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…
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…
Those who love Your Law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. Psalm 119:165 NASB Nothing – Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t you jump at the chance to have “great peace; to live a life where nothing ever caused you to trip up”? Sounds like paradise, or maybe heaven. But it certainly doesn’t sound…
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, Matthew 6:10 NASB Your will be done – “I’ll be there tomorrow G_d willing.” He replied, “Insha’Allah, ‘by the will of God.’” “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” Judaism, Islam, Christianity—all use the expression “the…
more desirable than gold, than much fine gold; sweeter than honey, than drippings of the honeycomb Psalm 19:11 Jack Riemer Sweeter than honey – I am often amazed at the ignorance of biblical scholars—on both sides of the aisle. Christian scholars for centuries completely misunderstood the importance of Moses in the background of the Messiah. …
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under [a]the Law but under grace. Romans 6:14 NASB Not under the Law – Martin Luther’s mistake cost all of us centuries of spiritual deprivation. Luther read Paul’s words and concluded that the Law no longer applied to the faithful. He did just what the translators of the…
Do your duty to the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to [a]keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 1 Kings 2:3 NASB What is written – Yesterday, we learned that…
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB Shall love – How are we supposed to express our love toward God? You will notice that I did not ask, “How are we supposed to express our love for God?” That is the…
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Psalm 34:11 NASB Fear – There are basically two kinds of ethical systems in the world. They both have long histories. The first is the one we are most familiar with in the modern world, although it is not the most ancient…
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, Romans 2:14 NASB A law to themselves – We’ve spent a lot of time looking at Paul’s idea of nómos, or perhaps more accurately, his ideas about all the variations encompassed…
