Psalm 15:4c - We Must Keep Our Promises To Have Fellowship With God.
Psalm 15:4c; We Must Keep Our Promises To Have Fellowship With
God.
Psalm 15:4c (KJV) He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth
not.
Psalm 15:4c (NRSV) who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
Psalm 15:4c (NAB) Who keeps an oath despite the cost,
Psalm 15:4c (NJB) who stands by an oath at any cost,
Psalm 15:4c (GWT) The one who makes a promise and does not break
it,
Psalm 15:4c (MSG) Keep your word even when it costs you,
Perhaps next to Ps. 23, Ps. 15 is the best known and most
generally appreciated of the psalms. It is called The Good Citizen and
God's Gentleman, and is the most complete statement of the ideal man
to be found in the Psalter. The Talmud says that the 613
commandments of the Pentateuch are all summarized in this psalm. [SDA
Commentary]
Instruction to those who wish to have access to God. [NIV SB]
Not sacrifices or ritual purity (as among the religions of the
ancient Near East) but moral righteousness gives access to the Lord God
[NIV SB]
Only the person who lives a righteous life has fellowship with
the LORD. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
God calls his people to be morally upright, and, in this psalm,
he gives us ten standards to determine how we are doing. We live
among evil people whose standards and morals are eroding. Our
standards for living should not come from our evil society, but from God.
[Life Application SB]
This simple description provides a good checklist against which
to measure ourselves. And what a promise! "He who does these things
will never be shaken." [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
Vss 3-4 Words are powerful, and how you use them reflects on
your relationship with God. Perhaps nothing so identifies Christians
as their ability to control their speech--speaking the truth,
refusing to slander, and keeping oaths (promises). Watch out for what you
say. (See James 3:1-12 for more on the importance of controlling your
tongue.) [Life Application SB]
Vs 4c To his own hurt. When he has made a promise or has entered
into a contract that may turn out to his own hurt, he still remains
true to his pledged word. "His word is as good as his bond." [SDA
Commentary]
What are the responsibilities of a citizen of America? (Answer:
to protect, defend, and abide by the Constitution of the United
States.)
What are the responsibilities of a citizen of heaven? (Answer:
to protect, defend, and abide by the Word of God.)
Psalm 15 resembles in miniature form the Christian's
Constitution, for in it you will find the demands incumbent upon those who
would call heaven their home. It provides a conduct manual to guide
you into activities consistent with your citizenship.
There are eleven parts to the psalmist's answer, and they touch
on virtually every area of daily life: integrity in your speech and
conduct (v. 2), use of your tongue (v. 3), attitude toward sin and
worship (v. 4), faithfulness in keeping your promises (v. 4), use of
money (v. 5). In short, your fellowship with God is vitally affected
by your fellowship of the precepts contained in his Word. Both are
essential if you are to have a heart for God.
Now bring the psalm down to where you live and work. Every time
you encounter a "anyone who ....." in Psalm 15, substitute the words
"Do I ......?" Let the mirror of God's Word reflect back to you an
accurate picture of your conduct as a citizen of heaven ....... and show you
where an activity or attitude needs to come under the King's control.
[Daily Walk Bible]
Guidance from the Psalms (Ps. 15)
I was teaching a short, two-day course at Princeton Seminary's
continuing education center, when I realized how much I did not want to
come back the next summer.
Several months earlier I'd said that I would come to teach a
two-week summer course. But as I flew east from my Phoenix home, I felt
how much I missed my family. And I remembered about all the writing
I had to do during those summer months. The thought of two weeks
away during the next summer became almost unbearable.
So I decided, the last day of my short visit, that I'd tell the
seminary that I just couldn't make it.
But that morning, my daily psalm "just happened" to be Psalm 15.
As I read, one verse seemed to jump off the page and confront me.
The blameless man "keeps his oath even when it hurts" (v. 4). I knew
then that I had to return.
Usually when I read the Psalms it's for personal enrichment
and/or worship. They lift up my thoughts and my heart to the LORD. But
now and then God has a personal word of guidance for me in a psalm.
And when God speaks, there's nothing to do but to listen and obey.
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
If God gives himself to us in promises, we must give ourselves
to him in obedience. [Daily Walk Bible mod.]
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