If I but trust to see the LORD’s goodness, in the land of the living—Hope for the LORD! Let your heart be firm and bold, and hope for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14 Robert Alter Hope for – “We live in an age of despair, and those who despair would seem justified, considering the compounding crises…
How long, O Lord, shall I cry out, and yet You do not listen? I scream “outrage” to You, and You do not rescue! Habakkuk 1:2 Robert Alter Outrage – Taken directly from the Psalms, the prophet Habakkuk applies David’s words to his circumstances. We might do exactly the same. “How long?” That’s the real…
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? Romans 8:24 NASB Is not hope – Suppose I asked you, “What is the opposite of facts?” You might answer, “Fiction.” You would be thinking, “Facts are true. Fiction is not true. Therefore, fiction is the…
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope Romans 8:20 NASB Not willingly – You know, the whole human race is in deep trouble. We don’t think about this too often, but the truth is that we live on the cusp of extinction, both physically and spiritually. A pandemic…
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3 NASB Let there be– Unfortunately, translating this text usually ignores the Egyptian background of the intended audience. What I mean is this: the Genesis stories aren’t written in some kind of pre-modern proto-scientific vernacular, as if God were describing how He kicked the universe…
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 1 Corinthians 15:32 NASB Raised– You hope it happens. You hope that the dead are raised, that there is something after the grave, that what you do now will matter later. But you don’t know, do you? You don’t really know,…
The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes.Proverbs 10:28 NASB Gladness – Of course, joy must confront the inequity of human living. Far too often it seems the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Far too often justice appears to have taken a holiday. Biblical authors often address the apparent contradiction of a…
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares YHWH, “plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NASB Hope -Did you know that this famous passage in Jeremiah is connected to Paul’s remarks about transformation in Romans 12? Probably not. When we read this verse,…
Yes, let all who hope in You be not shamed. Let the treacherous be shamed, empty-handed. Psalm 25:3 Robert Alter translation Hope – After our recent discussion of batah, you might expect to find that word behind the English “hope.” To trust is to hope. The result is a public display. But that’s not what the psalmist wants…
My God, in You I trust. Let me be not shamed, let my enemies not gloat over me. Psalm 25:2 Robert Alter translation [First, an apology. Since the death of Rosanne’s mother, our lives have been in continuing chaos. We have been staying in Rosanne’s mother’s condo in Florida. That is part of a trust…
