When you are in trouble

There are a number of ideas about David’s circumstances in Psalm 27, but no one is certain what actually was happening to him. But one thing is certain — he was tempted to despair. Notice all the different phrases he used to indicate the oppression he was under: fear (vv. 1, 3), dread (think “panicked […]

He cares

Philip Yancey recounts the words of a man with leprosy who visited Dr. Paul Brand, who had done much research on that disease: “When I got to Vellore, I spent the night on the Brand’s verandah, because I had nowhere else to go. That was unheard of for a person with leprosy back then. I […]

He does all things well

It’s just one tiny sentence at the end of a story, but it’s the key to understanding the story. After Jesus healed the Syrophoenician’s daughter of the demon and healed the deaf man by touching him with His saliva (Mark 7), along with other unnamed miracles, the crowd declared, “He has done all things well…” […]

Self-examination questions

Self-examination is always good in the life of the believer. In Psalm 26, David articulates a number of areas of his life that reflect his integrity before the Lord. These assertions are a good place for the believer to ask questions about his own life with God and Christ: Is the overall character of my […]

Valentine’s Day: God’s love for His own

What is God’s unique love for His redeemed people? He made us His children and given us One who is greater than the one in the world Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 Jn 4:4) […]

A psalm of the cross

Psalm 22 is familiar to many readers not so much for the psalm itself, but for how Christ and the New Testament writers used this psalm. Spurgeon calls it “The Psalm of the Cross,” writing, “It is the photograph of our Lord’s saddest hours, the record of his dying words, the lachrymatory of his last […]

The benefits of Scripture

Most decisions we make are run through the benefits grid, as in, “what’s in it for me?” Or, “how will this help me?” If you are offered a new job, an early question is, “what’s the benefits package?” When you consider a change in diet or exercise, you want to know, “how will this help […]

I have set the Lord continually before me

Contemplating Psalm 16:8-9, Spurgeon [in The Treasury of David] outlines the importance and benefits of an ongoing consideration of and meditation on God: A sense of the divine presence our best support. It yields, 1. Good confidence concerning things without. I shall not be moved. 2. Good cheer within. My heart is glad. 3. Good […]

I will sing to the Lord

Today is Sunday. So the first part of Psalm 13:6 resonates (at least a little) with us: “I will sing to the Lord.” It’s fitting. It’s right. It’s what we should do. It’s what we have to do. We will sing. But notice why David says he will sing: “because He has dealt bountifully with […]

Complacent about God?

Can I ask you a question? Have you become complacent about God? If you’re not sure, then consider these marks of complacency: apathy about worship a sense of emptiness when you read God’s Word a sense of emptiness when you communicate with the God of the universe spiritual dryness an overwhelming feeling of worry and […]

He has authority

Writing in World a few years ago, Gene Veith observed that, “People today want to feel moral. But they do not want objective, transcendent absolutes — such as the Ten Commandments — whose authority comes from God.…They prefer to construct an ethical system that does not make them feel guilty.” In general, people want authority, […]

Sunday Leftovers — Psalm 119:24

Charles Bridges’ comments on Psalm 119:24 (“Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors”) are a fitting summary to this morning’s sermon on the third stanza of that great Psalm — What could we want more in a time of difficulty than comfort and direction? David had both these blessings. As the fruit […]

Trust in the Lord

We know God is infinite in all His attributes. And that, by definition, means that there can be no limitations to His abilities and works. As Jesus has said, “All things are possible with God” (Mk. 10:27). We know that. And yet we struggle to believe it. We are very much like the father of […]

What grace we have received

John 1:16 has long been one of my favorite verses — “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” The verse is written in the context of the coming of the eternally existing Word — the One who is co-existent with God and is God Himself. The Word, the second member […]

The path

Like planning a route with Google maps, many people today are designing and outlining the moral pathway they will take this year. Out with the old, in with the new. All the well-worn, dead-end paths of the past will be forsaken and a new route will be followed. Whether we will or will not succeed […]