The modern school system, as we know it, doesn’t work for educating free men and women. It does work well, however, toward the goal for which it was designed. The goal of the modern educational system is to cultivate a society of people who are both consumers and cogs—people enslaved simultaneously in both roles, that […]
Hated Without A Cause
“Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha! Our […]
Waiting on the Lord
“How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.” -Psalm 35:17–18 It is a familiar human experience to wonder how long before the Lord intervenes. Sometimes the burden is […]
On the Censorship of Dr. Seuss: A Light for the Coming Dark Age
As you’re probably very aware by now, Americans on social media have been in a frenzy this past week after the Loudon County Public Schools in Virginia canceled Dr. Seuss, citing racial ‘undertones’ in his writings. This came as a result of a recent study on diversity in youth literature that was released just ahead […]
Not the Last Word
“Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. But I, when they were sick— I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my […]
That’s Our God!
“All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”” -Psalm 35:10 “All my bones” is a metaphor for speaking about the completeness of one’s being, like someone saying, “I knew it in my […]
Ensnared By His Own Devices
“For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction! Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord, exulting in […]
The Poetry of Prayer
“Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away! Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord […]
The Lord, Our Champion
“Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!”” -Psalm 35:1–3 David petitions the Lord for help using war language. He […]
A Hopeful Salvation
“Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!” -Psalm 35:1 Psalm 35 seems to be related to Psalm 34. Thirty-four has in view David’s experience in Gath as a result of fleeing there to escape King Saul. Thirty-five has David’s enemies in view. again; perhaps he has […]
The Lord Redeems
“The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” -Psalm 34:22 This is the capstone of Psalm 34, the conclusion of the whole matter, the very gospel itself. Not one person who trusts in the Lord Christ will be lost. Though David represents the servants […]
Not A Bone Was Broken
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.” -Psalm 34:19–21 Taking the second part, David recalls that one’s lifetime is filled with […]
The Position of the Lord
“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord […]
Learn to Fear the Lord
“Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” -Psalm […]
No Lack!
“Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” -Psalm 34:9–10 The verses act as one, a parallelism, to strengthen the message. Those who are true followers of the Lord lack for […]
Taste and See
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” -Psalm 34:8 The view that reason stands over against faith as a more certain, even absolute, source of knowledge is a modern invention. The ancients (like David), the Apostles (like John and Peter), and the church fathers […]
The Radiance of Answered Prayer
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who […]
No Education At All
In C. S. Lewis’s notable lecture, “Learning in Wartime,” published in Weight of Glory, he asserts, “Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.” Thus, an education without the principled and disciplined study of philosophy is no education at all. Modern education claims to be secular. That […]
Delivered From All Fears
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” -Psalm 34:4 This verse is part of a larger pericope (biblical paragraph or stanza) but it resounds with such joyful encouragement it needed to be treated alone. Simple and straightforward, David shares his own testimony. He went to the Lord […]
Hear and Be Glad
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” -Psalm 34:1–3 David expresses his own commitment to praise the Lord […]
Wokeness is Another Gospel
According to Wikipedia, Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK) is a term that originated in the United States, referring to a perceived awareness of issues that concern social justice and racial justice. It derives from the African-American Vernacular English expression stay woke, whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues. First used in the 1940s, […]
Playing the Madman
“Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.” -Psalm 34:title While the title of a Psalm is not often the object of contemplation, in this case the title points us to a specific incident in David’s life also recorded by Samuel. “And David rose […]
Asserting Faith in God
“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” -Psalm 33:20–22 Concluding with a reassertion of his own faith in the Lord, […]
The Lord Sees and the Lord Saves
“The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered […]
God Providentially Governs the Nations
“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” -Psalm 33:10–12 Not only is […]
The Reliability and Inseparability of God’s Word and God’s Work
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! […]
The Word and Work of the Lord
“For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” -Psalm 33:4–5 The passage opens with for indicating the reason for the praise in the first three verses. As a matter of fact, […]
Criteria for Praise
“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” -Psalm 33:1–3 David opens this psalm with a call to […]
Large Draughts of Love with Vast Delight
Admittedly, this is an unconventional Valentine’s Day post, but in this series of excerpts from Virgil’s epic poem, The Aeneid, we are privileged to get a delightful and enlightening glimpse of an all too familiar dalliance with “love.” But, far above the rest, the royal dame, (Already doom’d to love’s disastrous flame,) With eyes insatiate, […]
The Steadfast Love of God
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” -Psalm 32:10–11 As we read these final verses of the Psalm, it’s important to keep the context in mind. […]
Like the Horse or Mule
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” -Psalm 32:8–9 There is a disagreement as to […]
An Exhortation To Godly Sinners
“Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah” -Psalm 32:6–7 This pair of […]
What Confession Means
“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah” -Psalm 32:5 After holding back from God and suffering the inner turmoil of a heavy conscience (and possibly physical maladies related to his […]
The Estrangement of Unrepentance
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah” -Psalm 32:3–4 In these verses, David describes the turmoil of the unrepentant. Having kept silent about his sin, […]
A Lesson in Blessedness
A Maskil of David: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. -Psalm 32:title-2 The title of Psalm 32 tells us it is a Maskil or Maschil, when means literally, “A Psalm […]
God Preserves the Faithful
Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! -Psalm 31:23–24 (ESV) The Psalm ends with David’s exhortation to the saints to love the Lord, to be strong, […]
The Power of Personal Testimony
“Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.” -Psalm 31:21–22 In this […]
The Abundant Goodness of God
“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the […]
Silencing the Insolent
“O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.” -Psalm 31:17–18 Building off the parallelism of verse 17 and using the […]
The Deliverer of the Righteous
“Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!” -Psalm 35:1 Psalm 35 seems to be related to Psalm 34. Thirty-four has in view David’s experience in Gath as a result of fleeing there to escape King Saul. Thirty-five has David’s enemies in view. again; perhaps he has […]
Send the Wicked Silent to the Grave
“O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.” -Psalm 31:17 Note the contrast present in David’s thinking. He should not be shamed but the wicked should be. To be “put to shame” is to be dishonored, […]
The Blessing of the Lord
“Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!” -Psalm 31:16 There are echoes of the benediction we often receive from the minister at the conclusion of the covenant renewal service on the Lord’s Day. It is the familiar words God told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless […]
In God’s Hand
“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!” -Psalm 31:14–15 David emphasizes the fact that he trusts God with his life, that he has committed his existence into the hand of the […]
Terror on Every Side
“Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many— […]
Pray for Grace
“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” -Psalm 31:9–10 David is in distress. The word […]
Worthless Idols
“I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my […]
Redemption
“For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” -Psalm 31:3–5 David’s petition […]
Psalms of Refuge
“To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!” -Psalm 31:title–2 So much of David’s life […]
You Have Turned Me
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” -Psalm 30:11–12 Every deliverance should prompt the kind of praise David offers the Lord […]
The Patience of God
“To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”” -Psalm 30:8–10 There […]