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Showing posts from September, 2016

Reflections on the Old Testament: Psalms and Proverbs

“T o Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, for His mercy endures forever; and brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy endures forever; with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who divided the Red Sea in two, for His mercy endures forever; and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for His mercy endures forever; but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who struck down great kings, for His mercy endures forever; and slew famous kings, for His mercy endures forever—Sihon king of the Amorites, for His mercy endures forever; and Og king of Bashan, for His mercy endures forever—and gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy endures forever; a heritage to Israel His servant, for His mercy endures forever. Who remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy endures forever; and rescued us from our ene

Reflections on the Old Testament: Psalms and Proverbs

“T o Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, for His mercy endures forever; and brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy endures forever; with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who divided the Red Sea in two, for His mercy endures forever; and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for His mercy endures forever; but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who struck down great kings, for His mercy endures forever; and slew famous kings, for His mercy endures forever—Sihon king of the Amorites, for His mercy endures forever; and Og king of Bashan, for His mercy endures forever—and gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy endures forever; a heritage to Israel His servant, for His mercy endures forever. Who remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy endures forever; and rescued us from our e

Reflections on the Old Testament: Psalms

P salm 101, “a psalm of David,” appears to be David’s vow to judge and guide Israel as king: but, upon closer examination, it is not difficult to see the relevance it bears upon the modern-day Christian. “I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart,” Ps. 101:2 (NKJV). In this verse, and indeed all throughout Psalm 101, David displays a great deal of confidence in his own moral perfection—but how can this be? David, of all people, knew that no human being is perfect, that we are all riddled with flaws and sins; therefore, what business has he to speak of moral perfection? To answer this question, we must go back over Psalm 101 and highlight a few key phrases. For example, observe in verse two what appears to be something of a non sequitur: “Oh, when will You come to me?” the psalmist cries out amid his moral resolutions. But that phrase directly provides the answer to our puzzlement. David recognizes, as ever