Introduction Psalm 135 begins with a call to praise the Lord. And in the rest of the psalm, the psalmist tells us why God should be praised. He should be praised because of his goodness and because of his power. We see his goodness in the way he chose his people. We see his power … Continue reading Psalm 135
Tag: Old Testament
Psalms 133+134
Introduction We've reached the final two Songs of Ascents: these psalms which were written for the pilgrims who were making their way to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious festivals. Or perhaps, some of them may have been written for the exiles who were returning to Jerusalem from Babylon. And in today's two psalms, … Continue reading Psalms 133+134
Psalms 131+132
Psalm 131 We've been working our way through the psalms on Wednesday evenings and recently we've been studying the Songs of Ascents which run from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. We believe these Songs of Ascents were written for God's people as they made their way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious … Continue reading Psalms 131+132
Psalms 129+130
Psalm 129 Once again we're going to take two short psalms together. The first one -- Psalm 129 -- can be divided into two parts. In the first part, the psalmist calls on God's people to praise him for delivering them from their oppressors. And in the second part, he prays to the Lord to … Continue reading Psalms 129+130
Ezekiel 12
Introduction This evening we've moving into a new section of the book of Ezekiel which runs from chapter 12 to chapter 24. And while it contains more prophecies about Jerusalem and Israel, it also contains prophecies about King Zedekiah and about the false prophets and about the king of Babylon. And then, after chapter 24, … Continue reading Ezekiel 12
Ezekiel 10+11
Introduction This is now the seventh Sunday we've spent in the book of Ezekiel. In the first, we spent our time in chapter where Ezekiel recorded for us the vision he received of the glory of the Lord, who was enthroned on this strange chariot-throne with angels around it. And when Ezekiel saw the glory … Continue reading Ezekiel 10+11
Psalms 127+128
Psalm 127 Once again I'm going to take two short psalms together. And once again they're both songs of ascents. So, they're for God's people as they made their way to Jerusalem either for one of the annual festivals or else when they were returning from exile in Babylon. On one level, Psalm 127 is … Continue reading Psalms 127+128
Psalms 125+126
Introduction I'm once again going to take two short psalms together. Both are songs of ascents. In Psalm 125 the psalmist expresses his confidence in the Lord who protect his people who trust in him. And while Psalm 126 refers to laughter and joy, it's nevertheless a kind of lament, because the psalmist prays for … Continue reading Psalms 125+126
Ezekiel 08+09
Introduction Once again we're going to take two chapters together, because these two chapters belong together. In the first one, Ezekiel is taken on a kind of magical mystery tour of the temple in Jerusalem where the Lord shows him the idolatry of his people. And he therefore makes clear to Ezekiel and to us … Continue reading Ezekiel 08+09
Ezekiel 06+07
Introduction Last week we saw how Ezekiel began his prophetic ministry when the Lord commanded him to perform three mimes or three sign-acts to signify the suffering of God's people when the city of Jerusalem is destroyed. In the first mime, he was to make a model of Jerusalem and place model siege-works around it … Continue reading Ezekiel 06+07