Psalm 23:5, ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…’ A prepared table implies things like peace, security, fellowship, and joyful celebration…none of which would be expected ‘in the presence of my enemies.’ This tension is designed to slow our reading and cause us to question: ‘How is it that YHWH […]
Psalm 144:1, ‘Blessed be YHWH, my Rock, who trains my hands for war…’ Psalm 144 is written from the point of view of the Davidic king in the face of adversity. Its entire structure may be mapped onto—and, indeed, is ultimately grounded in—the Crucified and Risen Jesus Christ, who is Himself the true David and
Psalm 57:8, ‘[I will sing and make melody!] Awake my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!’ The Glory of God is that Body that hangs in terrible beauty upon the cross. That Crucified Lord, that Pierced One, that shattered Heart, that One who gives His flesh as food and His
Revelation 21:4, ‘And He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and Death will be no more, neither will there be morning, or crying, or pain any more; the former things passed away.’ In the presence of God dwelling with us in Christ every tear is wiped away…mended beyond imagination….comforted beyond all conceiving….healed so deeply
1 Thessalonians 5:8, ‘But we belong to the day, we should be vigilant, having put on the breastplate of faith and of love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation’ Consider, specifically, what it means to have the ‘hope of salvation’ as our helmet (περικεφαλαίαν, literally, that which is ‘around the head’). A helmet
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Isaiah 49:3-4, ‘And He said to me, “You are my Servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain and have spent my strength for nothing and vanity…”’ Here we see a glimpse into the human soul of Jesus as He hangs on the cross….This is the moment
Isaiah 41:17-20, ‘When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none…I YHWH will not forsake them….I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar…I will set in the desert the cypress…that they may see and know…that the hand
Isaiah 26:19, ‘Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of *morning,* and the earth will bring forth her dead. Today’s picture was created at the request of a friend, Izzie Thom (with whom I worked on the most
2 Peter 1:19, ‘And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in dark place, until day should dawn and the morning star should rise in your hearts.’ Peter speaks of 3 lights: a lamp, the day, and the morning star. First,
The Paschal Trilogy – Part III/III – Resurrection Sunday Luke 24:30-31, ‘When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.’ The disciples did not recognize the Risen Lord until He *broke* the bread and
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Matthew 2:2, ‘For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’ John 12:12, ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ The coming of the magi to worship the newborn Jesus is the first fruits of the eschatological in-gathering of the nations
Isaiah 60:20, ‘Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for YHWH will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.’ (also v.4) Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, and I was asked by my Sister-in-Law to create an image based on Isaiah 60:20 that
2 Corinthians 5:10, ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.’ Everyone, without any exception, will appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. There will be no coverings, no hiding
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Isaiah 11:1-2, 9, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse…And the Spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him…[and] the earth shall be full of the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea.” First, the chapter begins with an anticipation of the “shoot from the stump of Jesse,” the
Ps 4:8, “In peace, I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O YHWH, make me dwell in safety.” Sleep can be the process of rest and waking that we go through every night, but Scripture also speaks of death as sleep (Jn 11:11; 1 Thess.4:13-18). The one who lives in covenant
Psalm 1:1-2, Blessed is the man…[whose] delight is in the law of YHWH…” The blessed person—that is, the deeply happy person—is the one who delights in YHWH’s law. Now, to delight in a thing is a sort of blessedness in and of itself, and to be blessed implies that that which we delight in
Isaiah 50:10-11, “Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of YHWH and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches you have kindled!” Are we in darkness?
Isaiah 35:6, “…and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” The NT understands Isaiah 35:5-6a as referring to the ministry of Jesus (Matt.11:45, etc), but here in Isaiah 35, the miraculous healings that we know are achieved in Christ are
Job 7:17, “What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment?” (c.f. Psalm 8:4) Job here associates his suffering—and, indeed, the sufferings of humanity—with the attention of the Lord. If mankind were not under the scrutiny
Psalm 124:7, “We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped.” This was one of the Psalms that was sung during my time at the abbey of Gethsemani last week. As soon as I heard it, the attached image sprang to my mind. I’d
