Ephesians 4:17-24; Psalm 72

Ephesians 4:17-24
OK to review a little, Paul has encouraged us to strive for unity and maturity. In these final verses, he emphasizes purity. In v. 17 he tells them not to live as other Gentiles do. The Ephesians themselves were Gentiles so I think it's perfectly consistent to say that we should not live as unbelievers do. They are hopelessly confused. The picture Paul paints in vv. 18-19 is not a pretty one. Their minds are full of darkness; they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against God. "They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity."

This isn't what we've learned from Christ. Because of the truth we've learned about Jesus, we are to throw off our old sinful nature, our former corrupt life. Instead we are to let the Holy Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. We are to put on our new nature, "created to be like God--truly righteous and holy."

One thing that stood out to me in this passage is that we are to let the Holy Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. Of course, we know that we should also have right actions, and we will see many of those actions in the remainder of the chapter. But really, it has to start with thoughts and attitudes. If these are under the Holy Spirit's control, we will be at peace with God, and our actions will follow.

Psalm 72
Solomon is the author of this psalm. It's about the perfect king and looks forward to the reign of the Perfect King Himself, the Lord Jesus.

We don't have a king in this country, but we can make application to our President and other leaders.
What qualities does God consider important for a leader?

• He (or she!) will judge God's people in the right way. v. 2
• He will always treat the poor fairly. v. 2
• He will encourage prosperity. v. 3, 7
• He will defend the poor and rescue the children of the needy. v. 4, 12-14
• He will punish oppressors. v. 4
• He will fear the Lord forever--as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains in the sky! v. 5
• The godly will flourish during his time in power. v. 7
• He will be respected in other places. v. 10-11
• We are to pray for him. v. 19

All of these qualities can be applied to King Jesus! vv. 12-19 seem to especially refer to Him. He will defend the helpless who have no one to defend them for they are precious to Him. vv. 12-14. He is worthy of all praise. "May the king's name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and bring him praise. Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does such wonderful things. Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!"

The Life Application Study Bible gives this explanation for v. 20 "Psalms is traditionally broken up into five 'books.' Book Two ends with 'Amen and amen.' as did Psalm 41, which closed Book One. This last verse does not mean that David wrote this psalm but that he wrote most of the psalms in Book Two."