Rosanne and I are on the way back to Parma. Last week I spent three lovely days with baby Malaki. He was alert, hungry, and being a typical baby. However, it is too soon to tell if he will have ongoing complications from the hematoma, so continued prayers are needed. The big test comes at…
I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. Psalm 71:16 NASB Make mention – What do you think about the choice “make mention” for the verb zākar? Does it capture the feeling of this verse? Not for me! “I will come with the mighty deeds”…
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the art of writing. Psalm 71:15 NASB Art of writing – A bit ironic, don’t you think? According to this translation, here is a poet writing that he doesn’t know the art of writing. Does that make sense? Everything thus…
But as for me, I will wait continually, and will praise You yet more and more. Psalm 71:14 NASB But as for me – The Mosaic Code seems to exhort fundamental conformity and compliance. After all, how much freedom can a man enjoy when there are rules for everything: what to eat, what to wear, how…
May those who are enemies of my soul be put to shame and consumed; may they be covered with disgrace and dishonor, who seek to injure me. Psalm 71:13 NASB Shame/ disgrace/ dishonor – Before the Greeks invented reward and punishment in the afterlife, Semitic societies focused ethical attention on contemporary experience. Cut off from the Egyptian preoccupation with the…
God, do not be far from me; my God, hurry to my aid! Psalm 71:12 Hurry – You remember these lines from another psalm? “How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long am I to feel anxious in my soul, with grief in my heart all the day? How long will…
Saying, “God has abandoned him; pursue and seize him, for there is no one to save him.” Psalm 71:11 NASB Abandoned – What are the consequences of living in a religiously public world? What do people assume to be true if their paradigm claims that public circumstances are the direct result of the will of God? These…
For my enemies have spoken against me; and those who watch for my life have consulted together, Psalm 71:10 NASB Watch for my life – Don’t read this as if others are watching over you! In this verse, the psalmist identifies those who watch in order to see him fail. They’ve teamed up with his enemies and…
Do not cast me away at the time of my old age; Do not abandon me when my strength fails. Psalm 71:9 Cast me away – Retire sooner—die sooner. Oh, oops! I thought that should have read, “Retire sooner—live longer,” but in fact the research seems to point in the other direction. A study reported in the Harvard…
Baby Malaki had EEG, blood test, and ultrasound. The neurologist told Michael that they will be able to determine a care plan after evaluation, but he said it does not appear to be more damage. Malaki will be in the ICU today and maybe tomorrow. However, my son, Michael, his father, is really struggling with…
