After the solemn warnings in Psalm 125, you couldn’t find a more hopeful song than Psalm 126. Psalm 126 is divided in two by a short prayer in verse 4. Before this prayer, the first half (vv 1-3) looks back to a glorious deliverance and remembers the “great things” the Lord has done (vv 2-3). The second half (vv […]
The PROMISED MESSIAH (the CHRIST): “We have found the Messiah” (Jn 1:41). The promised Messiah is the creator of all (Ps 102:25-27; Jn 1:3; Heb 1:10-12). He is declared to be the Son of God (Ps 2:7; Lk 1:31-35; Mt 3:16-17; Heb 1:5-6), and was to call God His Father (Ps 89:26; Mt 11:27). Indeed, […]
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (Jn 17:17). Noah Webster (1758-1843) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to a weaver and his wife. Educated at Yale, in 1783 he wrote A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, earning its nickname, the “Blue-Backed Speller,” because of its blue cover. For over 100 years, Webster’s […]
Tommy Rowden had just been gloriously saved and couldn’t wait to tell his friends during coffee break at the plant where he worked. But the in-house infidel was quick to retort, “You can’t believe the Bible! It’s full of mistakes.” “For instance?” “Like, where did Cain get his wife?” Tommy hadn’t heard that one, but […]
Jerusalem, with its glorious throne and holy temple, was to be a magnet, pulling their hearts to the Lord. Let’s take a deeper look at Psalm 125. As we’ve noted, the first two verses are about God’s presence and His protection. Then verse 3 is a promise: “For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to […]
JESUS’ GRACE with COMMON FOLK: “Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:4). Jesus was known for His patience with the disadvantaged and His love for common folk. “He erected three monuments to humble service: a cup of cold water, a widow’s two mites, and the […]
“The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; give me understanding, and I shall live” (Ps 119:144). Few things last. Shakespeare penned the words: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more” (Macbeth). Or in more contemporary terms: “Some things matter, […]
There is great irony in the notion that salvation means “giving your life to Christ.” Sinners are dead and have no life to give; it is Christ who gives His life to us. Note four precious New Testament phrases that remind us of God’s four bank accounts from which He pours out His resources to […]
Some Jews today use Shaddai as an acronym for Shomer Daltot Yisrael, “Guardian of Israel’s doors.” Today an Orthodox Jew would not read the words of Psalm 125:1-2 as they’re written: “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people […]