Let the insolent be put to shame,because they have wronged me with falsehood;as for me, I will meditate on your precepts. Psalm 119:78 ESV Having just appealed to the LORD in the previous two verses for steadfast love to comfort him and mercy to give him life, the psalmist now turns his attention on the …
Continue reading Let the Insolent Be Put to Shame | Psalm 119:78
The voice of my beloved!Behold, he comes,leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.My beloved is like a gazelleor a young stag.Behold, there he standsbehind our wall,gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice.My beloved speaks and says to me:“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,and come away,for behold, the winter is past; the rain is …
Continue reading The Voice of My Beloved | Song of Songs 2:8-17
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;for your law is my delight. Psalm 119:77 ESV In the previous verse, the psalmist made a similar request: "Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant." Just as he appealed for God's steadfast love there, he now petitions for God's …
For most of history, poetry held a primary place in people's lives. In largely pre-literate cultures, bards functioned as the great entertainers and keepers of knowledge and story. Their performances at feasts were something like the first blockbusters, as they performed epic poems about heroic deeds that captured the history and identity of their people. …
After addressing how we are to speak to God in prayer over the past four questions, the catechism now turns to the other chief spiritual disciplines: the intake of Scripture, hearing and reading the Word of God. Don Whitney rightly calls it Scripture intake because, while we often only think of reading the Bible, hearing …
Continue reading Question 42: How Is the Word of God to Be Read and Heard?
Now that we have learned how to pray with reverence and confidence. Now comes the question: What should we pray? The answer rightly sets our sights upon the Scriptures: The whole Word of God directs and inspires us in what we should pray. Praying in accordance with God's will ought to be our supreme desire, …
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VywrflKYJkopyZ6oqhhLY?si=aF-rVwRFQpahy1JjfVfOBw This question (and answer) is an explanation of the answer to Question 29, which you may recall is the most personally significant question that anyone can ever ask: How can we be saved? That answer began with these words: “only by faith in Jesus Christ.” The meaning of those words is now the subject …
Continue reading Question 30: What Is Faith in Jesus Christ?
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, …
Continue reading Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy | Hebrews 11:32-40
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 10:2 ESV All people must wrestle to understand the perennial question of why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. Thankfully, God does not leave us to grapple with that question alone. The Book of Job is the most obvious example. …
Continue reading Treasures Gained by Wickedness Do Not Profit
Let your steadfast love comfort meaccording to your promise to your servant. Psalm 119:76 ESV As we have already seen, the psalmist is clearly writing from a place and time of affliction. His enemies encircle him like wolves, taunting him. Yet, like Job, he has not cursed God; rather, he has pointedly declared his absolute …
Continue reading Let Your Steadfast Love Comfort Me | Psalm 119:76
B. C. Newton 