Introduction: King Ahaz was enough of a good guy to at least have the prophet Isaiah trying to encourage him. Ahaz had refused to join in with an anti-Assyrian alliance, and Syria (also called Aram) and Ephraim (also called Israel) had attacked Judah for not joining with them. They failed in that attack, but succeeded …
Logos 8: A Review
So then, I began using Logos Bible Software quite a few years ago—I think the version was Logos 4, so I have been at it for at least a decade. And my memory is murky on the point, meaning that it could be even earlier than that. Anyway you cut it, I am a long …
Psalm 100/Serve the Lord With Gladness
Introduction: True worship comes from true hearts, and true hearts are filled to overflowing with gladness. This gladness can be solemn, as it is at a wedding (solempne), or this gladness can be jubilant, as it is after a victorious battle. But the thing it must never be is sullen or surly or sulky. Who …
Psalm 99/Between the Cherubim
Introduction: As we worship Jehovah for His infinite wisdom, right at the peak of our praises must be the recognition that His mercy to us is altogether holy. How He managed to do that is beyond all finite calculation. But fortunately, it is not beyond our ability to adore and praise. How can mercy be …
Psalm 98/Undertake or Overtake
Introduction: When we sing the psalms back to God, one of the things we are learning how to do is how to address Him as He would like to be addressed. Instead of cooking up our own idea of pious noises and a liturgical shuffling around, our own ex tempore musical, we can read the …
Psalm 97/The Potency of Right Worship
Introduction: Many of the problems confronting modern Christians is that they diligently try to do the right thing . . . but in the wrong categories. They try guitar fingering on a mandolin; they try chess rules on a backgammon board; they apply the rules of French grammar to English. And for us to draw …
Psalm 96/Our God Reigns
Introduction: God is worthy of all praise and honor. We know this through special revelation—as we see here in Psalm 96—and we also learn the same thing from the created order itself. God is speaking both places because God is silent nowhere. The creation is an essential part of the choir. The oceans are singing …
Psalm 95/Let Us Kneel and Bow Down
Introduction: Throughout the New Testament, we are given cautions and warnings. We are told repeatedly that we are to take our covenant lessons from what happened to our older brothers, the Jews. The things written down in Scripture were written for our edification, as examples to us, which means that we need to learn to …
Never Use the Biggest Spoon
“Preach simply . . . To preach truths and notions above the hearers’ capacity, is like a nurse that should go to feed a child with a spoon too big to go into its mouth” (William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, pp. 64-65).
A Cracked Bell Cannot Peal
“Keep a clear conscience; he cannot be a bold reprover, that is not a conscientious liver; such a one must speak softly, for fear of waking his own guilty conscience. Unholiness in the preacher’s life, either will stop his mouth from reproving, or the people’s ears from receiving” (William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, …