Distinctive Features of Psalm 80

February 17, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 80 is a psalm of three movements or stanzas of unequal length. The first stanza (vv. 1–3) is introductory and calls on God to hear, stir up his strength and come to save Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. The second stanza (vv. 4–7) asks God how long he will be angry with his people. The…

The Importance of Brotherly Admonition

February 14, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
One of the means our Lord has provided both to keep us from sin and to bring us back from it is brotherly admonition. The health of the church and its members demands it, but we seldom use it when we should. Probably there are many reasons for it, but I suspect that the main…

The Message of Leviticus

January 27, 2025Posted inLeviticus
If forced to decide, many Christians today would probably say that the book of Leviticus is the least important of all the books of the Bible. It is full of laws, and these laws are mostly ceremonial, about sacrifices, consecration of priests, clean and unclean animals, leprosy and so on. When I was a child…

Psalm 80: Restore Us!

January 20, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 80 is a psalm of three movements or stanzas of unequal length. The first stanza (vv. 1–3) is introductory and calls on God to hear, stir up his strength and come to save Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. The second stanza (vv. 4–7) asks God how long he will be angry with his people. The…

Psalm 47: The Peoples and the People

January 13, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
In the psalms some translations do not always render the plural of the Hebrew word am (people) as peoples. Yet the psalms maintain a significant distinction between the singular and plural of the word. When it appears in the singular, it refers to Israel, the people of God. When it occurs in the plural, it…

Psalm 89: Renouncing the Unbreakable Covenant

January 9, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 89 is theologically rich. Its main ideas are God’s covenant with David and his lovingkindness and faithfulness as revealed in it, but there are many other ideas as well: the glory, power and righteousness of God (vv. 6–14), the fear of God (v. 7), the blessedness of God’s people (vv. 15–18), election (v. 19),…

Psalm 85: A Psalm of Turning Back

December 30, 2024Posted inPsalms Commentary
The most frequently used and important word in Psalm 85 is a very common Hebrew word that means to return or turn back. It occurs five times in the first 8 verses of the psalm. The first time is in verse 1: You have shown favor, O Yahweh, to your land. You have turned back…

Genesis 3:15: The Seed of the Woman

December 23, 2024Posted inCovenants, Genesis
In this second part of the book we will be looking at some of the themese that appear repeatedly in the covenants of God with men. These themes demonstrate that the various covenants of God with men unite as one great work of God to accomplish and promise salvation in Christ and the renewal of…

The Sabbath as the Sign of the Mosaic Covenant

December 9, 2024Posted inCovenants, Exodus, Sabbath
Exodus 31:12-17 teach us that the Sabbath is a sign of God's covenant with Israel established at Mt. Sinai. The passage is arranged chiastically: A Verse 13: the Sabbath is a sign between the Lord and the children of Israel. B Verse 14a: you shall keep the Sabbath. C Verse 14b: Whoever profanes the Sabbath…