Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Peter 1:1 NASB Bond-servant – “Greeks have a strong sense of freedom. Personal dignity consists of freedom. There is thus a violent…
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Peter 1:1 NASB Our God and Savior, – Peter, actually Shim’on called Kepha (i.e. Petros in Greek), is a Jew. Yes, he…
Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion; bless the Lord, O my soul! Psalm 103:22 NASB You works – In the final address of the psalm, David moves from personal self-reflection to the widest possible view, the whole cosmos. “All you works” is the Hebrew kal-ma’asay. It means…
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will. Psalm 103:21 NASB Will – What does it mean to do God’s will? We often think it must mean fulfilling His commandments and ordinances or listening to the guidance of the Spirit or acting in righteous ways. But I’m not so…
Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Psalm 103:20 NASB Angels – One of the traditional Shabbat prayers is Shalom Alechem. In the prayer, the dinner guests at the Shabbat table invoke the peace of ministering angels, malechay ha-sharet. David employs the same idea…
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103:19 NASB Sovereignty – What has YHVH established in the heavens? His throne. What does that mean? Ah, now you must be very careful with your answer. If you read the text according to the NASB translation, you will…
To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them. Psalm 103:18 NASB To do them – Who will be saved? The striking difference between Christian and Jewish thinking on this question is incorporated in David’s declaration. If you are going to experience YHVH’s hesed, then you must be numbered among those…
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, Psalm 103:17 NASB To children’s children – What’s the connection? Hesed operates between related parties. It isn’t like grace (hen). Hesed presupposes some already-existing connection. Once in place, hesed governs the continuing relationship…
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, Psalm 103:17 NASB From everlasting to everlasting – “How far is it?” The nine-year-old in the backseat asked this question about every ten minutes until we arrived at the butterfly garden. But as…
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer. Psalm 103:16 NASB It is no more – Where will you be when it’s over? According to this psalm, you and I will be ‘ene—nowhere! The root is ‘ayin. “This word is basically a negative substantive used…
