Tuesday, December 5, 2006

The Excellent Ones

As for the saints who are on the earth,
They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
(Psalm 16:3)
Who are the excellent ones? The saints who are on the earth. The Hebrew word for “saints” is qadosh, which means “holy.” To be holy means to be set apart for a special purpose. The saints are those who are set apart by God for His special. They are the godly ones, those who seek after God, to love Him, serve Him and trust Him with all their hearts.

Why does David, the psalmwriter, delight in the saints of God? It is because He has first delighted in God Himself. As he says in the previous verse:
O my soul, you have said to the LORD,
“You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from you.”
(Psalm 16:2)

To delight in the LORD means, in part, to love what He loves.
  • David delighted in God: “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you’re the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
  • The LORD delights in His people: “For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation” (Psalm 149:4).
  • Therefore, David delighted in the people of the LORD, too.
Of the saints, the people of God, David says, “They are the excellent ones.” To lay out the meaning a bit more: “They are the great ones, the majestic ones, the powerful ones, the glorious ones.”

Then David adds, “In whom is all my delight.” The Hebrew word for “delight” here is the same one used in Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the Law, and in His law he meditates both day and night.” As much as we are to delight in the Word of God, that is how much we are to delight in the people of God.

Now, to delight in the people of God does not mean that we are going to agree on everything. It doesn’t even mean that we are always going to get along. We might not even always agree to disagree. No matter. But to delight in the people of God means that I am always going to believe and look for God’s best in them. Through faith in Jesus Christ they have become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). They have received the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), and the fruit of the Spirit is present within their beings (Galatians 5:23-24). They are being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), and as He is, so are they in this world (1 John 4:17). They have a rich inheritance and a wonderful calling, and it is an honor to walk with them in this life.

Every Tuesday morning, it is my privilege to lead a small group of men in worship and Bible study. These are mighty men of God, men of faith who have learned to look to the Lord in everything. They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

Once a month, I meet with a diverse group of pastors, and I get to lead them in a time of worship as we enter into prayer and intercession for our city. They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

The little church where we fellowship, Revival Outreach Center in Dover, FL, is full of people who are continually pressing into the heart of God, stretching and enlarging to extend the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to others in our community and around the world. They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

Father, thank You for all my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. I thank You for what You are doing in them. Because you see Jesus in them, I will look and see Jesus in them, too. For they are the excellent ones, the majestic ones, the glorious ones, the powerful ones, in whom is all my delight. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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