I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 2 Corinthians 12:2 NASB Out of body – This strange verse (and the following two verses) needs some…
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Psalm 119:1 NIV According to – When we began the long study of Psalm 119, we started by investigating the Hebrew terms for “blessed,” “blameless,” and “walk.” But we probably should have taken a long look at the preposition bĕ as…
For His kindness has overwhelmed us, and the truth of the Lord is eternal. Hallelujah! Psalm 117:2 (Chabad) Overwhelmed – When was the last time you felt overwhelmed by God’s graciousness? Have you given any thought to the amazing blessing of being alive today? Does a tune of thankfulness hum in the background of your…
Praise the Lord, all nations; Sing His praises, all peoples! Psalm 117:1 NASB Praise the Lord – We spent more than 180 days looking through the longest psalm in the Bible (Psalm 119). After all that time, I wondered if the shortest psalm carried the same theme. So, here it is, just two verses: הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־יְ֖הֹוָה…
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31 NASB By believing – I received an email advertisement. It contained the following: So, of course, I was interested. Not because I wanted to know the…
Yesterday I was in St. Kitts. After Psalm 119, I thought I would take a day off.
It seems appropriate to finish this study with some personal reflections. We’ve explored the 176 verses over the course of half a year. Looking at the psalm verse by verse revealed the depth and complexities of the grammar, vocabulary, and Hebraic thought patterns. But this microscopic examination might cloud the overall impact. After all, it…
I have wandered about like a lost sheep; search for Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments. Psalm 119:176 NASB Lost sheep – This is not the verse we expected! After 175 verses of praise for the Law, of reiterated commitment to obedience, of line after line extolling God’s graciousness, we expected this verse to be…
Let my soul live that it may praise You, and let Your ordinances help me. Psalm 119:175 NASB Live/ help – We don’t need to mention the mistaken translation “soul.” You certainly know that nepeš isn’t “soul,” which is the Greek term psyche. But we should note the idea that praise can only happen while we…
I long for Your salvation, Lord, and Your Law is my delight. Psalm 119:174 NASB Long – Twice. The Hebrew tāʾeb is used only twice, here and in verse 40 of this psalm. The derivative, taʿăbâ, is only used once, in verse 20 of the same psalm. Psalm 119:40 “Behold, I long for Your precepts; . . .” Psalm…
