The True Faith? Yesterday I received an email advertisement. It contained the following: So, of course, I was interested. Not because I wanted to know the heroic stories of the apostles, but because I was fascinated by the idea that the apostles’ stories would provide me with the Jewish roots of Christianity. I simply can’t…
I hurried and did not delay to keep Your commandments. Psalm 119:60 NASB Hurried/ delay – If you were offered personal advice from someone you absolutely trusted, someone you knew loved you completely, would you take your time getting to the meeting? The psalmist wouldn’t. He employs two verbs in order to emphasize the urgency…
I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies. Psalm 119:59 NASB Considered/ turned – I know, I know. You’re getting tired of all these grammar lessons. I’d say the same thing if it weren’t for the interesting variety of translations. You have to wonder how both Jewish and Christian scholars can justify such…
I sought Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your word. Psalm 119:58 NASB Sought – The Hebrew verb here is ḥālâ. Fairly straightforward. Except – except that ḥālâ has two different semantic domains. ḥālâ I means “to become sick, weak, diseased,” while ḥālâ II means “to beseech, entreat, pray.” How can we tell the…
The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. Psalm 119:57 NASB חֶלְקִ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה אָמַ֗רְתִּי לִשְׁמֹ֥ר דְּבָרֶֽיךָ חִלִּ֣יתִי פָנֶ֣יךָ בְכָל־לֵ֑ב חָ֜נֵּ֗נִי כְּאִמְרָתֶֽךָ חִשַּׁ֥בְתִּי דְרָכָ֑י וָֽאָשִׁ֥יבָה רַ֜גְלַ֗י אֶל־עֵֽדֹתֶֽיךָ חַשְׁתִּי וְלֹ֣א הִתְמַהְמָ֑הְתִּי לִ֜שְׁמֹ֗ר מִצְוֹתֶֽיךָ חֶבְלֵ֣י רְשָׁעִ֣ים עִוְּדֻ֑נִי תּ֜וֹרָֽתְךָ֗ לֹ֣א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי חֲצ֥וֹת לַ֗יְלָה אָ֖קוּם לְהוֹד֣וֹת לָ֑ךְ עַ֜֗ל מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י צִדְקֶֽךָ חָבֵ֣ר אָ֖נִי לְכָל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְרֵא֑וּךָ וּ֜לְשֹֽׁמְרֵ֗י פִּקּוּדֶֽיךָ חַסְדְּךָ֣ יְ֖הֹוָה מָֽלְאָ֣ה הָאָ֑֗רֶץ…
This has become mine, that I comply with Your precepts. Psalm 119:56 NASB Comply – Did you think we’ve completely mined this verse after yesterday’s investigation? Well, we learned that “This has become mine” is probably better understood as a statement of identity rather than possession. It’s not something that I have acquired. Rather, it’s a…
This has become mine, that I comply with Your precepts. Psalm 119:56 NASB Has become mine – My wife, Rosanne, carries an Italian identity card. Anywhere she goes in the EU, all she needs is this little card as her identification document. Of course, this is an entirely modern invention. In the past, identity was a…
Lord, I remember Your name in the night, and keep Your Law. Psalm 119:55 NASB In the night – Does this verse seem a little too pedestrian? Too trivial? Why should we care at all about what we remember in the night? What does it matter when we’re on our way to sleep? Ah, but then there’s…
Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Psalm 119:54 NASB Pilgrimage – Have you walked the Camino de Santiago? It takes about thirty-five days to complete. It’s made up of trails, streets, roads, and paths that, according to legend, is the route taken by James. Thousands of people travel this journey every…
Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, who abandon Your Law. Psalm 119:53 NASB Burning indignation – Once more the poet finds a rarely used word to arrest our attention. zalʿāpâ shows up only here and in Lamentations 5:10. It’s about heat, lots of heat. In Lamentations it describes the results of famine. Here it…
