While the psalmist has praised the Lord for his protection, strength, and victories won for his people in the first half of the psalm, he now calls for the gates of the temple to be opened that he may worship the Lord  in his presence (Ps. 118:19). But even while God may have been the defense […]

In this final psalm in the collection of psalms sung during the celebration of the Passover (Pss 113-118), God is thanked because of his perfect goodness and his unending mercies toward his covenant people. Though the church may be surrounded by enemies on all sides, though Satan himself seeks to accuse, to oppress, and to devour, and though we might […]

For those who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus, whose lives are now hidden with Christ in God, God is our shelter, our refuge, our fortress. He is our Champion. He fights for us, defends us, and delivers us. Not only is he overruling all things for our good and commanding the hosts of […]

Martin Luther, in commenting on the beautiful truths of this Psalm, wrote: “We sing this psalm to the praise of God, because He is with us and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends His church and His word against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against […]

The Psalms of lament are a wonderful source of encouragement, relief, and hope for those enduring times of affliction. They have often served as the prayers of the saints throughout the centuries.Though both Psalm 42 and 43 are full of questions, grief, and doubt, and though our souls are often downcast and surrounded by the storms of turmoil […]

Despite adversity and danger from his enemies, David continually trusted in the Lord for his preservation and security. Here in Psalm 16, David begins by petitioning God for protection yet immediately begins to recount the deep joys and blessings that his God is to him! This rehearsal of who God is and has been brings […]

Paul boldly and unapologetically preached “Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2). Yet the Galatian false teachers had been bringing all sorts of accusation against Paul and his ministry, in addition to preaching a subtly different gospel that in fact was no gospel at all (Gal. 1:6-7). As […]

Galatians 4:13 is crucial in our understanding of suffering in the life of believers: “You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first.” For the Apostle Paul, suffering is most definitely to be included in the “all things”, of Romans 8:28-29, that work together to bring […]

In addition to the promise of a future and a hope for the people of God, we have been seeing promises of a new heart and a new spirit that will be given to them as well. God himself clarifies exactly what this would ultimately entail: “I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and […]