Combination Punch

Of David, a contemplation. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom YHWH does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psalm 32:1-2 Forgiven/Covered/Does Not Charge/No Guile – Now that we see the parallelism in David’s maskil, we must draw the connecting…

The Sin Virus

Of David, a contemplation. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalm 32:1 Transgression/ Sin – Hebrew poetry rhymes ideas, not sounds.  One Hebrew technique is parallel construction.  In this technique, the first idea is matched with a second parallel idea and one idea elaborates the thought of the other.  In…

Half Way There

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Confess – Let’s translate this verse according to contemporary standards: “If we admit our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins.” In Hollywood terms, this is the equivalent…

One Leads To Another

And the man called the name of his wife, Eve, because she became the mother of all living.  Genesis 3:20 Eve – Of course, we know that the name Eve is a corruption of the real text.  The man did not call her Eve.  He called her by the Hebrew name Havvah.  Why is it…

The Nature of God

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; Psalm 79:9 Help Us – I’m just guessing but I suspect that each of us has vocalized a prayer just like this one.  No matter what your circumstances in life, there will always be a time when you ask for God’s help. …

The Unforgiven

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 Neither – How easily we gloss over and diminish the harsh reality of Jesus’ teaching!  You won’t hear much about this condition of…

Out of Time

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.  Mark 3:29 (with parallels in Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10) Blasphemes – Do you think that God always forgives?  Contemporary Christianity often presents the “all-forgiving” God, implying that no matter what you do, this God will always accept…