Ruling Power

The sovereign rejoices in Your strength, O YHWH; and how greatly he exults in Your deliverance! Psalm 21:1 (Institute of Scripture Research) In Your strength – Politicians of all flavors seem to think of themselves as royalty.  They act as if they hold exalted offices, exempting them from common decency (and common sense).  In contrast,…

Two For The Money

YHWH, in Your strength the king rejoices and in Your deliverance how he rejoices greatly!   Psalm 21:1 (my translation) Rejoices – English just doesn’t cut it.  English is a language focused on things.  So, we have dozens of words to distinguish slight variables in things.  Just think about the many different words we have that…

Double Down

YHWH, in Your strength the king rejoices and in Your deliverance how he rejoices greatly!  Psalm 21:2 (Hebrew text, my translation) Strength / Deliverance – It’s Oz, but there’s no wizard.  It’s deliverance but there’s no background music.  Of course, you have to be “old” to understand these allusions.  I won’t apologize for that.  Age…

Fearful Joy

Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:11 Trembling – What a strange combination? Joy is supposed to be accompanied by contentment and peace, not a protective adrenaline rush. We tremble when fear grips us. But the Biblical accounts paint a different picture. “Woe is me” says Isaiah. He trembles before the…