Keep in mind that King David authored this psalm, as he leads us in worship, away from an attitude of haughtiness towards a lifestyle of humble dependence upon the God of Israel. The first
How is the psalmist able to have assurance of mercy and abundant redemption, when crying out to the Lord from the depths? This is both a song of ascents and a penitential psalm which
The preservation of Israel is a miracle past and present; encouragingly, it is also promised for the future. The antagonism from Zion’s enemies is inexplicable through rationalist explanations such as envy, ignorance or otherness.
There are great blessings for those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways and if someone trusts in the Lord, they will be doers as well as hearers of the word of
Unless our labours are directed by the Lord, our work is in vain, but if our labours are built by the Lord, many blessings will follow. This central psalm in the Songs of Ascents
This song of ascents shows how the Lord oversaw His people’s return to Zion despite their troubled history. Israel and the nations both marvelled and continue to marvel in how the Lord has done
Artistic Impressions of Messiah From previous visits to the National Gallery, I was struck by the volume of biblically themed art and artistic license employed. A visitor may well be led to assume that
It is one thing to know about the Lord but another thing to know Him personally. It is one thing to acquire human wisdom, knowledge and understanding and another thing to gain godly wisdom,
Judah had failed to listen to Jeremiah’s preaching and had recently been exiled to Babylon. This was by no means the end of the story, since the Lord foretold they would return after seventy
David sought to build a temple for the Lord, though instead, the Lord would build David a house. We often refer to the ‘Davidic Covenant’ though it is clear that the Lord is sovereign
This chapter develops the promise of the covenant in Genesis 12 and the making of the covenant in Genesis 15 with the Lord’s covenant sign, circumcision. The Lord appeared to Abram as He had
Ruth Rosen collated the accounts of several Jewish doctors who trusted in Jesus as their Messiah. Due to the nature of their profession, these individuals were more acquainted with trying to relieve the suffering
Some hymnal traditions have made great use of singing metric psalms. The psalms were of course set to music and singing Scripture helps us to memorise parts of the Bible and to retain a
The Torah is unequivocally clear that the Israelites are God’s chosen people and also states exactly why. Deuteronomy 7:7-9 explains, “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you
In the 18th and 19th century, there was an abundance of philosemitic hymns in the United Kingdom. Since so many hymns from that era have been written, I narrowed my search to survey ‘Grace
Exodus 23:14-17 Three Feasts point towards Messiah In these four verses we see that three times a year, all the male Israelites kept these feasts. These were the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast
Many people struggle to understand the significance of these laws in today’s society. Both misunderstanding and debate have arisen from a superficial reading and inadequate research of this text. If we are to make
How could it be, that leading up to the American Civil War, people used the Bible both arguing for and against slavery? We should consider that an accomplished lawyer can argue a case either
Is the existence of Israel today an anomaly of history, or a miracle? David Ben Gurion, first prime minister of Israel affirmed, “In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in
Tikvah Films have produced a series of compelling documentaries explaining Britain’s exceptional historical link with Israel as a ‘Cyrus’ nation. This prequel to the Forsaken Promise series commences shortly before the Temple was destroyed
In Matthew’s account, written with a Jewish audience in mind, we must consider not only what was written, but why it was written. The Tanakh (Old Testament) and especially Psalm 22 is vital in
The remaining six commandments show us how we can love our neighbours and we should never lose sight of the fact that when we love our neighbours that is also for God’s glory. If
The Ten Commandments are not to be viewed merely as a restrictive list of prohibitions but as active commands showing us how we can serve God and others. For example, the opposite of bearing
A lawyer tested Jesus by asking Him, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus responded that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all