Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am wretched. Heal me, for my limbs are stricken. Psalm 6:3 Robert Alter My limbs – Now you will read a reflection that I wrote more than a month ago. My left knee still hurts, every day, all the time. But it isn’t excruciating. No wheelchair. Nevertheless, it’s…
Search me, God, and know my heart; put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24 NASB Any hurtful way – ‘im-derek-ʿāṣab. אִם־דֶּֽרֶךְ־עֹ֥צֶב One word all smashed together (typically Hebrew). So, let’s take it apart. אִם (ʾim) if, not, whether,…
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 96:1 NASB New song– For a long time I’ve known that the Blues reach into my soul. I find myself among those sad refrains, those struggling lyrics. Give me Clapton, B.B., Stevie Ray, Ronnie Earl, Aretha, Robert Cray, and Kenny Wayne any day. Oh,…
The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Luke 8:35 NASB In his right mind– “If you sum up what people tell you…
He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 NASB Brokenhearted – How are you doing today? Things going “fine,” like we always say no matter what’s really happening? Today I am in South Africa (God willing), confronting my own life traumas. A history of a broken heart. And not just mine. There…
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NASB Reason – “ . . . the prophet is not a philosopher of logic, but a philosopher of…
“Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?” Job 3:23 NASB Light – “Even though I walk through the valley of tsalmawet.” What kind of valley is tsalmawet? One that we know, unfortunately. “It describes the darkness of eyelids tired from weeping (Job 16:16), the thick…
But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Mark 5:33 NASB Fearing and trembling – What is the relationship between sin and healing? That question plays a significant role in the gospel accounts. The disciples voice their opinion…
“So, then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:12 (NASB) To Do Good– Did you realize that every controversy in the gospels over Sabbath-keeping involves healing except the one incident of husking grain in the field. Doesn’t that seem remarkable? If there is any activity that demonstrates the goodness of God,…
