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“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV)
When this says here to look carefully how we walk, this is speaking of how we live our lives, the things that we do every day, and the things that we think and speak and seek after, too. For this has to do with our conduct and with our habits. What is our daily practice? What things do we do over and over again by practice (habit)? What do we watch, read, and/or listen to? How do we spend our free time? What do we live for? For self? Or God?
And we definitely need to be watching carefully with regard to how we are conducting our lives, for the days we live in now are extremely evil, and they are getting worse and worse as time goes by. And there are so many trappings out there in the world and in the world of computers and the internet and smartphones, et al, that we must be very guarded that we don’t let our eyes and minds and hearts go in the wrong direction.
So we need to conduct our lives as those who are wise, not as the unwise. And we get our wisdom from the study of the Scriptures and from our personal relationships with Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to him and to his commands in holy living. For the more we know of God and of what he wants for our lives, and the more we submit to him and to his will and purpose for our lives, the more we grow in wisdom and we reject folly.
And it is so important that we make the best use of the time we have here on this earth while we still have time. For we need to be walking closely with our Lord in fellowship with him in doing what he has called us to do. And we need to be sharing the truth of the gospel with others so that they can come to know Jesus, too, and be delivered from their slavery to sin and have the hope of eternal life with God. So we must surrender our lives to do his will.
And then, not only are we not to get drunk on alcoholic beverages, but we are not to get intoxicated to any kind of sinful habits. Our lives are not to be out of control, but under Holy Spirit control. For the grace of God which is bringing us salvation is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return (Titus 2:11-14; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26).
Instead we are to be filled with the Spirit, which is an ongoing process of daily denying self, dying daily to sin, and following our Lord in obedience to his commands. And it involves us putting off the things of the flesh, like sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, lying, stealing, and cheating, and now living in moral purity, uprightness, honesty, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. Then we make room for the Spirit in our lives, because we are now yielding to him, and not to the flesh.
And when this says to address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, this is about us sharing these with one another for the encouragement of one another in our walks of faith in the Lord, and as led by the Spirit of God in what to share. This is not talking about a public song service where we just sing along with songs others have picked out for us to sing. For this is so that we are encouraging each other.
And these songs should be biblical in nature, and be songs which glorify God and which give praise to him, but which are for the express purpose to encourage each other in our walks of faith, much like so many of the old hymns which were and still are so rich in biblical truth and righteousness. And as we do this, we should be giving thanks to the Lord in all things, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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