knows about it. And that should be a very, very great guard that we might be using our tongue in its proper way, not in a wrong way as this word says. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, doesn't do it. That's the point here. It's not saying that someone does it. The person who's going to be in the presence of God doesn't do it. And then it says, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. How should we act towards our neighbors? In a literal sense, the neighbors that are near to us. Maybe unconverted neighbors. Maybe very awkward to do. And I believe the story of the Good Samaritan is a very, very good story indeed. I know we spiritualize it in many ways, and we have a perfect right to do so. But always remember that when the Lord Jesus spoke that parable, he was indicating to them what it was to show mercy to our neighbors. Go, and do thou likewise. That's the real point of the parable, however much we spiritualize it. And oh dear friends, what a tremendous thing then to have in our hearts a desire for the blessing of our neighbors. Praying for them, making sure that we don't see anything or do anything that's beneath the walk of a Christian, compassion towards them, ready to help on any occasion. That's the kind of person that doesn't do evil to his neighbor. That person will stand in the presence of a holy God. The nation of Israel was warned against this kind of thing. Don't ever be hard against those who are servants or bond slaves. Remember that you also were bond slaves in Egypt. And so God reminds them of what they were and what God had been to them and what they ought to be towards others. And surely, if we have obtained mercy, we ought to be concerned about our neighbors finding mercy and make sure nothing in our lives hinders the flow of that. In verse 4, we have and I write over this verse 4 good judgment, good judgment. It says in whose eyes a vile person is condemned and he honoreth them that fear the Lord. That is this kind of person who is standing in the presence of God is fearless in his condemnation of evil no matter where it may be found. And on the other hand ready to give honor where honor is due. And then it says, he that sweareth to his own heart and changeth not. That is he puts his hand to something and suddenly he finds that's going to involve me in a great deal of difficulty, going to involve me in something that's not very pleasing to me, I'm going to change my mind. I've changed my mind about that kind of thing. No, this man, he's put his heart to it in a very definite ways before the Lord. I'm not changing my mind even though it brings me into difficulty and trial. Now I think that this requires good impartial spiritual judgment. In whose eyes a vile person is condemned. I think we have an excellent example in John the Baptist. I think in all our hearts, I think it's natural to the human heart that when we're in the presence of great people, we might feel we want to condescend to them. We might want to well what shall I say flatter them or keep in with them in some way or another. That seems to be a natural feature. John the Baptist wasn't like that. He found evil in high places and in an uncompromising way he was prepared to condemn it and lost his life for it. He wasn't prepared to say that this great man was good when he wasn't good. He was prepared to say what was right and true. That's always a great difficulty especially when other features come into play when it comes to condemning evil. Business associates, social standing, special friends, natural relatives, all sorts of things can come in to hinder a proper judgment about evil. Hence on the other hand it's equally difficult to give honor to whom honor is due. I think the Apostle Paul is one of the most delightful characters in this way. In Romans chapter 16 he has a whole list of people. He mentions some very very important ones like Timothy and Priscilla and Aquila and gives them the honor that's due to them because of their faithfulness. Then he mentions a whole list and we would never have known their names if Paul hadn't mentioned them. But he speaks about them, men and women, in the Lord. They pleased the Lord, they worked for the Lord, they did much in the Lord. Very very like what we find in the book of Nehemiah about those who built the wall. There were those who built a piece, there were some who built two pieces, but the nobles didn't put their shoulder to the work. The big people, the elite, they didn't do anything. But oh Paul is so ready to show his appreciation of those who are serving the Lord as he was. And too he commends Timothy. Timothy oh he says, he works the work of the Lord the same as I do. There was a very very high standard. Tychicus, oh he's a great man Tychicus. If you just want something to be done, send for Tychicus. He's always ready, he'll go wherever he's asked to go, he's an unavailable man. Paul was always ready to give honour where honour is due. No envy, no competition. The Christian circle is one and if all are working for the glory of God and the glory of Christ then these persons are worthy of honour in Paul's mind. Is that true in us? We mark by any spirit of envy or competition absolutely out as far as the Christian circle is concerned. No, let us honour those who are serving the Lord and wanting to glorify God and glorify Christ. And that's a very very good principle. He honoureth them that fear the Lord. These persons can stand in the presence of God. A man who's prepared to condemn evil in himself first, unsparingly in himself first. And then wherever he finds it, yes such a person can stand in the presence of God. In the presence of a holy God. And you know that holiness and sin are opposites. And sin cannot stand in the presence of God. And so here is one who is upright and true and faithful and he condemns it. As we've said in oneself first and then wherever he sees it. Honouring yes, it's very much wider than even the Christian circle. Paul was a very considerate man when he was dealing with those in high places. He speaks about most noble Festus. He says King Agrippa. Luke writing says most noble Theophilus. The courtesy that belongs to a Christian in dealing with people who are in places of office. Places of importance. It's right that we should give those courtesies. Those honors that belong to the position except one. I would not be free to refer to those in high places in Christendom who bear titles that scripture doesn't give them. Most Reverend the Pope or moderator or any title of that kind that does not belong to the Christian circle in the divine revelation. These are honors given by men in the Christian circle that have no place in the divine revelation. But in the world of men we are entitled and if we should as Christians give those courtesies as Paul did and as we should. Those who are in high places ought to be honored. So this is what this man does. Then he that sweareth to his own heart and change it not. Now if we could use a simple illustration. I vow or I swear before the Lord that I'm going to do a certain thing. Then I discover that by making this oath, by swearing in this way, by making this vow I'm going to be involved in a great deal of trouble. Maybe a great deal of expense. I never thought that this would happen. Maybe two and a great deal of unpopularity. Maybe I'm going to give myself a lot of trouble. I'm going to change my mind. I didn't really swear before the Lord in truth. No, that's not right judgment. That kind of person is double-minded. That person is selfish. So the psalmist here indicates that a person who does that is not fit to stand in the presence of a holy God. So we have to be very, very careful when we make a decision before God that we don't change it simply to suit our own ends. That would be very, very wrong indeed. Such a person wouldn't be qualified to stand in the presence of a holy God. Now lastly, we come to verse 5 and we find another three things. You'll notice that in each of the verses there are three things mentioned. Here are another three. He that putteth not out his money to usury nor taketh reward against the innocent. These are two negative things. But he that doeth these things shall never be moved. That's the final statement and that's very, very encouraging indeed. Now without going into any elaborate explanation of this verse one can write over it very, very simply. Uprightness, honesty in connection with financial matters. Not in any way being wrong, not in any way being dishonest, not in any way doing anything that's below this great level of holiness that God has. It's very, very striking that in the Acts of the Apostles again and again and again we come across this matter of money. Ananias and Sapphira. Husband and wife in collusion over money. A man thinking that he would get some money from Paul. I forget all the references but there are many and it puts money in a very, very bad light in the way people deal. And so this is what the Psalmist is saying. Such a person is not fit to stand in the presence of a holy God. We must be upright in our dealings in every way. Honest, upright before men, upright before God. And that's a very important thing in connection with Christian living. And, says the Psalmist, he that doeth these things shall never be moved. It's quite a saying, isn't it? Or a song, rather. We shall not be moved. Well, they use that song in political demonstrations, in all sorts of situations, but when you find it in scripture, it has a different connotation altogether. It means that we'll not be moved away from what is pleasing to God. Established in things that are pleasing to God. Established in things that give God glory. We shall not be moved. We are established in this desire to follow the pathway of Christ and to follow the pathway that's pleasing to our God and our Father. Well, dear brethren, these are very, very simple things, but I don't need to tell you how challenging they are and how necessary they are in your life, in mine, day by day, if, and remember this is the governing statement in the Psalm, if we are going to stand in the presence of a holy God. That's the standard, not yours, not mine, the standard that the Psalmist presents. The challenge, who is going to stand in the presence of a holy God? Well, may we all be encouraged. Praise God, we'll be in the presence of a holy God for all eternity. Not because we've been faithful, but because the Lord Jesus loved us, gave himself for us, God views us in him now at the present moment and for all eternity. Yes, we shall stand in the presence of a holy God. Isn't that a marvelous ending to the Epistle of Jude? He shall present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory now and forever. May we be encouraged for his namesake. …