In lament and confidence, the psalmist in Psalm 71 complains about the challenges he is facing but leans into a confidence in God who has been faithful. From his youth to old age, he remembers God’s goodness and will not give up hope.

In Psalm 59, David recounts when he is wrongly attacked by enemies. The injustice drives him to the Lord. What will you do when attacked? According to the Psalm, we are to ask: to who and what do I turn when attacked; on what am I waiting for? And we are to “remember” what God […]

Psalm 39 is a Lament psalm: the psalmist cries out in the midst of suffering, the sinfulness of his life and the world, and the heavy hand of God upon him. It is a dark psalm of a man in desperation–even ending with the plea for the Lord to look away from him that he […]

The people of God have to confront evil often, but they shouldn’t lose trust in God. Through the lens of Psalm 37, Dean Miller guides us to an understanding of justice that focuses on pursuing good rather than just avoiding evil.

In Psalm 25, the psalmist uses a Hebrew alphabetic acrostic to begin each verse and tell the reader that Yahweh, the God of Israel, hears the prayers of his people from A to Z. There is nothing in life that cannot be brought to this God. Including, as the Psalmist assures, the hardest of seasons […]

The nations rage and the peoples device a vain thing against the Lord and his anointed. But the Psalmist assures his readers that the Lord is in control–he laughs at the nations. He is judge. He has set his anointed on the throne–who will rule and judge–and all are warned to serve him and be […]

Psalm 1 is the Introduction to the Psalter: the book of Psalms (1-150). It presents as a Wisdom poem contrasting the Righteous and the Wicked, inviting the reader deeper into the Psalms. Blessed is the one who delights in God’s law and meditates on it day in and day out–who is transformed by a lifetime […]

God is the Maker and Preserver of all things–one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In revealing himself to us, God relates to us as a loving Father who has adopted us as his sons.  God’s love is manifest fully in the life, death and resurrection of his Son, […]

The Bible is comprised of different genres of writings with the Old Testament comprised of Rabbinic categories of Law, Prophecy, Wisdom literature. The letter of James in the New Testament is best understood as Wisdom. Wisdom applies principles, patterns and perceptions for navigating truth in uncertainty. In the close of James, we see the nature […]

James warns his readers against making plans, spending and using wealth without reference to God. He warns us against this same illusion of control–that if we plan, we can guarantee outcomes or if we have wealth, it is our to use as we please. Our life is short and only God is sovereign over all […]