Biblog

Odd Search Engine Results for ScriptureIndex.com

2005-01-11T05:39:00.000-05:00

I was surprised by the search engine results after ScriptureIndex.com has been up (for approx. two months). Odd, or surprising? Here are the results of the search engine analysis I talked about yesterday.

The sample query was: "romans 8:7" scripture index. The result was considered good if we can be found by the search engine, no matter what rank. If we can't be found at all by the search engine, the result is obviously considered bad.

Search Engine	Good result	Rank (if any)
accoona.com	yes
alltheweb.com	yes	#1
altavista.com	yes	#4
beta.search.msn.com	yes
clusty.com	yes	#1
dogpile.com	yes	#4
google.com	no
gigablast.com	no
search.lycos.com	yes	#1
search.msn.com	yes	#1
search.yahoo.com	yes	#1
teoma.com	no
wisenut.com/search	no

So why is google ignoring these thousands of pages at ScriptureIndex.com ?? I have a few theories about this that I will be researching in coming weeks.

Scripture Index Update

2005-01-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

Back in November I began work on a large, multi-year project working with all the scriptures referenced on the world wide web. You can see the beginnings of the project over at ScriptureIndex.com

So far we have indexed the book of Romans, and done a few special studies with key words and phrases (like in Romans 8:7 where we are told that the sinful mind is hostile to God, hates God, is in rebellion to God, etc.)

There are several large problems that I must figure out and obstacles that I must overcome before going forward with indexing the rest of the Bible. For instance, using the current methods I would run out of disk space prior to completing the scripture index, since my webserver will run out of gigabytes. Some will say that disk space is cheap, but I am looking at using gzip compression, since most new browsers will handle gzip http compression, which will save me both diskspace and bandwidth, and might even have the side benefit of making the pages load faster.

Another issue is how the search engines will react to pages found at scriptureindex.com. I'm blogging the results of my search engine analysis, and I will re-visit this topic every 2 or 3 months -- to see how the search engines are ranking the pages at scriptureindex.com.

The test query is a bit strange, but we have to start somewhere...
The test query is: "romans 8:7" scripture index

Blogging with Opera

2005-01-09T07:53:00.000-05:00

I am still not able to blog with Firefox, and Mozilla 1.7 was giving me troubles also, so I un-installed Mozilla 1.7 and installed Opera. This looks like is OK, but many of the edit features are missing. Back on Dec. 9, 2004 (about a month ago) I was able to get back into blogger, but could only use with Mozilla 1.7 since the Firefox browser gets all jammed up with the blogger password. If anyone else has had similar problems, please add your comments. The nice blogger people say sometimes the best way to fix this is to use another computer or another browser, so I have been expirmenting a little to try to get this resolved.

So now I have Firefox 1.0, Opera (version x), and IE version 6
OK, so it looks like I will be forced to use IE just for blogging, until such time as I re-install everything, since Firefox can't get past the password screen, and Opera doesn't allow full-feature access to blogger.
However, if I use my other computer ( a totally different PC, then I can use Firefox 1.0).

TooNomos Tsunami

2005-01-02T06:55:00.000-05:00

BBC is now reporting 145,000 have died as a result of the Tsunami floods.
The loss of life is horrible, tragic, unbelievable, gut-wrenching, deplorable grief and sadness. The tragedy of 9/11/2001 is comparitively small. The 2996 victims of the 9/11 terrorist tragedy are listed here .

But the tsunami tragedy of 2004 is of a different scope. The number of tsunami victims is hard to comprehend. One man lost 72 of his family members. Can you imagine losing your parents, sisters, brothers, cousins, grandparents, all at one time? Most of us suffer horrible pain and grief -- attending one funeral at a time, spaced over several decades, so it is hard to imagine losing all those family members at one time...
...and the closer it hits to home, the more real it is. We typically harden ourselves to far off news, and sometimes we try to harden ourselves to news that hits closer to home. My neighbor Paul -- across the street -- just lost his wife -- 2 days after Christmas. She was only 39 years old, the mother of 4 small children. She died of some form of meningitis -- very suddenly -- in less than 24 hours.

What a week of sorrow, sadness -- and mercy. In judgement, God always remembers mercy. See for instance this testimony of God's mercy, reflecting on tsunamis, 9/11, Habbakkuk 3 and Romans 8. Or consider what this modern day Isaac Newton is saying about tsunamis and mercy.

The Sinful Mind is Hostile to God

2004-12-11T05:35:00.000-05:00

After studying Romans 8 for while this year, I figured out that a goodly number of Christian writers agree on one of the basic human problems: "The sinful mind hates God" (is hostile to God, ignores God, and is in rebellion to God ) -- and so man overlooks the Wisdom of God, and continually stumbles about in the stupor of sin.

The reason this needs to be stated so plainly is that is not as obvious as you might think.
Man's reasoning power is corrupted by sin.
Man's thinking power is dulled by sin.
What's plain is not so clear, but is hid from our eyes.
The wisdom of God is obscured by our hostility to the idea that SOMEONE is wiser than us.
So, the sinful mind claims to love God and listen to God, even while the opposite is happening.
Man is even in rebellion to the IDEA that he is in rebellion to God.
Men hate the IDEA that they hate God, so while they say "I love God", they continue to despise God in their hearts.

This is one of the basic human problems. What do you think?

Romans study continued...

2004-12-09T05:39:00.000-05:00

Back in February 2004 I began a series of studies on the Book of Romans. Since I was away from Blogger, I began another, rather larger project indexing many of (most of) the references to Romans on the Internet.

Finally back in blogger...

2004-12-09T05:27:00.000-05:00

My blogger account had been broken since May of 2004, when the good Blogger people began a series of software upgrades. My account access was lost for a while during the Blogger upgrades and then I was too busy on other projects at home... then I upgraded to Firefox... then a zillion other things happened....

I am using Mozilla 1.7.1 for this since I still can't get Firefox working with Blogger. The odd part is, Firefox works for everything else and Firefox is recommended by the Blogger people, and Firefox works great from another comptuer I have, but Firefox, Blogger, and my particular computer is a "bad combination". It's a really long technical story.... so anyway... it's good to be back, with a repaired password and using good ol Mozilla.

What is Faith?

2004-05-26T06:08:00.000-04:00

One of the ads on my off-blogger, blog archive was for a book about faith.
Jay Snell (the author) says faith is a noun, but belief is a verb.

This book is another one of those faith-healing, "word-of-faith" genre, but it starts with an interesting word study, so let's consider these thoughts for a moment...

Quoting from the book...
Faith is information that you receive from God for you to act upon. This information enables you to know in advance what God is going to do in the future concerning a given issue or course of action. This information also enables you to know what you are to do in this course of action concerning this given issue.

Faith is a noun. It is information. It is something you have. Believe is a verb. It is something you do. You get a set of instructions or information from God which becomes your faith and then you act upon that information. Your acting is your believing. You do not believe in the Biblical sense without acting on your faith.

Bible study on a blackberry?

2004-04-04T07:40:00.000-04:00

This morning I did my bible study using the blackberry 7280. God is in control of all things -- and all things work together for his glory. This short entry was typed on the tiny bberry keyboard.

Textual Gloss in Romans 8:1

2004-02-13T04:58:00.000-05:00

The KJV translates Romans 8:1 as "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
The NIV translation for Rom 8:1 is shorter -- "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"
And the NASB (Rom. 8:1) also has the shorter version: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. "
Milton Terry explains this on page 184 of his excellent "Biblical Hermeneutics" when dealing with the ancient Greek textual variances, and provides his simple hermeneutical principle -- "The shorter reading is to be preferred to the longer."

Controlled by the Spirit

2004-02-11T05:05:00.000-05:00

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:9-11 NIV)

How does this fit into the chart I did yesterday? I'll add a few more items to extend the chart with new information from Romans 8:9-11

According to the Sinful Nature	According to the Spirit
mind set = natural desires	mind set = Spiritual desires
mind of sinful man = death	mind controlled by Spirit = life and peace
sinful mind = hostile to God	mind controlled by Spirit = loves God
hates God's law, cannot submit, cannot please God	loves God's law, desires to obey
controlled by sinful nature	not controlled by sinful nature
...	controlled by the Spirit of God living in you
...	Christ is in you body is dead because of sin
...	spirit is alive because of righteousness

Mind Controll

2004-02-10T05:34:00.000-05:00

What is controlling your mind? Who is controlling your mind?

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)

According to the Sinful Nature	According to the Spirit
mind set = natural desires	mind set = Spiritual desires
mind of sinful man = death	mind controlled by Spirit = life and peace
sinful mind = hostile to God	mind controlled by Spirit = loves God
hates God's law, cannot submit, cannot please God	loves God's law, desires to obey
controlled by sinful nature	...

Romans 8 Summary and Outline

2004-02-09T04:46:00.000-05:00

Here is the summary of Romans 8 from the JFB commentary -- CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE ARGUMENT--THE GLORIOUS COMPLETENESS OF THEM THAT ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. (JFB says that Romans 8 is the conclusion of the whole argument going on in Romans 1-7.) JFB outline:

The Sanctification of Believers (Rom 8:1-13).
The Sonship of Believers--Their Future Inheritance--The Intercession of the Spirit for Them (Rom 8:14-27).
Triumphant Summary of the Whole Argument (Rom 8:28-39).

Mark Copeland's summary and outline is the best summary and outline, (but beware for some odd theology on occasion) while the other scholars and commentators have provided useful chapter headings and comments on the difficult parts. (For example -- Matthew Henry's commentary has an summary and outline, but the emphasis is on the commentary, and the outline just doesn't stick with me very well.) What I am trying to say is that Mark Copeland discovered that outlining and summarizing the teaching of the scriptures is a very helpful learning technique, and the person who benefits the most is the person who writes the summary or outline. So I should try to write my own outlines -- since I will learn more by doing my own outline, then by studying someone else's outline.

Romans 8 Summary

2004-02-08T05:49:00.000-05:00

Romans 8 is the conclusion of several threads and arguments in the preceding chapters. How can we summarize the main thoughts or distill the primary teachings of this great chapter? If we can summarize it and internalize it, outline it, memorize it, and not pulverize it -- then the words may begin to transform our lives (by the power of the Holy Spirit).

So, the main point (summary, outline) of Romans 8 according to a few scholars, teachers and commentators:

Freedom from Death - Mark Copeland's Outline (as we discussed several days ago)
Comfort and Consolation - Matthew Henry's Commentary (see biblog 6-Feb-2004)

The particular instances of Christians' privileges (vs.1-28)
The ground thereof laid in predestination (vs. 29,30)
The apostle's triumph herein, in the name of all the saints (vs. 31-39)

Free from Indwelling Sin (vs. 1-11), Sonship Through the Spirit (vs. 12-17), From Suffering to Glory (vs. 18-30), God's Everlasting Love (vs. 31-39) -- [New Geneva Study Bible notes]

Walking with Jesus

2004-02-07T04:53:00.000-05:00

Looking at the word περιπατουσιν (peripateo) [to walk, walking, make progress] this morning, I found an article by Charles Welch - called 'The Walk'. Mr. Welch says ... Five words are translated "walk" in the New Testament, peripateo, poreuo, stoicheo, dierchomai and orthopodeo. The second word means "transport" and the third, which occurs but once, namely in Romans 4:12, "to proceed in order". It is with peripateo that we are chiefly concerned. In one reference the compound emperipateo is used of God, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them" (2 Cor. 6:16), where it is evident that fellowship is intended, even as it is in such a passage as that of Amos 3:3 "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" The fourth word means to come, pass or go through, and the fifth is found in Galatians 2:14, orthopodeo, "to foot it straight", "to walk uprightly". While each one of these words makes its contribution, the burden of teaching falls on the word peripateo. Furthermore Welch says - "There are forty-two occurrences of "walk" and every one, except 1 Corinthians 7:17, 2 Corinthians 10:3, has a spiritual meaning."

PrarieView Christian also has a very nice, in-depth study of the walk - περιπατουσιν (peripateo) (4 page pdf).

Comfort for Christians

2004-02-06T05:50:00.000-05:00

Looking at another 3 word summary for Romans 8.... "Comfort for Christians"

It is good to have an outline of the whole Bible in your mind.
Dr. Van at RBC (Reformed Bible College) had memorized a short phrase (it appeared to me) for every chapter in the whole Bible. Even if you cannot memorize the whole New Testament word for word, if you can get an solid outline in your brain and a key phrase for each chapter, that will be of great benefit of understanding the context of the "whole message of the Bible".

Matthew Henry, in the summary at the beginning of his commentary, emphasizes the comfort and consolation for God's children found in Romans 8. "Many of the people of God have ... found this chapter a well-spring of comfort to their souls ..."

Freedom From Death

2004-02-06T05:19:00.000-05:00

Mark Copeland has this summary -- part of his outline for the book of Romans:
FREEDOM - THE "RESULT" OF SALVATION
1. Freedom From Wrath (5:1-21)
2. Freedom From Sin (6:1-23)
3. Freedom From The Law (7:1-25)
4. Freedom From Death (8:1-39)

Freedom from Death
Interesting... If someone asked me to summarize Romans 8 in three words, I would not have picked this phrase. So maybe I need to take a step back and look at the big picture more...

Law of the Spirit...

2004-02-05T05:29:00.000-05:00

ο γαρ νομος του πνευματος της ζωης εν χριστω ιησου ηλευθερωσεν με απο του νομου της αμαρτιας και του θανατου - Greek
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. - KJV
For the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus did set me free from the law of the sin and of the death; - YLT
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. - WEB
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. - NASB
For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. -AMP

I disocovered BibleStudyForum.com this morning and reviewed the questions and answers about Romans 8:2, where Aisha (a bsf member) asked "what is the meaning of 8:2" and the reply from Makarios (another bsf member) was:

"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." [ESV]

Cross References: 1 Cor. 15:45; Romans 8:1,11,39; 16:3; John 8:32,36; Romans 6:14,18; 7:4

"8:2 the law of the Spirit of life. The controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving. Paul uses the word "law" in several different ways in Romans- to mean, e.g., a controlling power (here); God's law (2:17-20; 9:31; 10:3-5); the Pentateuch (3:21b); the OT as a whole (3:19); a principle (3:27). law of sin and death. The controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death."

Law of the Spirit

2004-02-04T04:58:00.000-05:00

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
ο γαρ νομος του πνευματος της ζωης εν χριστω ιησου ηλευθερωσεν με απο του νομου της αμαρτιας και του θανατου

νομος - nomos - law - anything established, received by usage, a custom, law, command
πνευματος - pneumatos - spirit - the Holy Spirit, spirit of life

Free from the law of sin and death.

2004-02-03T05:43:00.000-05:00

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

krino, katakrino

2004-01-27T05:14:00.000-05:00

Continuing our study of Romans 8 - reviewing parallel passage today... and pondering the various Greek words about condemnation, judgement, seperation, discernment, etc. (krino, katakrino, katakrima, krisis)
Romans 8:1 "[There is] therefore now no condemnation (katakrima {kat-ak'-ree-mah}) to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Another word translated condemnation, is the Greek word krino {kree'-no}
John 3:18,19 "He that believeth on him is not condemned (krino): but he that believeth not is condemned (krino) already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation (krisis {kree'-sis}), that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (krisis {kree'-sis}); but is passed from death unto life."

Dr. Philip Bryan has this to say in one of his writings - Gleanings from the Greek New Testament:
"Three variations for judgment (and their cognates) are regularly employed by Paul in the New Testament: (1) krino, (2) diakrino, and (3) katakrino. The basic word krino includes primarily the ideas of "separating," "judging," and "reaching a decision." Sometimes this "judgment" may be a form of "condemnation," but that is not the basic meaning. Clearly related to krino is the word diakrino, with the ideas of "separating," "differentiating," "judging correctly," "discerning," etc. This word emphasizes proper judgment. The third pertinent form, katakrino, carries the related ideas of "condemning," "punishing," "damning," etc. Clearly, all of the ideas are closely related, both in Greek and English."

katakrima - Death Penalty?

2004-01-25T06:41:00.000-05:00

Looking at the meaning of katakrima (condemnation) this morning, found only 3 times in the NT, and wondering if the phrase "death penalty" or "death sentance" fits the meaning of this word. The blb lists the definition as "damnatory sentence, condemnation"

There is a discussion on a Biblical Greek mailing list about several nuances of meaning for this word, and suprisingly I have gone down the same path of speculation. (They are talking about KATAKRIMA in Romans 5:16)


   Q. ... does anyone object to KATAKRIMA being translated 

       "death sentence" in 5:16?

  

   A. It will mean "condemnation" and in this instance that will be death, 

       but I wouldn't want to endorse "death sentence" itself as an 

       appropriate translation for KATAKRIMA in 5:16. 

  ... 



  Q. ...wondering if the word has a range of nuances like our English word

  "condemned," used in reference to:



  * someone sentenced to death by a court;

  * a building marked for destruction;

  * a person who will inevitably come to some demise, apart from a judicial

     setting (i.e. "he was condemned to remember his mistake for the rest of his

     life");

The verse in Romans 5:16 says "And not as [it was] by one that sinned, [so is] the gift: for the judgment [was] by one to condemnation, but the free gift [is] of many offences unto justification."
And Romans 5:18 says "Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life."

Mr. Sloth's Saloon

2004-01-24T07:05:00.000-05:00

Thursday I was talking about malicious verbal abuse in relation to condemnation. In the case of Hannah and the barren womb, Peninnah was not just (or right) in her condemnation. Peninnah was guilty of pride, verbal abuse, and picking on (pestering) Hannah for something that only God had control over. (Why aren't you pregnant? What is the matter with you? Don't you know how to get pregnant? Forgetting that God is the one who gives life and takes it away, who opens the womb and closes it.) So Hannah was condemned by Peninnah, but it was not a righteous condemnation.

When an unrighteous person condemns you, and it is not justice, because you have done nothing wrong, then God will defend you. But when the Righteous and Holy God condemns you, because you have sinned and the punishment is just and very much deserved, then who will save you? That is the question. What is the meaning of katakrino? [google search on katakrino, katakrima]

Let's consider the case of two business owners who might have their buildings condemned by the Mayor and City Council. Let's call the first Mr. Pilgrim, and the second Mr. Sloth. Well, Mr. Pilgrim has had a bakery in the city for 20 years - "Pilgrim's Pastries" and he is a good and hard-working man, rising every morning at 4:00 AM to bake his bread and pastries. Mr. Pilgrim sells all his tasty treats at reasonable prices. Mr. Pilgrim is well liked in the community and even donates a lot of food each week to several local charities that care for the poor. Mr. Pilgrim always pays his taxes, and keeps his building in excellent shape, following all the city, county and state building codes and ordinances.

In contrast, Mr. Sloth has been in business for only 3 years, and is running "Sloth's Saloon -- a gentleman's night club". Mr. Sloth is looking to get rich quick and frequently hosts "business lunches" with free booze and scantily clad young ladies serving the tables. Mr. Sloth is 3 years behind on his city taxes, was cited once for operating without a liquor license, and is currently arguing with city hall about violations to the city building code. On top of this, a young girl was recently injured when she walked by Mr. Sloth's building and a gutter fell off the roof and hit her on the head, nearly killing her.

The Mayor and City Council meet on Tuesday night and condemn Mr. Pilgrim's building to be torn down. They say nothing about Mr. Sloth's building. (Secret motive: Mr. Pilgrim's building must be removed to clear the way for a new shopping mall that will 'modernize the city' and 'stimulate the local economy'. -- Not to mention that the land developer pushing the new shopping-mall-concept is the Mayor's cousin.) So Mr. Pilgrim's business and building is CONDEMNED. Mr. Pilgrim will receive a small payment from the city, and the demolition of his building will begin in 2 months. Where is justice? Why are the innocent condemned and the guilty are not punished?

According to God's Word, we are all sinners and we are all guilty, just like Mr. Sloth -- but most of us don't believe that. So when we see this phrase in Romans 8:1 (no condemnation) we are thinking, so big deal, no condemnation, I wasn't guilty anyway. But as we continue in our study, we will see that we (all humans on the planet) are more wicked than Mr. Sloth and that our condemnation is just -- but there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because He was condemned, so we could be set free. Stay tuned...

Free Bible Software

2004-01-24T06:53:00.000-05:00

Did you check out E4's free bible software yet?

Malacious Verbal Abuse

2004-01-22T05:08:00.000-05:00

Moving on in our study of Romans 8 -- "[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (8:1) There is a parallel (related) passage in Romans 5:1 -- "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"

I was looking at the TSK and thinking about this phrase "no condemnation" and it pointed me back to my study from Dec 26, 2003 on ungodly where we found that -- Sometimes rasha` is an adjective (criminal, ungodly,wicked) and other times a verb (to be wicked, act wickedly, to be guilty, to condemn, be condemned). See Isa 54:17 - "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn"

The tongue is a powerful weapon of condemnation and a powerful force for blessing. In 1st Samuel 1, we find the example of Hannah, who was condemned by her rival partner (Peninnah) in the household of Elkanah. These two wives of Elkanah could not get along (another good reason why polygamy is put away) because Peninnah was constantly condemning Hannah. This malacious verbal abuse by Peninnah continued on year after year. The NIV says "And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her." (1st Samuel 1:6) NASB says "Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. " The CEV (Contemporary English Version) says "Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children..." And 1st Samuel 1:7 says "This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD , her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat."

Just as the Pharisees mouths were shut when the man with the withered hand was healed, so Peninnah was silenced when God gave a baby son (Samuel) to Hannah (who had the barren womb). Hannah prays and sings for joy at God's sovereign power and wisdom, "My heart rejoices in the LORD; There is no one holy like the LORD ; Do not keep talking so proudly, or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.... The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. "

Finally, malicious verbal abuse is exposed for what it really is -- sinful pride, despising the grace of God -- thinking that they are a "great person" because they have two good hands or a productive womb -- as if they are so great, they have accomplished all this by themselves. Woe is me if I ever forget that everything I have is a gift from God.

OHCC NT Greek Class

2004-01-21T04:52:00.000-05:00

Monday night we had our first OHCC N.T. Greek class. A lot of people signed up for this very difficult class. Why? Do we really know what we are getting into? I will be memorizing hundreds of Greek words in the next few months (and their meanings).
Why? The only good reason for doing this, is so that you can proclaim the Gospel with more conviction and boldness, knowing that you are not mangling the interpretation of a word or phrase or emphasizing something that isn't really there.

We are using the book "Basics of Biblical Greek" by William D. Mounce (which also comes with a helpful CD-ROM from teknia)

Walking in the Spirit on the Sabbath

2004-01-17T07:15:00.000-05:00

If we are in Christ Jesus, we will walk in the Spirit like Jesus walked...
And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy [it]? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. (Luke 6:6-11)

The healing of the man with the withered hand provides us an example of walking in the Spirit, which helps us to understand how to obey God's law. The Pharisees had many false interpretations of the word of God, and the Pharisees held onto their power base in their culture by teaching this long list of rules... Look at the way Jesus destroyed their power base and false teachings.
1. He asked questions about doing good and healing
2. He did not disobey any of God's laws, while at the same time showing the wickedness and foolishness of the Pharisees laws.
3. He spoke.
4. The man with the withered hand, lifted his hand (death to life), confirming the Spirit's power.

The Pharisees saw their power based destroyed in one quick second and went insane with rage! The Pharisees had no idea what to do. They looked for a way to accuse him -- by reviewing their false interpretations of Gods law, and still they were frustrated. Did he walk too far on the Sabbath? No. Did he do too much work on the Sabbath? No, he only spoke. Did the man with the withered hand do too much work on the Sabbath? Well, even a Pharisee will occasionally lift up his hand on the Sabbath.... so we see the Pharisees (in their madness) begin to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, and sit in the seat of the scornful (Psalm 1:1), and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. Jesus heals the man with the whithered hand (Psalm 1:3) and prospers in all that He does. The man with the whithered hand stood up ( in the presence of God - the Son of God), but the Pharisees could not stand in the judgement. (Psalm 1:5) The ungodly are like the chaff which the wind (Spirit) driveth away. (Psalm 1:4)

Walking in the Spirit

2004-01-17T05:16:00.000-05:00

Romans 8:1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Pondering this notion of "walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"....
One thing that struck me this morning was the parallel to Psalm 1:1 "Walk not in the counsel of the ungodly..., but delight in the law/word..."

I filled in a few more of the Greek hints (re-editing/expanding my post for 12-Jan-2004).

No Condemnation

2004-01-14T05:01:00.000-05:00

Two Words are all I studied today... No Condemnation
It's Wednesday already and my study of Greek is painfully slow... but "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - there is No Condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, so it's OK to only study 1 or 2 words a day. Day by day Jesus is teaching me. He is the living Word.

What I mean is, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly". Absorb it all. Study it carefully. Meditate on it continually... but if you have a day that the paths of righteousness seem to you as difficult as slogging through a field of thick mud - do not despair, O Pilgrim. Continue on. God promised his word to be light for the path. He did not promise the path would be easy. But I want to go fast, keep moving quickly, get to my desination in a hurry. Why? Suddenly I realize God wants me to slow down and just ponder these two wonderful words... No Condemnation.

ουδεν αρα νυν κατακριμα

2004-01-12T05:26:00.000-05:00

Continuing our study on Romans 8:1 -- Move your cursor slowly across the Greek text to see short definition; click to view more detail from Blue Letter Bible and Thayers Greek Lexicon.

ουδεν αρα νυν κατακριμα τοις εν χριστω ιησου μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα

View whole chapter of Romans 8 in Greek NT.

Therefore? - What's it there for?

2004-01-11T04:33:00.000-05:00

As my friends, family and daily readers know, I stated my goal for the first 90 days of 2004 was to focus on Romans 8 and Psalm 91 (at the same time). If you want to follow along, you should read both passages (chapters), and in fact -- read the whole book of Romans (or least the first seven chapters) for the context. The context is important because the first word in Romans 8 is therefore.
"[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." My teacher in college said when you see a therefore, you have to find out what it's there for. Why did he say therefore? What preceded it?

Let's do a 30 second review of Romans 1 to 7 to see the context of chapter 8.
1. Paul greets the readers of his letter. (Rom. 1:1-15)
2. Not ashamed of the Gospel, theme of letter - Righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16,17)
3. The Universal Sinfulness of Man
   a. Gentile/Pagan Sinfulness and God's anger (Rom. 1:18-32)
   b. Jewish Sinfulness (Rom. 2:1-3:8)
   c. Universal Sinfulness - everyone is a sinner (Rom. 3:9-20)
4. God's Righteousness in Justification (Rom. 3:21-5:21)
5. Grace conquers the power of sin - Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ (Rom. 6)
6. Believers are not yet sinless, but dead to any condemnation of the law (Rom. 7)
7. Therefore, believers - living in the Spirit - have victory over sin and the flesh. (Rom. 8)

Therefore now no condemnation... The Greek word of the day is αρα, transliterated ara {ar'-ah}, and translated as therefore, so then, wherefore.

FREE GRACE and Psalm 1:1 Revisited

2004-01-10T05:26:00.000-05:00

Great is the joy of forgiveness!! Last Sunday morning I was cooking breakfast in the kitchen before the children came to the table and I was singing "FREE GRACE" at the top of my lungs.... Actually I was listening to a song called FREE GRACE and the chorus goes like this:

Free grace has paid for all my sin
Free grace, though it cost so much to Him
Free grace has freed even my will
Free grace, to the end sustains me still

and everytime the song came to that part of chorus I would sing/shout FREE GRACE -- and Jane said she could here me down stairs. (Great music! The CDs are here -- and a few MP3's for you to try out.)

Thank GOD I have received that FREE GRACE, that is stronger all my sins and shortcomings. Now for some FREE GRAMMAR... another lesson from Milton Terry in Biblical Hermeneutics ... "in Psalm 1:1 -- Happy the man who walks not (has ceased from walking) in the counsel of the wicked ones." -- This incredible joy is even greater as I ponder the way I used to walk.... So its not that he is happy because he never walks in the counsel of the wicked, but the man is happy because he used to walk in the counsel of the wicked, and now he has ceased from walking with the wicked and is walking in the counsel of the wise. It took me a while to catch this. I hope you are catching it now.... as Milton Terry says "Here it is not difficult to apprehend, in the tense-form used, and ideal of the past, but it is scarcely practicable, except by undesirable circumlocution, to transfer the conception into simple ideomatic English." [Biblical Hermeneutics, Chapter IV, Hebrew Language, page 85]

Footnote from Milton Terry on Psalm 91:1

2004-01-09T05:40:00.000-05:00

Milton Terry says in Biblical Hermeneutics
"Such passages as Psalm xxvii:5, xxxi:20, xci:1, are best explained by understanding an allusion to the Holy of Holies. The symbolico-typical portraiture of the Messianic kingdom, in the closing chapters of Ezekial and John, is largely based upon the symbolism of the tabernacle. [chapter XVII, Interpretation of Symbols, page 368, footnote 2 -- cited here for linkage to Psalm 91:1]

Almighty

2004-01-09T04:56:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
The Hebrew word for the day is Shadday {shad-dah'-ee}, which appears 48 times in the OT and is always translated almighty by the KJV scholars. The concept: almighty, most powerful, Shaddai, the Almighty (of God).

Where did this name of God (Almighty) come from?
Abram is 99 years old, has no children and God is getting ready to make a great nation out of him, and bigger than that -- God says He will bless all the nations of the world through Abram. So we see -- the first occurence of this name of God - Almighty - in Genesis 17:1 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty (Shadday) God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."

Shadow

2004-01-08T04:34:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
The Hebrew word of the day is tsel {tsale} , translated here as shadow. tsel {tsale} appears 49 times in the OT scriptures, and is has various shades of meaning such as shadow, shade, shadow (on dial), shadow, shade (as protection), shadow (symbolic of transitoriness of life).

The first occurence of the word tsel (shadow) is found in Genesis 19, which is the same chapter that holds the first occurence of abide (luwn) . (See notes on abide from 7-Jan-2004) In the Genesis 19 narrative, two angels come to visit the city of Sodom one evening, and Lot offers them food, shelter and hospitality (made them a feast -- vs. 3). Lot wants to protect the two angels from the evil men of Sodom (vs. 5-8) , but the angels end up protecting Lot and his family from the evil men of Sodom (vs.9-11) -- and helping Lot and his family escape from the destruction of Sodom (vs. 12-25). In vs. 8, when Lot is trying to protect the two angels, he says "for therefore came they under the shadow (tsel) of my roof."

So these words abide (luwn) and shadow (tsel) both appear first in Gen. 19, and now we find them in Psalm 91:1.

The Psalm 91 passage is clearly about dwelling and abiding in a safe place, being protected from enemies, under the shadow of God's almighty and merciful power, and even supernatural protection by the angels of God (vs.11).

Abide

2004-01-07T04:56:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
The Hebrew word for the day is luwn {loon} translated here as abide. The word luwn {loon} appears 87 times (in the OT) and means to lodge, stop over, pass the night, abide, remain, to cause to rest or lodge, or to dwell.

The first occurence of the word luwn is found in Gen 19:2 where two angels have come to warn Lot of the coming destruction of Sodom, and Lot provides them a place to stay for the night...."And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night (luwn), and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide (luwn) in the street all night (luwn)."

The next place we find the word luwn is when Abrahams eldest/most trusted servant goes out to find a wife for Abrahams son (Isaac) and the servant prays that God will grant him success in finding the perfect wife for Isaac, and asks God for a sign such as someone willing to provide water for him and his camels. As he finished praying, Rebekah came out carrying a pitcher for water and offers to draw water for all the camels to drink also. And there (in Genesis 24:15) we see the servant saying "Whose daughter [art] thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room [in] thy father's house for us to lodge (luwn) in?" And Rebekah replies (Gen. 24:25) "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge (luwn) in."

There is also an aspect of this word luwn that means murmuring (something like complaining?) I don't understand the connection. If anyone can help please add a comment....

Highest, Most High

2004-01-06T04:31:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
The Hebrew word for the day is 'elyown {el-yone'} meaning 1) high, upper a) of Davidic king exalted above monarchs or 2) Highest, Most High a) name of God b) of rulers, either monarchs or angel-princes. The word appears only 53 times in the OT, and the KJV team translates it High 18 times, most high or high 9 times each, upper 8 times, higher 4 times, highest twice, -- above, uppermost and Highest one time each.

The name for God 'most High' goes way back to the time of Abraham and Melchizedek. "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God ('elyown {el-yone'})." In fact, the first four occurences of the word/phrase "most high" appear in this short passage where Abraham receives God's blessing from Melchizedek. [Genesis 14:18-22] (Side note: here is the bread and wine - always a symbol of God's covenant mercy.) "And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God ('elyown), possessor of heaven and earth." (see also - Hebrews 7:1 regarding Melchizedek priest of the most high God)

The Gospel of Luke declares of Jesus Christ: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:" [Luke 1:32] For as the angel told Mary... "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." [Luke 1:35]

Secret Place

2004-01-05T05:39:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

The Hebrew word cether {say'-ther} is translated secret place or hiding place is found approx. 36 times in the OT manuscripts and means covering, cover, shelter, hiding place, secrecy, hiding place, shelter, protection, secret place, secrecy, or sometimes secrecy (of tongue being slanderous - 1 time is translated backbiting) In the KJV cether {say'-ther} is translated 12 times as secret, 9 times as secretly, 3 times as secret place, and 2 times as hiding place.

"Thou [art] my hiding place (cether) and my shield: I hope in thy word." (Psalm 119:114)

Hoping in God and Trusting in His Perfect Word

2004-01-04T07:28:00.000-05:00

I have not always been so bold or confident about this reality. Let me liken it unto a man who has been in a long battle, and trusts no fortress and no companion, for all have betrayed him and all others forts have crumpled under the weight of battle. And yet he is still alive and wandering (running in terror ya-boy) across the face of the earth and comes upon a Great King who offers him refuge in his castle. The King is so powerful and yet appears so full of compassion and as the man examines the foundations of the castle, he gathers more confidence. He walks around and around the castle and sees that the foundation of this castle is perfect and has no flaws. This is the confidence we gain as we closely examine and daily meditate on the Word of God. We see that it's foundation is perfect and we rejoice... God, the Almighty is my fortress

Yashab - abide, sit, dwell

2004-01-04T05:18:00.000-05:00

Today, I begin the study of Psalm 91 and Romans 8.
You should start by reading the whole chapter(s) to get the context.... OK, now.... let's start to break it down.

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Romans 8:1 "[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Both verses talk about a special place for believers to dwell in -- a place of protection, a place of comfort, and a place or position where we are close to God.

Wow! Here is that same word - (yashab) we studied in Psalm 1:1 (on Jan. 1, 2004)
Psalm 1:1 says "Blessed [is] the man that walketh not .... nor sitteth (yashab) in the seat of the scornful."
Psalm 91:1 says "He that dwelleth (yashab) in the secret place of the most High..."
God wants us to walk, talk, abide, sit and dwell with Him. Sin has seperated us from God, but since there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, we can be close to Him, and we can enjoy His presence.
-- The first place we find this word (yashab) in the OT scripture is in Genesis 4:16 where we see Cain is no longer in Eden, near the presence of God, but is dwelling in the land of Nod. "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt (yashab) in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."
-- When God is consecrating Aaron and the priesthood, he says in Leviticus 8:33-35 "And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [in] seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you. ... Therefore shall ye abide (yashab) [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD..."
-- We could be in the middle of a battle field, and totally protected -- because we are in two zones at once -- in the battle-zone, and the secret-safety-zone at the same time. We are totally protected in this special place... Psalm 4:8 "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell (yashab) in safety."
-- God inhabits (yashab) the praise of his people. (Psalm 22:3)
-- As a believer, we have great hope and confidence, knowing this special place is always there for us: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell (yashab) in the house of the LORD for ever." (Psalm 23:6)
-- This confidence and hope becomes greater as we focus our intentions and purpose in our hearts to trust in His Word, even though our human eyes see great dangers and snares all around, and the path seems so full of obstacles. How do we find the secret place? It is hidden. Who can find it? Singleness of purpose to following God is one of the paths that leads us to the secret place... "One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell (yashab) in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4)

scornful, scorner

2004-01-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued...
Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
The Hebrew word here is luwts {loots}, translated by the KJV scholar-team as scornful.
Luwts {loots} is actually a rare word, only found 27 times (in these OT manuscripts), and translated scorner 14 times, scorn 4 times, interpreter twice, mocker twice, derision once, mock once, and scornful only one time. This is according to the blue-letter bible, but your mileage may differ... my vvn.net/bible shows 12 usages of scorner and 3 usages of scornful. Meanings of luwts {loots}: to scorn, make mouths at, talk arrogantly, to boast, to mock, deride, to interpret, interpreter, ambassador (fig.), to be inflated, scoff, act as a scorner, show oneself a mocker.
-- It's interesting that the first occurence of luwts {loots} (found in Genesis 42:23 ) is translated interpreter -- "And they knew not that Joseph understood [them]; for he spake unto them by an interpreter(luwts)." And when I ask myself why, I can only surmise that sin has seperated us from God, and sin seperated us from our brothers (just as sin seperated Joseph from his brothers) and so much so, that even our language seperates us from eachother and we can't walk and talk with eachother... "Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." - Genesis 11:9
-- Perhaps a large part of scorn, and being scornful, is just that people don't understand, and sometimes (because of pride) they just don't want to understand. See for instance, in Job 16:29 "My friends scorn (luwts) me: [but] mine eye poureth out [tears] unto God."
-- There is a definate connection between pride and scorn (pride == foolish delight) -- see for instance Psalm 119:51 "The proud have had me greatly in derision (luwts): [yet] have I not declined from thy law." And also Proverbs 3:34 "Surely he scorneth (luwts) the scorners (luwts): but he giveth grace unto the lowly."
-- NLT, NASB, RSV, and ASV all translate luwts as scoffers, NKJV uses scornful, the NIV uses mockers, and the Contemporary English Version (CEV) uses the phrase "sneering at God".

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

2004-01-03T09:34:00.000-05:00

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God - Audio here ...

Judgement Seat vs. Mercy Seat

2004-01-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

Judgment seat seems to be a New Testament concept, while mercy seat is an Old Testament concept.

seat, sitting

2004-01-02T06:31:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued...
Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Yesterday we looked at the Hebrew word for sit ( yashab {yaw-shab'} ) and today we will look at seat ( mowshab {mo-shawb'} ). The two words come from the same root ( yashab ) and both are used in the phrase we are studying in Psalm 1:1 "nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful". The word mowshab {mo-shawb'} occurs only 44 times in the OT scriptures and means seat, assembly, dwelling-place, dwelling, dwellers, sitting, those sitting, sitting company or assembly, situation, and location. Let's look at a few passages that use the word mowshab {mo-shawb'}...
-- The first instance of the word mowshab is found in Genesis 10:30 where the scripture records the geneology of Noah and his children ... "And their dwelling (mowshab) was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east."
-- The second occurence of the word mowshab is found in Gen 27:39 where Isaac is giving a blessing to Esau (and it is the lesser blessing, since Jacob had already received the greater blessing) ... "And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling (mowshab) shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;" Again, the word here is not seat, but dwelling.
-- A seat is not a chair (sitting device) as we know it. The modern invention of chairs (wooden, plastic, metal chairs) is not the focus, for indeed it is a totally modern concept or invention. The emphasis is not on the object of the chair, couch, blanket or sitting device, but on dwelling place, habitation, the home situation. We find God giving His people detailed instructions for the Passover, when all the firstborn of Egypt will be killed and the all the people of Israel will be saved and set free -- Exodus 12:20 "Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations (mowshab) shall ye eat unleavened bread." The NIV says "Wherever you live (mowshab), you must eat unleavened bread."
-- It appears that mowshab has a connotation of position and situation (good dwelling place vs. bad dwelling place; good seat vs. bad seat; right hand seat vs. left hand seat; a good situation vs. an evil or bad situation) although this must be determined from context.
-- SEAT - The first place I can locate where the KJV translators use seat is found in 1st Samuel 20:18 where Jonathan and David are thinking of a way for David to escape from King Saul who has 'gone mad' in his hatred of God's plan and they wonder if Saul will try to kill David... "Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow [is] the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat (mowshab) will be empty."
-- SITTING - An interesting corollary is found when the queen of Sheba comes from the east to observe the great wisdom of Solomon... 1st Kings 10:4 "And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting (mowshab) of his servants..." The queen of Sheba declares in words similar to Psalm 1 that even the servants are happy and blessed because they sit/stand around the throne of Solomon and daily hear his wisdom... 1st Kings 10:8 "Happy [are] thy men, happy [are] these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, [and] that hear thy wisdom."
-- Finally, In Ezekial's prophecy of the restoration of Israel, and establishing of an everlasting covenant... in Ezekial 37:23 "but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces (mowshab), wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God."

sit, sits, sitteth

2004-01-01T05:03:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued...
Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
This morning I will examine the word sit, or sitteth as found in Psalm 1. The Hebrew word here is yashab {yaw-shab'} which occurs 1088 times in the OT and means: to dwell, remain, sit, abide, to sit, sit down, to be set, to remain, stay, to dwell, have one's abode, to be inhabited. yashab {yaw-shab'} is translated 437 times as dwell in the KJV. Yashab {yaw-shab'} is translated 221 times as inhabitant, 172 times as sit, and 70 times as abide. So we see that the rendering of sit or sitteth is not as common as dwell or inhabit.
-- There are times when it is not possible for men to sit and dwell together, and times when it is not wise to continue dwelling together (even if desired). Abraham's herds and flocks were so great and so large and Lot's also that they agreed to dwell at some distance apart from one another... Genesis 13:6 "And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell (yashab) together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell (yashab) together." And we see in Genesis 13:12 "Abram dwelled (yashab) in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled (yashab) in the cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent toward Sodom."
-- In some instances, the sit or sat refers to a position of power... In Exodus 12:29 we see that the seat or position of power is no protection from the judgement seat of God... "at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat (yashab) on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that [was] in the dungeon;"
-- There is more figurative meaning here than simply a man sitting on a wooden chair. The meaning is deeper.... Psalm 1:1 ..."nor sitteth (yashab) in the seat of the scornful". See also in the messianic psalm, quoted by the apostles ... Psalm 2:4 "He that sitteth (yashab) in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."

Some Sinners so unreasonable and so wicked...

2003-12-31T11:17:00.000-05:00

THERE are some Sinners so unreasonable, and so wicked. Ask them why they don't reform their Lives, why don't you turn over a new leaf, and amend your ways and your doings, they will answer, God does not give me Grace. I can't Convert myself, and God does not Convert me. Thus do they insinuate as if God were in fault, and the blame of their Unconversion to be imputed unto him. But as Elihu speaks, Suffer me a little, and I will shew you what I have yet to say on God's behalf...[more] - from Increase Mather (1710)

sinner, sinners, sinful

2003-12-31T05:43:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued... Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Several days ago I looked at the word sinners, but only briefly, so I will continue now.... The Hebrew word is chatta' {khat-taw'} and is found only 18 times in the OT; 16 times translated sinner (noun) ; 1 time as sinful (adj.) and 1 time as offender (adj.)
-- The first occurence of sinners is found in Genesis 13:13 "But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners (chatta' ) before the LORD exceedingly."
-- In another instance, we find Saul arguing with Samuel about his obedience to God's command -- because God's wrath is so great against sinners... 1 Sam 15:18 "And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners (chatta') the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed."
-- Another two instances of the word sinners (chatta') occur in Psalm 1 (vs. 1 and 5).
-- There is mercy and forgiveness for sinners, as we see in Psalm 51:13 "[Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners (chatta') shall be converted unto thee. "
-- I find it interesting that this word sinners and warnings to flee or stay away from (have no fellowship with) sinners is found in the gateway to the Psalms (Ps.1) and the gateway to the Proverbs (Prov.1) See Proverbs 1:10 "My son, if sinners (chatta') entice thee, consent thou not."

Why does God's wrath burn so hot against these sinners and this sinfulness?
Read this story of murder/rape victims and then compare to Proverbs 1:10-16 "For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood." The wicked, sinful boys in the story are exactly described in the Proverb. No warning can be strong enough to stay away from such extreme evil.

Way

2003-12-30T05:15:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued... Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners....
The Hebrew word derek {deh'-rek} occurs 705 times in the O.T. scriptures and is translated way 590 times by the KJV translators. Derek (way) also means path, road, distance, journey, manner, direction, habit, course of life, or of moral character. Derek is translated 'toward' 31 times, and 'journey' 23 times.
-- We find the first occurence of way (derek) in Genesis 3:24 when God has cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and sets up angels to guard the way back to the tree of life... "and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way (derek) of the tree of life."
-- The second occurence of way (derek) is when God tells Noah that all the world has become so full of sin -- that He will destroy it with a flood... Genesis 6:12 "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way (derek) upon the earth."
-- When Abraham's servant went looking for a wife for Isaac (Abraham's son), the servant wondered... "whether the LORD had made his journey (derek) prosperous or not." Genesis 24:21
-- There are many other instances of way that we have no time to investigate, but you can look at here...
-- However, our study of way in Psalm 1 would not be complete without looking at a parallel passage in Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way (derek) prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

stand, stood, standeth

2003-12-29T05:30:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued... Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners....

We consider today the most complex Hebrew word so far encountered in the word study. Is it complex, or does it just have a larger definition than many other words? The Hebrew word is `amad {aw-mad'} -- which is translated as stands or standeth (1600's KJV style english). The word `amad occurs 521 times and means to stand, remain, endure, take one's stand, be in a standing attitude, stand forth, take a stand, present oneself, attend upon, be or become servant of, to stand still, stop (moving or doing), cease, to tarry, delay, remain, continue, abide, endure, persist, be steadfast, hold one's ground, to stand upright, remain standing, stand up, rise, be erect, be upright, to arise, appear, come on the scene, stand forth, appear, rise up or against, to stand with, take one's stand, be appointed, grow flat, grow insipid, to station, set, to cause to stand firm, maintain, to cause to stand up, cause to set up, erect, to present (one) before (king), to appoint, ordain, establish.
-- The first occurrence of this word `amad (stand, stood) occurs in Gen. 18:8 when Abraham receives the angel visitors who bring the message that he will soon become a father (his wife will have a baby) and inform him of the coming destruction of Sodom. There we find the phrase "and he stood (`amad) by them [the messengers from God] under the tree, and they did eat."
-- The second occurrence of `amad (stood) is Gen 18:22 "And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood (`amad) yet before the LORD." It appears to me from the context here that this type of standing involves a good dose of determination, resolve, and firmness -- for we see Abraham pleading with the LORD several times to spare the righteous as he destroys the wicked.
-- There is real deep imagery in this word `amad (stand,stood) We see Joseph standing before pharaoh in Gen 41:46 "And Joseph [was] thirty years old when he stood (`amad) before Pharaoh king of Egypt." And we see Josephs brothers returning to Egypt - to be saved - in great humbleness... Gen 43:15 "and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood (`amad) before Joseph." Deeper still is the imagery of Moses standing before God in the burning bush... Exodus 3:5 "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest (`amad) [is] holy ground." -- or the imagery of Aaron (the priest, a pre-figurement of Christ) in Numbers 16:48 "and he stood (`amad) between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed."
-- I am saying this twice to emphasize the point -- There is a definite pattern of boldness, firmness, constancy of purpose, determination, and resolution in many usages of this word `amad (stand, stood). As we see when the angel of the LORD confronted the wayward prophet Balaam in Numbers 22:26 "And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood (`amad) in a narrow place, where [was] no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left." Of the priesthood of the Levites it is said: "For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand (`amad) to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever." Deut. 18:5 See also as recorded in Joshua 3:17 "And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm (`amad) on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."
-- Finally, let's keep in mind, the phrase in Psalm 1 is about NOT standing -- as in Joshua 21:44 "and there stood not (`amad) a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand."

Blessing, Benediction

2003-12-26T08:01:00.000-05:00

God speaks well [Bene-dict-ion (blessing) Speak well] of the man (the blessed man, the happy man), that does NOT walk (and talk) in the foolish and wicked advice of the ungodly (those hostile to God, who despise His Law, ignore His advice, and hate His WORD).
The ungodly (anti-God-ones) are full of wicked thoughts, counsel, advice, and gossip and condemn themselves by their wicked and false condemnation (speaking evil) of others. They are cursed who love false words and despise the truth. -- Isa. 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
God speaks well of those who do NOT listen to those who speak evil.
Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
God blesses (speaks well of) those who listen to, believe in, and love His Son (the Eternal Word, the Counselor).
Matthew 17:5 ... behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

ungodly

2003-12-26T05:34:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued... Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
On the Christmas eve (morning) I studied 'counsel' and this morning I will study the word 'ungodly'.
The Hebrew word translated ungodly here is rasha` {raw-shaw'}. Rasha appears 263 times in the OT scriptures and has the general meanings: wicked, ungodly, criminal, guilty one, one guilty of crime, hostile to God, guilty of sin against God or man. Rasha`{raw-shaw'} -- is normally translated wicked in the KJV (249 out of 263 times); . However, the KJV translated it 'ungodly' 8 times -- as it occurs in Pslam 1:1 (the first phrase shown above).
- The first occurance of rasha (translated wicked) is found in the story of the destruction of Sodom -- when Abraham pleads with God to remember mercy and goodness (to the righteous) in the midst of judgement: And Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (rasha`) " - Gen. 18:23
- In the Proverbs we find many warnings about the wicked/ungodly. eg. "They that forsake the law praise the wicked (rasha`) : but such as keep the law contend with them." - Prov. 28:4
- Also the Prophets continue this thread (counsel of the wicked/ungodly, way of sinners == wicked way, unrighteous thoughts) eg. Isaiah 55:7 - Let the wicked (rasha`) forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
- Sometimes rasha` is an adjective (criminal, ungodly,wicked) and other times a verb (to be wicked, act wickedly, to be guilty, to condemn, be condemned). See Isa 54:17 - "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn" (rasha`) .

counsel

2003-12-24T04:56:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - word study continued... Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
I have it on good advice, that the Hebrew word for counsel is `etsah {ay-tsaw'} (Usually translated as counsel, advice, purpose) Related to root word ya`ats {yaw-ats'} (Meaning to advise, consult, give counsel, counsel, purpose, devise, plan) This word `etsah appears 88 times in the OT manuscripts, and 79 times the KJV translators use 'counsel' as the best way to represent the meaning.

-- The first occurence of this word counsel (`etsah) appears in Deut. 32:28 "For they [are] a nation void of counsel (`etsah), neither [is there any] understanding in them." Context : Moses song, which sets forth God's mercy and justice. God is always willing to provide counsel, just as he desired to walk and talk with Adam and Eve in the garden each day. But man despises the counsel of God, and desires the counsel of fools and wicked men.
-- 2 Chronicles 10:10,13 - See how quickly the kingdom under Rehoboam 'comes apart' when he follows the counsel of young fools... "But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him." ... "And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men"
-- As it says of wicked king Ahaziah in 2 Chronicles 22:3: "He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly."
-- Jesus Christ is the Great Counsellor who walks and talks with us and always provides the best advice. -- Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor (the root word ya`ats {yaw-ats'} is used here ), The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Word Links Bible - Recommended

2003-12-23T09:43:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 on the Word Links Bible

Other online NASB Bibles and study tools from the Lockman Foundation.

Halak - Another Meaning

2003-12-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Another meaning of halak.... found in this article about the great flood -- The word continually is halak (haw-lak') and it means to go forward, go around, go about, to depart, to return, to come, to go, backward, forward, to go too and fro, and to wander, like a nomad or a wayfarer.

Hebrew Lexicon

2003-12-23T07:57:00.000-05:00

Found this new (unknown to me) Hebrew Lexicon when searching for Halak -- from searchgodsword.org

Gossip, RAD, and Reb Bradley

2003-12-23T07:25:00.000-05:00

Found this page about gossip. The most sensitive and comprehensive study I have seen... so did not want to lose track of it ... from Family Ministries of Fair Oaks, CA

Also this article on Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
-- "The basis of RAD appears to be that children who have faced rejection, isolation, or abuse subconsciously try to minimize emotional pain by hardening their hearts against others. In their proclivity toward self-preservation they become highly self-focused and apathetic toward others. In their efforts to â€œnot careâ€? they fail to develop a conscience." -- also mentions Psalm 1:1 as reason to NOT listen to Humanistic Psychologists.

-- Reb Bradley of Family Ministries also published this article on World Net Daily after the 'Columbine Massacre'.

go, walk, walketh

2003-12-23T05:20:00.000-05:00

Continuing Hebrew word study of Psalm 1:1... Blessed is the man that walketh not...
The Hebrew word halak {haw-lak'} occurs about 500 times in the OT manuscripts. Of those 500, 217 times the KJV translates halak as go, and 156 times as walk (walketh). (Walk (halak) has various shades of meaning such as: to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away, to die, live, manner of life (fig.), to traverse, to walk about, to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk.)

Usages of halak translated as go:
-- In Gen. 15:1,2 we see Abram waiting (hoping in the promises of God, but not yet having received them) -- "the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go (halak) childless... (Abram voices his concern to YHWH about going, walking through life childless).
-- In 2Kings 5:10 we see Naaman the Syrian seeking to be healed of leprosy... "And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go (halak) and wash in [the] Jordan [river] seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean."
-- In Proverbs 6:20ff we find exhortation to 'keep thy Father's commandment, and forsake not thy mother's law' and then several extreme warnings to avoid the wicked woman, the whore, the prostitute, the adulteress, the woman who flashes her eyelids in a seductive way.... Prov. 6:28 "Can one go (halak) [walk] upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?"

Usages of halak translated as walk:
-- In Genesis we see that man was designed to walk (halak) with God but sin has seperated man from God.... Gen. 3:8 "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking (halak) in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God."
-- In Gen. 5:24 "And Enoch walked (halak) with God..."
-- In Gen. 6:9 "... and Noah walked (halak) with God..."
-- In Gen. 17:1,2 "the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk (halak) before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly..."
-- In Exodus 14:29 when God showed Himself as a Mighty Saviour, by walking the Israelites right through the middle of the sea, and delivering them from Pharoah's army.... "the children of Israel walked (halak) upon dry [land] in the midst of the sea; and the waters [were] a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."
-- In Psalm 86:11 "Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk (halak) in thy truth..."

man

2003-12-22T06:10:00.000-05:00

Making progress in the study of the Psalms... continuing Hebrew word study of Psalm 1:1...
The Hebrew word 'iysh {eesh} occurs 1,639 times in the ancient OT manuscripts, and of those 1,002 times (in the KJV) 'iysh is translated 'man', 210 times translated 'men', 188 times translated 'one', 69 times translated 'husband ', and 27 times 'any' man. (english trans. 'man', male, husband, human being, servant, mankind, champion, great man) And yes, it refers to man as male (not female). For example see the 1st usage of the word 'iysh in Gen. 2:23,24 - And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man ('iysh). Therefore shall a man ('iysh) leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Also, in Gen. 7:2, when God is telling Noah to prepare for the flood, he says "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male ('iysh) and his female..."

When YHWH had delivered his people out of Egypt and saved them from Pharoah's army, Moses led the people in singing that great 'Song of Moses' and there we find the phrase "The LORD [is] a man ('iysh) of war: the LORD [is] his name." (Exodus 15:3)

In Proverbs 14:12 we find the warning, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man ('iysh), but the end thereof [are] the ways of death."

blessed sinners

2003-12-21T05:11:00.000-05:00

In January I will begin the study of Psalm 91 and Romans 8.

Making progress in the study of the Psalms... continuing Hebrew word study of Psalm 1:1...
Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

blessed

- The Hebrew word 'esher {eh'-sher} (english trans. 'blessed' happy, happiness, blessedness) is related to Hebrew root word 'ashar {aw-shar'} or 'asher {aw-share'} ( to go straight, walk, go on, advance, make progress, to set right, righten, to pronounce happy, call blessed, to be made happy, be blessed) { The 1st occurence (in scripture) of this word ('esher/blessed/happy) is found in the last verse of the chapter long blessing of Moses on the children of Israel, the last recorded words of Moses, right before Moses death; in Deut. 33:23 -- Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord...}

sinners

- Hebrew word chatta' {khat-taw'} (english trans. 'sinners') {1st occurence - Gen 13:13 - But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.}

etymology of blessing

2003-12-20T07:05:00.000-05:00

Found this interesting definition/etymology for bless and blessing...
-- [ETYMOLOGY: Old English 'blÃ¦dsian' - to sprinkle with sacrificial blood; related to blood]

Psalm 1 - Hebrew Audio

2003-12-20T05:29:00.000-05:00

Lsten to Psalm 1 (audio) in Hebrew...

Psalm 1 - Latin

2003-12-20T04:35:00.000-05:00

beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum et in via peccatorum non stetit in cathedra derisorum non sedit.
see complete Latin version of Psalm 1 here....

William Whitaker's Latin Dictionary is here...
Beatus
beat.us VPAR 1 1 NOM S M PERF PASSIVE PPL
beo, beare, beavi, beatus V TRANS
bless, make happy, gladden, delight; enrich (with);
beat.us ADJ 1 1 NOM S M POS
beatus, beata, beatum ADJ Late
blessed, blissful; "Saint" (in early Church, less formal);
beat.us N 2 1 NOM S M
beatus, beati N M uncommon
happy/fortunate men/persons (pl.); the rich;
beat.us ADJ 1 1 NOM S M POS
beatus, beata -um, beatior -or -us, beatissimus -a -um ADJ
happy, fortunate, bringing happiness; rich, wealthy, copious, sumptuous;

http://douay.mrklingon.org/ has Latin bible linked to dictionary so as you read the Latin bible, you can click on the links and see english translations of each word or phrase.

Wessler-Rogets thesauri - beatus

Blessed Man - is All About Jesus

2003-12-18T05:24:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - The blessed man is all about Jesus Christ.
(If it's about you - you are in trouble...)
I already knew that, but I keep finding more reasons why it's true. (eg. Augustine's blog of Ps.1)

When you ponder such passages as Psalm 1:1, Matthew 1:1, John 1:1 and Rev. 1:3 -- and you meditate upon these things day after day for several days, weeks or months -- you begin to see a pattern as all the threads come to together in God's beautiful plan.

Psalm 1 shows us the model of the perfectly blessed man who avoids all sin, sinful thoughts, delights in the law/word every hour of every day and thus prospers in all that he does.

Matthew 1:1 says Jesus Christ is the son of Abraham and the son of David.
God promised that through Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. (Gen.18:18) Psalm 1 is the gateway (preface) to the Psalms (book of David) and the only "house of blessing" is the "house of David" -- the everlasting throne and kingdom. And as the angel told Mary when announcing the birth of the Messiah (Luke 1:32,33), "He shall be great... and the LORD GOD shall give him the throne of his father David."

[2 Samuel 7:29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.]
[2 Sam 7:16 'Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.' ]
[1 Chronicles 17:27 Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever. ]

2003-12-18T04:23:00.000-05:00

Wall Street Journal reviews 'The Passion' -- Mel Gibson's upcoming film about Christ .... well actually Peggy Noonan's review of Pope John Paul II's 5 words about it...

Psalm 1 - Commentary by Greg Herrick

2003-12-17T07:06:00.000-05:00

New thoughts on Psalm 1 from Greg Herrick? the NET Bible team....

Psalm 1 - Other Translations

2003-12-17T05:30:00.000-05:00

And yet another Catholic translation of the Psalms.... see Psalm 1

Psalms of David in Metre with Notes by John Brown of Haddington... see Psalm 1

Psalm 1 - Calvin's Commentary

2003-12-17T04:53:00.000-05:00

from CCEL preface - translators comments on Calvin's Commentary of the Psalms.

To exhibit the Psalms arranged in the metrical order, was an idea which appears never to have suggested itself to the mind of Calvin. In his time, indeed, and long after it, the peculiar character of Hebrew Poetry was not understood. It was not till a recent period that any steady light was; thrown on the laws of its composition. A vast amount of learning had indeed been expended on the subject, and a variety of hypotheses had been suggested by successive writers to unravel a question so intricate and mysterious; but no satisfactory result was attained until it was investigated by the learned Bishop Lowth, to whose genius and erudition we are indebted for the discovery of this long lost secret. He has proved, with a clearness and force of evidence which has now commanded universal assent, that Hebrew Poetry bears no resemblance in its structure to the Poetry of Greece and Rome, that it has no rhyming termination of lines as in the Poetry of our own language, and that its peculiar, and perhaps its sole characteristic, lies in a felicitous arrangement of words into what he denominates Parallelism. In other words, its leading peculiarity is that. each sentence consists generally of two parts, closely corresponding to each other, not indeed in the number of syllables, but in the ideas which they express, or in their grammatical constructive form, the second being synonymous (or, as Bishop Jebb would denominate it, cognate) with the first, -- or antipathetic to it in its terms and sentiments, -- or similar to it in the form of grammatical construction, such as noun answering to noun, verb to verb, member to member, negative to negative, interrogative to interrogative.

[ This sentence expresses the three specific heads into which Lowth discovered Hebrew parallelism, -- which involves in it much variety and many gradations, -- may be generally And more loosely distributed, Parallels Synonymous, (or, according to JEBB, Parallels Cognate,) Parallels Autithetic, and Parallels Synthetic or Constructive. For an example of the first, see Psalm 1:1-5; of the second, see Psalm 20:7, 8; and of the third, see Psalm 148:7-13.]

The division of these sacred poems into hemistichs or lines is, therefore, the form in which they ought naturally to be arranged; and such an arrangement is attended with great advantages. It exhibits to the eve the peculiar structure of Hebrew poetical composition, and is, besides, an important aid in Scriptural Interpretation, as it often contributes to the elucidation of obscure and difficult passages, and enables even the mere English reader to discover a thousand beauties, which, without such a help, would escape his notice.

Bless the house

2003-12-16T07:08:00.000-05:00

Bless the house (phrase search)
A new thread... bless the house ...

Psa 115:12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless [us]; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
Psa 115:13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, [both] small and great.
Psa 115:14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
Psa 115:15 Ye [are] blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.

Blessed-man, sins forgiven

2003-12-16T06:44:00.000-05:00

Blessed-man == sins forgiven, trusting in God.
Continuing study of Psalm 1:1,2
Parallel passages on the theme of blessed man, blessedness....

Ps. 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him.

Ps. 32:1 Blessed [is he whose] transgression [is] forgiven, [whose] sin [is] covered.
-- Blessed-man = transgression forgiven (sins covered).

Ps. 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD [is] good: blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him.
-- Blessed-man = trusting in YHWH.

Ps. 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed [is] the man that trusteth in thee.
-- Blessed-man = trusting in the LORD.

Ps. 112:1 Blessed [is] the man [that] feareth the LORD, [that] delighteth greatly in his commandments.
-- Blessed man = fears YHWH, delights in his law/word.

Jesus Understood Power of Psalm 1

2003-12-15T06:26:00.000-05:00

From Jesus Takes God' Word to Heart
-- MS-Word document --

(Deut. 6:6; Mt. 13:15, Psalm 1)

Mark records comparatively few of the words of Jesus, and focuses our attention fully on the person of Jesus. Matthew concentrates on the words of Jesus to such an extent that he arranges them in five carefully constructed discourses... But Matthew presents not only the words of Jesus. He shows how Jesus himself is the perfect expression of these words. As we read Matthew, we should not only listen to the Lord's words, we should see these words alive in the very life and person of Jesus. He fulfilled in his own life the words of God which he proclaimed. For example, read the eight beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-12) as a living portrait of Jesus himself, and see this portrait throughout Matthew's Gospel, Thus you will see the words of Jesus as directions for living the life of Jesus.

1. Jesus as presented by Matthew fulfills the ideal of the just man: "The just man's mouth tells of wisdom . . . the law of God is in his heart" (Ps. 37:30). Jesus has the Scriptures in his heart, for they leap to his lips spontaneously, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Mt. 12:34).

a) He quotes the Scriptures spontaneously to defeat Satan:

Mt. 4:4 = Deut. 8:3

Mt. 4:7 = Deut. 6:16

Mt. 4:10 = Deut. 6:13.

2. Accused of violating the Law, he fulfills its true spirit, which is wholehearted, merciful love (hesed) -- Mt. 12:7; 9:13.

3. Because he does the Father's will, he is manifest as the Father's Son (17:5) and brother of all who do the Father's will (12:48-50; 21:28-31). He has listened to the Father's word ("Listen, O Israel..." Deut. 6:4), therefore we must be obedient to the obedient Son: "Listen to him!" (Mt. 17:5).

4. Who is truly a son of God? The one who shows wholehearted love of neighbor (Mt. 5:43-48). Jesus lived this word by his wholehearted, forgiving love, countering plots to kill him by continuing his works of healing and forgiveness (Mt. 12:14-21; 9-13)

5. The Father's judicial declaration that Jesus is Son and Servant (Mt. 17:5 and Is. 42:1) introduces the whole passion account, in which Jesus is manifested as Son of God, tested in his sufferings, proved to be wholehearted in his love of God and obedience to his word. Read Mt . 27:35-54 in connection with Psalm 22 and Wisdom 2:11-20:-.

Psalm 1, the preface to all the psalms, is a portrait of the just man who delights in God's word (Ps. 1:2). As preface to all the psalms, it hints that every psalm presents aspects of the just man, and therefore of Jesus, THE JUST ONE. We should see Jesus in the Psalms. This is true in a special way of Psalm 22, which powerfully influences Matthew's portrait of the Crucified Jesus as just man par excellence and Son of God. "Clearly, this was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:54)

Psalm 1 - Buber/Rosenzweig Translation

2003-12-15T05:51:00.000-05:00

The text of Psalm 1 reads as follows in a translation based on the Buber/Rosenzweig version:2
1 a Happy is the person
b who walks not in the counsel of evildoers,
c nor treads the path of sinners,
d nor sits together with scoffers,
2 a but instead delights in YHWH’s instruction,
b and ponders that instruction day and night.
3 a Such a person is like a tree, planted beside streams of water,
b which yields its fruit in season,
c and its leaves do not wither;
d all that such a person does prospers.
4 a Not so the evildoers;
b rather they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 a Therefore evildoers will not stand in the judgment,
b nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 a For YHWH knows the way of the righteous,
b but the way of evildoers will perish.

from Uwe F. W. Bauer MS-Word document (where he accuses Luther of Anti-Jewish interpretation??)

Psalm 1 - Study Notes from Dennis Hinks

2003-12-13T06:11:00.000-05:00

Found this aol-blogger-journal on Psalm 1:1. from this guy named Dennis Hinks.
A lot of parallel passages and word studies to consider...

Psalm 1 - John Calvin's Blog

2003-12-10T05:09:00.000-05:00

CCEL has John Calvin's blog on Psalm 1:1,2
Says Calvin:

O the blessedness of the man...
it shall be always well with God's devout servants, whose constant endeavor it is to make progress in the study of his law.
how impossible it is for any one to apply his mind to meditation upon God's laws who has not first withdrawn and separated himself from the society of the ungodly.

Psalm 1 - Devotional from Darlene Zschech

2003-12-09T04:35:00.000-05:00

Darlene Zschech (the singer, soungwriter from Australia) has a nice little study/devotional on Psalm 1

Meditation After Funeral of Daniel L. Jones

2003-12-06T05:01:00.000-05:00

Study on Psalm 1, weekly review... Wednesday, 3-Dec-2003 - Friday, 5-Dec-2003
We started looking at the word "is" in the phrase: "Blessed is the man", so now we have completed studies on the words "psalm", "blessed", and "is" which brings us to the word/phrase "the man".

There is one sense that Jesus-Christ is the ultimate example of the 'blessed-man", because he perfectly meditated upon the Word of God, and perfectly obeyed the Law of God, because he was/is (and called himself) "the Way, the Truth, and the Life".

As mentioned in the funeral message yesterday for funeral of Daniel L. Jones, from John 14

Jesus Is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions;[1] if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.[2] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know."
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

A.J. mentioned to me that when Jesus said He was "the way", he said he was the "law/word". Saying "I am the way" == "I am the law/word".
Jesus-Christ/law-word == blessed/man who meditates on the law/word,.

In another sense, when Jesus took our sins upon himself, he became the ultimate "cursed man". So we see in one person, the God/Man, Jesus Christ, the ultimate blessed man and the ultimate cursed man, the ultimate-happy-man, and the ultimate-man-of-sorrows.

Blessed IS the Man (IS added for clarity)

2003-12-05T07:14:00.000-05:00

Blessed [is] the man...
It appears that the word "IS" does not appear in the original version, but "IS" is added for clarity in our english translations. (See JPS version. )

See "blessed the man" in Hebrew, with english explanations of each word.

As we looked at yesterday. This is a metonymical linguistic device.
Blessed-man = one who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly...

Psalm 1 - Greek LXX version

2003-12-05T06:57:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1 - Greek LXX version

1:1 μακαριος ανηρ ος ουκ επορευθη εν βουλη ασεβων και εν οδω αμαρτωλων ουκ εστη και επι καθεδραν λοιμων ουκ εκαθισεν

1:2 αλλ' η εν τω νομω κυριου το θελημα αυτου και εν τω νομω αυτου μελετησει ημερας και νυκτος

1:3 και εσται ως το ξυλον το πεφυτευμενον παρα τας διεξοδους των υδατων ο τον καρπον αυτου δωσει εν καιρω αυτου και το φυλλον αυτου ουκ απορρυησεται και παντα οσα αν ποιη κατευοδωθησεται

1:4 ουχ ουτως οι ασεβεις ουχ ουτως αλλ' η ως ο χνους ον εκριπτει ο ανεμος απο προσωπου της γης

1:5 δια τουτο ουκ αναστησονται ασεβεις εν κρισει ουδε αμαρτωλοι εν βουλη δικαιων

1:6 οτι γινωσκει κυριος οδον δικαιων και οδος ασεβων απολειται

Blessed Man = Happy Man

2003-12-04T07:49:00.000-05:00

See Psalm 1

Words for today (helping us to understand - Blessed is the man...)

Happy = Man
Blessed = Man (condition)
or
Blessed/Happy/Man = "one who is meditating on the word of God"

Psalm Study - Meaning of word Psalm or Psalms

2003-12-04T05:20:00.000-05:00

Continuing the study of Psalm 1, we are on word 2.
Blessed IS the man...
Apparently the Greek word-prefix iso-... or is-... has some relationship as noted yesterday.

But I must digress (go back to the beginning), because we did not study (meditate on) the word "Psalm", "Psalms" or "psalmos" yet.

Words we have studied, must continue to study:
a) Psalm [eg. Psalm 1]
b) Blessed [eg. Blessed is the man... ]
c) is [eg. Blessed is the man...]

I found this interesting discussion of the word "psalm" this morning.... [from Mark A. Copeland, executableoutlines.com]

I. THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD "PSALM"

A. THE GREEK WORD IS "PSALMOS"...
1. From the Hebrew word zmr, meaning "to pluck"; i.e., taking
hold of the strings of an instrument with the fingers
2. Implies that the psalms were originally composed to be
accompanyied by a stringed instrument
3. "Psalms are songs for the lyre, and therefore lyric poems
in the strictest sense." - (Delitzsch, PSALMS, Vol. I, p. 7)
4. David and others originally wrote the Psalms to be sung to the
accompaniment of the "harp"

B. IN NEW TESTAMENT WORSHIP, WE ARE TOLD TO SING THE PSALMS TO THE
ACCOMPANIMENT OF THE "HEART"...
1. "...singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord"
- Ep 5:19
2. The phrase, "making melody" comes from the Greek word
psallontes (literally, plucking the strings of)
3. Thus, we are to "pluck the strings of our heart" as we sing
psalms, not the strings of a harp

I would like to modify that last statement to say, we are to pluck the strings of our heart -- as we play our stringed instrument and sing to God.. Although I agree that God is more interested in the tuning of our hearts to sing his praise, than the tuning of our harp, violin or guitar....

On another note... (no pun intended)... many people have produced outlines for study of the books of the Bible. Sometimes these are helpful for summarizing the teachings of scripture portions and anchoring them in our minds and hearts.

This little outline is from the Biblical Studies Foundation

3P's outline of Psalm 1:1-3
- the way of the righteous man
a) what it prohibits
b) what it promotes
c) what it promises

or 3P's from the perspective of the righteous man
a) his peril
b) his priorities
c) his prosperity

Metonymy

2003-12-03T06:14:00.000-05:00

Metonymy:
Noah Webster 1828 definition: [ (from two greek words meaning over, beyond and name) In rhetoric, a trope in which one word is put for another; a change of names which have some relation to each other; as when we say, "a man keeps a good table", instead of "good provisions". We read Virgil, that is his poems. They have Moses and the prophets, that is their books or writings. A man has clear head, that is understanding, intellect; a warm heart, that is, affections.]

Metonymy ("met-AH-na-mee") is the rhetorical or metaphorical substitution of a one thing for another based on their association or proximity. Examples: a monarch is not the same thing as a crown, but we often refer to the monarch as "the crown" because the two are associated. -- from Jack Lynch's Guide to Literary Terms

Metonymic:
hyperdictionary definition -- "[adj] using the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated; "to say `he spent the evening reading Shakespeare' is metonymic because it substitutes the author himself for the author's works"

Metonym:
A word that is used metonymically; a word that denotes one thing but refers to a related thing

This is so exciting that inspired a new blog today devoted to metonymy.

Corollary to a missing word? equal=isos

2003-12-03T05:14:00.000-05:00

We sang Psalm 1 on the way to the hospital last night to visit Gramma Jones.
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."
My older study of Psalm 1 needs revising and updating also.

I studied the words "bless", and "blessing" in quite some depth in my last study, but this morning I am pondering the simple word "IS".
Blessed "IS" the man...

Wow I have been studying the Psalms for two years and I am finally on the second word -- Psalm 1:1 (word two) -- Blessed is ....

"IS" may come from the greek, not sure, but there some interesting definitions, etymologies, synonymns and corollaries to explore...

IS -- The third person singular of the substantive verb be, in the indicative mood, present tense; as, he is; he is a man. See Be.
The Greek word "isos" means equal.
"Is" is related to akin.

Etymology:
1. That branch of philological science which treats of the history of words, tracing out their origin, primitive significance, and changes of form and meaning.
2. That part of grammar which relates to the changes in the form of the words in a language; inflection.

Corollary
1. That which is given beyond what is actually due, as a garland of flowers in addition to wages; surplus; ...
2. Something which follows from the demonstration of a proposition; an additional inference or deduction from a demonstrated proposition; a consequence.

Akin:
1. Of the same kin; related by blood; -- used of persons; as, the two families are near akin.
2. Allied by nature; partaking of the same properties; of the same kind. ``A joy akin to rapture.'' --Cowper.
-- The literary character of the work is akin to its moral character. --Jeffrey.

Grandpa Jones is no more in the land of the living. We can say of him "he was...", but only God can say what "he is".

Death of a Father, Re-Birth of a Blog

2003-12-03T05:05:00.000-05:00

Re-starting my study of the psalms again..... and my blog of various biblical studies.... after the recent death of my father-in-law, Daniel L. Jones. He was 76 years old, died in the same house he was born in. Had 9 children, 22 grand-children, and 2 great-grandchildren. His death reminds me again that life is short....

Psalm 27 and Michael Jordan

2001-07-19T05:20:00.000-04:00

Thought for today from Psalm 27:1

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

A rhetorical question -- with the obvious conclusion
that we have nothing to be afraid about.
Like, (another analogy) Michael Jordon is on my basketball team...
who wants to try to beat my team? Am I afraid?

The LORD is my strength, am I afraid of anything in life?

Psalm 26 and Psalm 1 - Key to Holy Life

2001-07-18T04:24:00.000-04:00

I'm back from my mental vacation.

Looking at Psalm 26 this morning, especially vs. 4,5 -- it reminds me of Psalm 1:1

See the action language...just like psalm 1 -- describing walking, and not sitting.
I have walked in your truth...
I have not sat with idolators...
I will not sit with the wicked...

Here is a simple key to a holy life... walk away from evil situations.
Do not sit and have fellowship with the works of darkness.

Psalm 25 - Instructing a Sinner Like Me

2001-06-21T04:09:00.000-04:00

Seems I am struggling a bit to stay focused....
need to get back on the path.
I had a huge burst of energy while working on Psalm 19, and then
things seemed to fade away and dry up...

So, the best thing for me is to "get up, dust myself off, and start all over again" -- as the song says.

Psalm 25
8. Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
10. All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

Psalm 23 - Suprising Blessings from the Paths of Righteousness

2001-06-18T03:44:00.000-04:00

Reading Psalm 23 this morning, I again realize how many
and how great are the blessings I have received from the hand of God.
The Lord is blessing the work of my hands - both at home and at work.

But why should I be surprised at this:
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters"

JV and I are communicating at a more sincere and intimate level. This is good and is also a blessing from God. "He (God) restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

God is removing all the bad memories and troubles of former sins and leading us to greener pastures and paths of righteousness. What is a path of righteousness? I believe it is a daily habbit that pleases God, or by contrast, NOT walking in the former paths of sins -- that I already know lead to pain (for myself) and those around me (my familty, co-workers). For instance, a path of righteousness is getting up early to read the Bible and pray (and write in my journal). Notice it is a "path of righteousness" - not a "moment of righteousness" .... I must stay on the path! It is a journey, a walk, not a place to sit. I must stay on the path all day long. He leads me .... so all I have to do is follow... and lest I grow weary in well doing, my sheperd also makes me lie down... he makes me rest from all my work.

2001-06-01T04:27:00.000-04:00

Scanned through Psalm 22 this morning...

Prayer of Jabez

2001-05-29T04:25:00.000-04:00

JV and I both read "The Prayer of Jabez" this weekend. http://prayerofjabez.com/
Seems like I've known about the book for a long time now (several months on the NY TIMES best seller list, etc.)
-- but I never read it until just now.

Anyone can read it in an hour or two....
Prayer of Jabez

I will pray this prayer of Jabez every day for the next 30 days and see what happens...
... and Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,
"Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil,
that I might not cause pain." -
So God granted him what he requested.

Psalm 20 Struggles - Earnestly Desiring Prayer

2001-05-25T04:04:00.000-04:00

Having trouble staying focused on my Bible study lately.
Decided to read some commentary about Psalm 20 from Matthew Henry.

Ps.20:1-5
M. Henry observes how much we all need prayer support:
This prayer for David is entitled a psalm of David; nor was it any absurdity at all for him who was divinely inspired to draw up a directory, or form of prayer, to be used in the congregation for himself and those in authority under him; nay it is very proper for those who desire the prayers of their friends to tell them particularly what they would have to be asked of God for them. Note, Even great and good men, and those that know ever so well how to pray for themselves, must not despise, but earnestly desire, the prayers of others for them, even those that are their inferiors in all respects.

Hear, Answer, Respond

2001-05-24T03:56:00.000-04:00

Looking at Psalm 20 this morning.
(using the Interlinear Hebrew OT found at Crosswalk )

The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

yeh-ho-vaw' `anah -- Lord hear
hear - to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout
to answer, respond to
to testify, respond as a witness
to make answer
to be answered, receive answer
to sing, utter tunefully
to dwell

Real Audio Sermons at OHCC.NET

2001-05-21T04:19:00.000-04:00

Last night I set up some real audio for my church web-site.
Check it out....A series on the conscience.

Part 1- The Value of Conscience (from Rom. 2:1-16)

God of Jacob

2001-05-18T04:12:00.000-04:00

Thinking about Psalm 20:1 -- where God is called the
"God of Jacob" --because he is the God of our fathers -- those
who have gone before us....
The phrase God of Jacob is used/quoted many times in scripture.

Written In Stone

2001-05-17T04:21:00.000-04:00

Some people have such miserable lives, and they record all their sins on some blogger page.
I am not so bold, but I know that at the judgement day, all sins (public, private, secret, etc.)
will be exposed.

Will blogger be around in 2 more years -- need to back up my bloggs....
I am desiring something more permanent -- to record the lesson's learned in life
-- to pass along the truth to my children and grand-children.

Last Wednesday I went to Washington DC. with my three oldest daughters.
I have been there many times before, but not on a tour bus deal.
The thing that impressed me the most was all the things written in stone.
Everywhere we went, all day long, things were written in stone.
From the Vietnam-War-wailing-wall to the Lincoln-Memorial.... all the good stuff written in stone.

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

He Will Make All Your Plans Succeed

2001-05-15T03:58:00.000-04:00

I love Psalm 20 vs. 4:
"May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."
but I am carefully remembering that this bold and powerful verse is tied to the context around it
vs. 5: We will shout for joy when you are victorious and
will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
This indicates to me that God's wonderful promise is given to those
who are willing to ask. So what's the problem?
You mean, God wants me to be successful, and all I have to do is
ask Him to grant me success, and he will freely grant my request?
Yes, but you must ask, and that involves humbling myself before the
almighty God and talking with him in prayer.... the natural inclination of man
ever since Adam's fall is to run from God and hide in the bushes - to avoid talking to God.
Why is it that I run from God?
Why do I avoid setting aside some time to walk and talk with God?

But here the benefits of prayer are boldly and clearly laid out.
So what is stopping me?

Some Trust In Chariots...

2001-05-14T05:16:00.000-04:00

Today I'm starting my study of Psalm 20.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
My new goal is to spend at least 15 minutes each morning reading a new psalm, even though
it will take me a while to finish all my notes and web-pages on the other psalms.

2001-05-12T06:06:00.000-04:00

Prototype version 1 of my Psalm 19 links page is now somewhat complete.
I am keeping it at http://vvn.net/bible/psalms/19.htm
Found 19 songs based on Psalm 19. Lot's of nice music with midi files, real audio, mps, etc.
Psalm 19 is a song - so that is not suprising. So there are probably 25 or 30 modern melodies and versifications for Psalm 19.
(Actually I found 4 more mp3's - that I cannot link to).
(All the 150 Psalms are songs, but we do not know the original melodies.)

I ended up spending about 2 weeks studying Psalm 19, sometimes 2 or 3 hours per day.
Much of that time was spent looking for other songs/melodies.
Now it is time to keep moving on....

2001-04-25T04:32:00.000-04:00

I think I should also try to memorize Psalm 19.
I will bring this up with the children at breakfast and we can memorize it together.
Normally our first step in doing this is to write it out on note-cards after breakfast.
By working on it as a group, we help eachother learn.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. (Ps.19:7)
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be accetable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.(Ps.19:14)

2001-04-24T04:30:00.000-04:00

I am working on my study notes for Psalm 19 this week.
Hope to have the page(s) complete by Sunday morning.

2001-04-24T03:46:00.000-04:00

Psalm 19 tells us something very important about reality
- we need revelation from God to know God and to understand what life is really all about.
Psalm 19 tells us that God has indeed revealed Himself to us in two ways: by creation and by law.

2001-04-23T04:26:00.000-04:00

The goal of this journal/log is to chronicle my progress in the spiritual disciplines of prayer and bible study.
I think I will also take some of my daily bible study notes -- fix the structure, edit the content -- clean them up --
and publish them on the web -- on another web-site and in another structure.
Here I can log my progress and keep a few notes on my bigger project.

The log/journal approach is good for remembering where I've been and reviewing my goals
-- but may not be the best structure for publishing my Bible study notes.

And, my goal is to leave something for my children and grand children.... so I need to make sure
that whatever I come up with can be safely archived and backed up (and restored) -- for them
to read sometime in the future.