In Psalm 30:5, sorrow is viewed as an overnight guest, but the next morning joy moves in to stay. The 30th Psalm, a prayer, is a study in contrasts. But first there’s a play on words. “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up” (v 1). Of course, “extol” means to lift up as well, […]
CHRIST the RESURRECTED ONE: “In our thinking we must not leave Christ on the cross; for God did not leave Him there. He ‘raised Him from the dead,’ and set Him on the throne, and made Him Lord of all. With what a rebound did the “energy of the might of God’s strength” (Eph 1:19) […]
“A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not […]
“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I” (Job 15:6). The concept of evil is nonsensical if there is no God. If everything just evolved from nothing, it’s as foolish to say a rotten man is evil as it is to say a rotten apple is evil. If I am only biology, then I am […]
“Storms help to make the sailors sturdy, and trials help to make Christians strong in faith.” —C.H. Spurgeon The first three lines of Psalm 29 are labeled Climacteric Parallelism. The idea is that the lines repeat, but at each step they move you towards a climax: “Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,” but what should […]
CHRIST, GOD’S ANOINTED (Ps 2:2). In his book, The Names and Titles of Christ, Francis Derk explains: Anointing in the OT symbolized the giving of the Holy Spirit and solemn consecration to the service of God. It was performed on the three offices of the theocracy: Prophet, Priest and King…In the fullest sense it was […]
“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord” (Ps 40:2-3). God is not […]
J. Oswald Sanders recounts the story of a believer who had tried every way to share the gospel with an elderly lady. He had used all the well-known gospel verses—John 3:16, Romans 10:9 and the like—but all to no avail. She just couldn’t get it. As he was preparing to visit her again, the Christian […]
“Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear;…Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.” —George Croly David declares himself to be one of those people Jesus described who had built their lives on the “Rock” (Ps 28:1; Mt 7:24-27). What a wonderful vantage place, especially when life’s storms hit us. But in this psalm David faces […]