The twenty-fifth psalm is a sustained plea for help, although it contains some things that we might have trouble reconciling. This again is one of the reasons why we need to be trained to pray as the psalmist prays. This is the second penitential psalm, and it is the first that is composed as an …
Peacemaking
Mankind loves to wrangle. It is part of the sinful condition we inherited from Adam. Unfortunately, this is one of the last sins addressed after conversion. In many cases, a professed conversion to Christ “just changes the subject,” but does not change the heart of a man given to quarrels. But “blessed are the peacemakers, …
Foundations of Marriage IV
Introduction: By the grace of God, we have repented of our discontent and want to be teachable. We want to hear the word of truth in truth, and make applications according to the Spirit and not according to the letter. And we want to apply whatever we learn to ourselves first, and not to our …
Foundations of Marriage III
Introduction: We are beginning this series on marriage with a short introductory series on why teaching on marriage frequently does no good at all. The first reason we considered was discontent, because discontented people are unteachable. The second stumbling block is our tendency to trust in the letter of the law, instead of trusting in …
Honoring Parents
Although the message of the Fifth Commandment is clearly a message which is important for children to hear and heed, it is not a message just for children. Everyone who reads this has parents, and everyone who hears has a duty to honor them in the way the Bible describes. “Honor your father and your …
Lift Up Your Heads/Psalm 24
The psalter contains all of human experience. In Psalm 22 we saw faith in agony and conflict. In Psalm 23, we saw pastoral peace and trust. Here in the 24th Psalm, we see the majesty of triumph. “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he …
Reformation Sunday 2004
INTRODUCTION: We are fast approaching the five hundredth anniversary of the glorious Reformation. The history of the Church is always tangled, and we can never approach it in a simplistic fashion. But with all such allowances made, the Reformation was a great work of the Holy Spirit, and we are right to remember and celebrate …
Gladness for Sackcloth/Psalm 30
Introduction: In this psalm we find another inspiring pattern for prayer—and it is the kind of prayer that can be offered up by a sinner. David offers up a petition here, and the need for the petition was created by his own spiritual carelessness. But we serve and worship a God who forgives. Text: I …
A Shepherd Lord/Psalm 23
This passage is one of the most famous of all scriptural passages, and rightly so. The only real problem with it is that people are so familiar with it that it is easy to assume too readily that you have grasped the full import of what is being said. But this psalm also has wonderful …
Christus Victor/Psalm 22
This psalm contains one of the great Old Testament portrayals of the Gospel. Along with Isaiah 53, we learn here that the death of Christ for the sins of the world was no afterthought. The Lamb of God was indeed slain from before the foundations of the world. “My God, my God, why hast thou …