Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Psalm 91 is an interesting psalm because of who speaks in it. There are three responses to the statement made in verse 1. The first responder is the psalmist in verse 2 because we can see that the first person singular is used – he is probably responding to his own assertion, although it could have been made by another. Then we have a second responder in verses 3-13 who replies to the psalmist’s confident statement. Finally, we have a third responder in verses 14-16, and he is the Lord himself making wonderful promises to the person who dwells close to the Lord. The safe place (v. 1) The psalmist likens God to a shelter in which his people can dwell. I think the background is someone living in the desert with its arid landscape and hot sun beating down on him unless he gets some shade. The desert and the sun illustrate the spiritual dryness of the world. Yet a believer can have divine company and protection as he makes his way through life. Although he is in the world, he is als...

A  few days ago, we opened our presents with a sense of gratitude. If someone asked us what we received we would be able to tell them. We could also specify which person gave them to us. Others would think we were ungrateful if all we could say was that we received some gifts from relatives and friends. Our response would imply that we had not thought at all about them.  What would the person think if we said to him that one of the gifts was so wonderful that it was indescribable? Would he expect us to say nothing else about it? I suspect he would do the opposite and say to us, ‘Well, you can tell me some details about it, surely!’ That is the meaning of inexpressible. We cannot use it of something that is not worth talking about. Paul has been encouraging the Corinthians to complete their contribution to a collection he was gathering from other churches to help the church in Jerusalem which was in great need at that time. One of the motives that he uses to stimulate thei...

What would a psychiatrist make of Asaph, the composer of several psalms in the Psalter, including Psalm 77? One negative psalm may be regarded as a one-off experience, but if we read the psalms of Asaph we will see that he tends to mention the dark side of religion. The psychiatrist may want Asaph to change his approach. But what if Asaph is right, and his experience is the normal for believers in the God of salvation? The psalm begins with a strong affirmation of confidence that God answers the prayers of his people. It closes with a reference to what God did at the Exodus when he led his people to the promised land after he had delivered them from Egypt. How and why did the psalmist get from stating a positive affirmation about prayer to thinking about what the Lord had done many centuries before? Hopefully we can find the answer to that question. The certainty We can see Asaph’s statement of certainty in verse 1. Why did Asaph cry aloud? I doubt if he th...

Sometimes, when a major activity is planned, appropriate agents are lined up in order to promote the event. In this passage, we have a very important event that needs to be conveyed to others and those in charge put together what they regard as suitable agents to announce it. Who are the agents? Angels and shepherds. Who are the Owners of the business? The triune God. What is the business? The kingdom of God and its future. Men at work Luke mentions that the shepherds were employed looking after one flock. Evidently, it was a large flock since it required several shepherds to look after it and protect it from marauders, whether human or animal. The existence of such a flock near a smallish village like Bethlehem has raised questions about the reason for it being there. One suggestion is that the sheep were kept there before being taken to the temple for sacrifices, and if that is the case then there is something striking about the fact that the One who would remove the n...

In this passage about husbands and wives, Paul mentions, almost in passing, several truths about the relationship between the church and Jesus. Yet they are all important, so we can reflect on these truths briefly as we study this passage. The first truth is that Jesus is united to his church. This truth is stressed in this letter by the frequent use of the words ‘in Christ’ or similar expressions. When did this union begin? The answer is that it began in eternity, which is another way of saying that it had no beginning. It has always been the case as far as Jesus was concerned. His people were chosen in him before the creation of the world. All other aspects that we will mention are connected to this basic reality of union with Christ. There are many illustrations of union with Christ found in the New Testament. Here are some examples: shepherd and sheep, vine and branches, bridegroom and bride, foundation and building, and head and body. All of them highlight that ...

The coming of the wise men to Jerusalem is a reminder that we have our years wrong in our use of BC and AD. Herod the Great died around 4BC, and since Jesus was born before the death of Herod, we can see that the number we use for our years is not accurate.   The wise men come to Jerusalem There has been different suggestions as to who the wise men were and where they came from, but no one knows exactly. All we have to go on is what is recorded in this brief account by Matthew. We are told that about two years had passed since they first saw the star (it is unlikely that Herod waited a long time for the wise men to return from Bethlehem with the information he wanted, so his cruel response would be soon after their arrival in Jerusalem, which means that the two years would include all the details mentioned in the passage).  If the wise men started their journey soon after they first saw the star, it would mean that they travelled very slowly to Israel. For example, ...