Ezra 2 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Israel’s return to the Promised Land from their captivity in Babylon is considered to be a second exodus patterned after the Exodus from Egypt in the Biblical narrative that actually points us to a third exodus in Christ Jesus for God’s people out of Satan’s dark domain. And just as the initial generation of Israelites were called upon to construct a tabernacle of God at Mt. Sinai, the succeeding…

Ezra 1 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson This is a rather unusual book because a foreign ruler commissions Jews in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and gives them back their things a previous ruler stole from them.  And the book offers more surprises.  So, let’s put this book in context.  We find Jews in Babylon as they are returning to Jerusalem.  They are there because God kicked them out of the land because of their…

Psalm 133 by Pastor Mark Hudson In just three verses, this Psalm provides insight into one of the most fragile, most important, and not often attained attributes of any organization.  Unity is not always present in governments, businesses, school, families, or even churches.  If this Psalm was sung by the Pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem, they were all coming to worship but coming from different backgrounds and various parts of the land of Israel. We may…

Psalm 132 by Pastor David Groendyk This psalm reflects heavily on the covenant that God made with King David in 2 Samuel 7:6–14. Despite the first five verses focusing on David’s intention to build the temple, the attention quickly switches to God’s intentions. The Davidic covenant was where God promised that David’s offspring would reign on the throne of Israel forever and that God would give them rest from all their enemies. However, it is…

Psalm 131 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence This is now the twelfth psalm of ascent, and this one transitions from the theme of forgiveness to that of child-like trust. A believer who knows something of the love and forgiveness of the Lord is also learning much of the wisdom and faithfulness of the Lord to do him good in every situation. Unexpectedly, the more a Christian grows in spiritual maturity, the more child-like she becomes. In…

Psalm 130 by Pastor Mark Hudson Psalm 130, though a short Psalm, has been an important Psalm in music, as well as Catholic and Reformation theology.  This song of ascent begins on a low note and end on a high note.  Maybe the perfect Psalm of ascent.  This is a much richer Psalm then it may first appear. This is called a penitential psalm; one of seven: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 143.  This may…

Psalm 129 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence In another psalm of ascent for God’s people on their way to Zion, the psalmist is leading Israel to consider all that they have suffered at the hands of their persecutors over the years. When speaking of the affliction of “my youth” the psalmist is not referring to an individual’s youth but to the very beginnings of the nation of Israel in the land of Egypt in how they…

Psalm 127 by Pastor David Groendyk Who would’ve thought that the psalms could be this practical? Psalm 127 should hit home for everyone as it deals with the most foundational elements of life—work (vv. 1–2) and family (vv. 3–5). Both of these sections ultimately convey the same big point, that all of our labors and toil are useless unless the Lord blesses it. Verses 1–2 teach us that we must trust God to bless any…

Psalm 126 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Another Psalm of Ascent, this particular one harkens back to the return of the Jews from their Babylonian captivity. After seventy years of exile and humiliation, the Jews are overwhelmed by the wonderful blessing of returning to the Promised Land, rebuilding the temple, and hearing the Law of God read once again by the priests. This song was probably written at the time of the reinstitution of the Feast…

Psalms 125 by  Pastor Mark Hudson This psalm almost demands that we view Jerusalem from the vantage point of a person coming up to Jerusalem.  The perspective is not from inside Jerusalem but from one outside approaching the city looking at the mountains surrounding the city nestled among the crags.  The author then says all who trust in the Lord, i.e., any believer anywhere at any time or place, is a secure as this holy…

Psalms 123 by Pastor Mark Hudson I love this Psalm and can’t understand why someone would not love it.  As I write this brief devotional, I am not aware of contempt or scorn thrown my way.  This may be since I am not standing up enough for Christ and verbally witnessing for the gospel.  It may be since I live in a country that is surrounded on the east, west, and parts of the south…

Psalm 122 by Pastor David Groendyk   This is another psalm that is entitled “A Song of Ascents”, which means that this was a psalm that would be sung as Israelites were journeying to Jerusalem to go to the temple in order to sacrifice and gather for worship. Whereas Psalms 120 and 121 focused on needing the protection of the Lord in order to journey to Jerusalem, Psalm 122 focuses on celebrating the people of…

Psalm 121 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence As the Israelites/Jews were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the feast days they would sing this song of praise to the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Unlike the gods of the surrounding gentile nations who held sway over particular regions and dwelt only on one earthly hill or mountain, the God of Israel is Lord over every hill and valley, over all the…

Psalm 120 by Pastor Mark Hudson This is a brief Psalm after the longest Psalm in the Bible.  This also begins a grouping called songs of ascents.  This group begins in 120 and ends at 134.  We can imagine these might be songs the pilgrims sang as they travelled to Jerusalem for Passover.  We cannot be certain of the actual reason for this grouping, but that explanation does seem somewhat reasonable.  If they sign this…

Psalm 119:153-176 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Out of the one hundred seventy-six verses in Psalm 119, I think verse 156 encapsulates both the psalmist’s sweet assurance of salvation in the Lord as well as his desire to grow up in that salvation. As pastors and theologians often point out in the Bible, the imperative always follows the indicative, or God’s rule is always subsequent to God’s redemption. Notice in this verse how the psalmist speaks…

Psalm 119:105-128 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson You don’t turn a light on in the middle of a sunny day.  Nor do you walk outside with a flashlight when the sun is shining.  We only need lights when it is dark.  In verse 105, the Psalmists is admitting he needs illumination on how to live.  Not everyone wants to admit they need help.  Most want to go it alone.  But we live in moral and…

Psalm 119:81-104 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence   Oftentimes those who are of a more liberal persuasion accuse conservative evangelicals of bibliolatry, which refers to the worship of the Bible, because we hold to the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture.  Because we believe the Bible to be the very Word of God, we don’t feel that we have the right to lay aside any part of it simply because it doesn’t live up to our…

Psalm 119:49-80 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson Today we pick up Ps 119 from v. 49 to v. 80.  Notice the range of words used to refer to the Bible: Word v. 49, promise v. 50, law v. 51, 53, 55,  rules v. 52, statutes v. 54, and precepts v. 56.  Please refer to the first devotional in Psalm 119 to remind yourself of the meanings or semantic range of these synonyms.  Most of the…

Psalm 119:25-48 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence As in all the other sections of this great psalm, the psalmist uses a number of synonyms for the Law of God to express something of its goodness and beauty. He speaks of God’s statutes which are words written in stone to point out immovable boundaries over our conduct. He also speaks of God’s precepts which are his holy and divine directions needed for us to walk in wisdom.…

Psalm 119:1-24 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson This beautiful Psalm, as you know, is an acrostic meaning each section begins with the same letter of the alphabet going from A to Z, so to speak.  Ps. 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 145, Prov. 31:10-31.  Allen in the Word Commentary lists the number of times words are used as synonyms for God’s law.  The number after the term or terms is how many times we…

Psalm 118 by Pastor David Groendyk In the Lord’s good providence, before reading Psalm 118, I was busy preparing for our weekly youth group lesson from John 10:7–10 in which Jesus calls himself “the door of the sheep”. The providential part is that many commentators actually point back to Psalm 118:20 as some of the background for Jesus’ claim that he is the door: “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter…