Contemplations
God Delights in Goodness
“…thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsakest them not.” (Nehemiah 9:17) Nehemiah 9:17 reveals the heart of God, a God who delights in goodness, mercy, and forgiveness. He is “ready to pardon, gracious and...
Reflections of God’s Love
“The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35) God’s infinite love and delight for His only begotten Son is displayed in glorious clarity throughout Scripture. In this verse from John, we encounter a statement of amazing simplicity...
Do You Have the Mind of Christ?
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16) To “have the mind of Christ” means to think in accordance with God’s truth, wisdom, and will. But this is not possible by human reasoning alone,...
To Whom Will You Liken God?
“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” (Isaiah 40:18) Perhaps the simplest and yet most comprehensive name for God in all of Scripture is that solemn declaration of Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14—“I AM.” This majestic name...
The Son Not Spared
“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:11) The depths of God’s mercy and justice were displayed in their highest form when He did...
The Deadly Root of Envy
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Genesis 4:8) Cain’s murder of his brother Abel reveals the level of corruption every human heart is capable of....
A Right Response to Sin
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7) When a Christian sins grievously, two perilous chasms open before the soul: one is Despair and the other is Presumption. The first tempts the sinner to believe...
Unfathomable Greatness
“Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.” (Job 36:26) Scripture repeatedly declares God to be great, and not just great among others, but great without comparison. “Behold, God is great, and we know him not”...
Delivered from Darkness Into Grace
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Ephesians 2:2) In this passage, Paul reminds believers at Ephesus of their former...
Presuming Upon Undeserved Mercy
“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” (Ezekiel 37:3) Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones presents one of the clearest pictures of human helplessness in all of Scripture. Israel in captivity was not described as...
The Majesty and Mystery of God’s Sovereignty
“Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.” (Job 37:23) God alone is sovereign, which means He is King of kings and Lord of lords, with power and rule over all. Nothing in...
The Majestic Glory of Christ
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” (Matthew 25:31) One of the grandest revelations of God’s glory in all of Scripture will be when Christ comes again, not in humility as He...
Hope Anchored in a God Who Cannot Lie
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” (Titus 1:2) Before time, before the world, before humanity, God promised eternal life. That promise came from His eternal will and unchanging truth. And this verse in Titus grounds...
No Place to Hide
“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” (Luke 12:2) How often do we try to convince ourselves that as long as our sin remains hidden we escape accountability. Yet Christ declares that all things hidden shall be...
The Darkness of Unbelief
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Unbelief is no small problem. In fact, Scripture presents it as...
The Sovereign Christ
“And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.” (Ezekiel 17:24) The history of...
Preaching the Gospel of Christ
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) The message of the gospel—that Christ died for our sins and rose again for our justification—will never change because the Christ of the gospel never changes. He does not shift with the times....
The Inescapable Reach of the Righteous King
“Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.” (Psalm 21:8) No enemy of Christ and His kingdom can escape the avenging hand of God. He knows every adversary, whether bold and open or hidden and treacherous. And no...
Everlasting Light From the Lord Himself
“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5) One of the more magnificent truths about the heavenly Jerusalem is that there will be...
Both Small Starts and Glorious Finishes
“For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:10) God is always at work, though He...
The Blessing of Abraham Fulfilled in Christ
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14) As Galatians 3:14 explains, that age-old “blessing of Abraham” finds its fulfillment in time in Jesus...
The Holy Beauty of Peace
“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:6) Peace, unity, and holy concord are among the sweetest gifts God gives His people. Scripture speaks of brethren dwelling together in unity as both pleasant and good. The...
The Righteous Judge
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11) The God of Scripture is presented as “the Righteous Judge” (2 Timothy 4:8) who is never indifferent to His creation, nor does He observe man’s behavior from a distance (Proverbs...
God Dwelling With His Redeemed People
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.’” (Revelation 21:3) This declaration from the throne captures the deepest...
The Image of the Invisible
“Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting....
God is One
“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:5-6)...
The Sin of Growing Familiar with God’s Patience
“O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2) Natural man has a tendency to presume on God’s patience... mistaking His silence for...
The Everlasting King Without Rival
“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6) The Lord’s kingship is not an office assumed in time but a glory that belongs to Him from everlasting. Indeed,...
The Incomparable God
“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” (Isaiah 40:18) The question the prophet asks here is a rhetorical one, for the implied answer is absolute. There is no likeness. There is no comparison. God stands alone. Thus any attempt to...
Walking Before the Covenant-Keeping God
“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.” (Titus 1:1) The doctrine of predestination, often misunderstood, stands as a cornerstone of divine grace in...
Three Who Bear Record
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7) In matters of significance, God does not leave His people to their own reasoning. He establishes truth by witness, and in this matter—the...
The Spirit Who Teaches the Heart to Cry Father
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6) Here in Galatians, the Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of believers is expressly called “the Spirit of his Son,” because He works in them...
Lord of All Places and Times
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And...
Laughing at the Promise
“Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Genesis 18:12) Sarah’s life-changing experience recorded in Genesis 18 appears quiet and even benign on the surface. Sarah doesn’t laugh aloud. She...
The Manifold Wisdom Made Known in Christ
“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 3:9) The apostle Paul is urging the church to better grasp something that stretches beyond...
Learning to Trust
“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9) There’s no doubt that Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:9 come from a place of deep affliction. And yet God designed it that...
Do Not Let My Sin Shame Your People
“Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.” (Psalm 69:6) Psalm 69:6 is a prayer born out of deep humility and holy fear. David is not only concerned for his own...
Kept or Cast Down
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” (2 Peter 2:4) Angels, mighty creatures of great power and dignity, were not spared when they sinned but were cast down...
Before the All-Seeing God
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13) Hebrews 4:13 reminds us of one of the most sobering and clarifying truths revealed in Scripture: nothing...
Wonder of Wonders
“Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?” (Job 11:7) Job’s question in this passage is, in reality, affirming the fact that no amount of effort, intelligence, curiosity, or persistence can bring us to a full...
Light That Cannot Be Overcome
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:5) The apostle John writes in the first chapter of his gospel that the Word that became flesh and dwelt among men was not only with God in the beginning … He was God. Nothing came into...
Staying Upon the Lord in Truth
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” (Isaiah 10:20) The promise in this...
Worship at His Footstool, For He Is Holy
“Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.” (Psalm 99:5) The command to worship the Lord is repeated throughout the psalms because the foundation of all true worship is found in this simple but profound declaration: “for he is holy.” The...
All Things Already His
“Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.” (Job 41:11) Man’s natural condition is described in Scripture not as weak or frail, but as dead. Yet Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:4 that God is rich in mercy, and that He...
Dwelling With God Before His Throne
“Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” (Revelation 7:15) This passage describes the great end of redemption, the highest privilege of the saints, and the...
God’s Gift of Repentance
“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Timothy 2:25-26)...
Deliberate Watchfulness
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are...
Glory of Salvation
“Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?” (Romans 11:35) It is impossible to do anything to place God in our debt. We cannot initiate a move toward Him in any way that would obligate Him to respond. Indeed, salvation does not arise...
Sin, Satan, and the Responsible Heart
“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3) The sin of Ananias is a solemn warning that though Satan tempts, man himself sins. In this passage Peter does not excuse...
Putting On Christ
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But...
Thankful for God as the Great Origin
“If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?” (Job 35:7) The question set before us in this verse strips away every ounce of pride, for it rhetorically affirms that God is not enriched by man’s righteousness nor diminished by his...
The Sovereign Counsel of God
“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” (Isaiah 46:10) The Lord alone possesses absolute sovereignty over all things, declaring the end from the...
The Universal Nature of Sin
“If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near...” (1 Kings 8:46) Solomon’s words at the dedication of the...
Guilty Before a Righteous God
“O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.” (Ezra 9:15) In this prayer of Ezra recorded in chapter 9, he does not attempt to...