Psalms 74 and 75 speak to one another. In Psalm 74 we hear a desperate cry for help. The unthinkable happened when the Babylonians destroyed the Jerusalem temple. The psalmist in Psalms 74 says, Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own Read more…
Too often I pause and consider the state of affairs in the world and wonder, How in the world did we end up here? How did things become such a mess? Similarly, there are times in my life when I look at the mess that I’ve created for myself and Read more…
Dear blog subscribers, This fall I am teaching a full-length course on the Psalms at Wesley Biblical Seminary. This beloved book has shaped Christian faith and worship across the centuries. Many of us are familiar with the Psalms, but we often miss out on the riches of this book. The Psalms Read more…
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, which is the last Sunday before Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Palm Sunday commemorates when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people celebrated and praised him as their long-awaited Messiah. In their act of celebration they waved palm branches along the streets Read more…
Another passage under consideration as we prepare for Holy Week is Matthew 27:46, which records Jesus saying while on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Not a few preachers and other interpreters of the Bible have concluded that because this is the moment in which Read more…
The themes of temple and kingship fit naturally together as the temple is the place from which the King reigns. We see this in Psalm 2, which works alongside of Psalm 1 as the introduction to the Psalter. As the introduction, Psalm 1 tells its audience that the key to Read more…
The book Psalms is the praise book of God’s covenant people. Yes, the Psalms contain prayers (Pss 17, 86, and 142), laments (Pss 3–7, 9–10, 12–14, 17, 22, 25–28, and many more), wisdom psalms (Pss 1, 19, 37, 49, 50, 73, 78, 112, and 119), royal psalms (Ps 2, 18, Read more…
As a teacher, it’s important that I assess students. I have to keep them accountable to what they need to learn. There are all sorts of assessment tools out there. There are essays, projects, quizzes, tests, and so on. The purpose of these is for me to discover whether or Read more…
The book of Psalms reminds us that our purest theology comes out in worship, in the creative expression of the believer. Humans are creative beings. Being Image bearers means that it is not only humanity that is creative, but God as well. Humanity and civilization, then, is fulfilled by way Read more…