You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
10 O
continue [mashak] thy lovingkindness [checed]
unto them that know [yada`] thee; and thy
righteousness [ts@daqah] to the upright [yashar] in heart [leb]. KJV-Interlinear
10 Oh,
continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to
the upright of heart! ESV
Uprightness in heart is determined by what is in your soul. What is in your soul is determined by what you learn or choose to learn. And if you choose to learn nothing then your soul will be terribly lacking in spiritual resources.
Gods loving-kindness is grace in action, or Gods mercy.
This is the application of grace, or Gods favor, from Him, to each person.
There are three types of grace.
There is common grace which applies to every human being. God provides air and water and establishment principles and an environment in which to live and function in life in this world. This everyone has.
Then there is salvation grace, in which God provides a higher level of grace to those who believe in Christ and are therefore saved.
Unbelievers do not have access to this grace as they have rejected it, by rejecting Christ.
Then there is greater grace, which applies to those who advance in their spiritual life, not as they have defined it, but as God has defined it. This is the best of all the grace that is available, and it only increases as the individual advances toward, and closes in on spiritual maturity. A person advances to spiritual maturity by means of a daily study, within fellowship, and using what he has learned, within his daily life. This builds a spiritual structure within the soul, spiritual production within ones life, and spiritual muscle forming ones faith.
And in grace, God continues common grace to all of humanity until the end of human history, and God continues grace to all believers, and greater grace to those who genuinely pursue spiritual growth.
