I was also blameless with Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Psalm 18:23 NASB My iniquity – It would be much easier to for David to say that he kept himself “from iniquity.” Then the wickedness would be alien, outside, an enemy at a distance. But David uses the Hebrew ‘awoni, the combination…
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Genesis 26:5 KJV Kept – Why does God watch over you? Why are you so lucky in life? Why does He keep protecting and providing for you? Do you suppose that you are the recipient of a generational…
And showing mercy to thousands of those who love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:6 Jewish World translation Love Me, and keep – Back to the pictographs. Here is the phrase “of those who love Me” in pictographic Hebrew. Once again the word begins with the preposition le signifying “control” or “authority.” It…
Guard my life and save me. Let me be not ashamed, for I shelter in You. Psalm 25:20 Robert Alter translation Ashamed – You know it must be a big deal if David brings it up twice, once at the beginning and now at the end of his song. The word is bosh, and it…
If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? Psalm 130:3 NASB Should mark – I was always afraid of God. I wasn’t Catholic but when it came to guilt, I might as well have been. My childhood was punctuated by constant reminders that God saw everything I did, and as a result,…
For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11 NASB Guard – Human trials and temptations often leave us feeling as if we are all alone in this life. In our struggles we imagine that no one really knows us under our skin. We sometimes feel…
“Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My commandments, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5 NASB Indeed Obey – How loud does God need to speak for you to hear him? If you are like those Israelites who…
Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Deuteronomy 5:12 NASB Observe – One of my dear friends sent me an article about the two Sabbath commands. The other one is the more familiar verse, Exodus 20:8. But if you read them side by side, you realize (especially…
“YHWH, Elohey Yisrael, there is none like You, Elohim, in the heavens or in the earth, keeping covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.” 2 Chronicles 6:14 (Darby) Keeping Covenant – Who keeps promises these days? Not me. I’ve broken quite a few in my time. I suspect…
“For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge; and they should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of YHWH of hosts.” Malachi 2:7 Guard – The Hebrew verb šāmar means “to watch over, to guard, to keep, to preserve and to care for.” It’s the same verb that described Adam and…
