Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fall. The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché, not a stone in a story, but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of time will eclipse for each of us the wide light of day. Let us not seek to make it less monstrous, for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty, lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed by the miracle, and crushed by remonstrance. — John Updike

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” — Revelation 7:9, 10

Like the book of Revelation that closes the New Testament, [Psalm 145] says to God’s people, “Don’t worry—this is the way the story will end. We shall all be praising the Lord!” — Warren Wiersbe

Through the corridors of sleep Past the shadows dark and deep My mind dances and leaps in confusion. I don't know what is real, I can't touch what I feel And I hide behind the shield of my illusion. So I'll continue to continue to pretend My life will never end. — Simon and Garfunkel

In our songs we affirm how true God’s truth is; in our prayers we bring our bewilderment into his presence. . . . We know from Scripture that what seems like delay is full of mercy (2 Peter 3:1–9). . . . Our prayers may not prompt the Second Coming before a noon deadline, but they will bring the Lord Jesus into our lives, needs, and circumstances. — Alec Motyer

“Lord, I live in a culture that demands I cede authority over myself to no one. But it would violate your glory and my nature to not give you the Lordship over my life. Henceforth I will willingly obey whatever you say and accept whatever you send, whether I understand it or not. Amen.” — A prayer on Psalm 72 by Tim Keller

His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. — Revelation 19:12-16

The goal of meditating on God’s Word is to look at it long enough so that we see its beauty and our hearts catch fire. Pondering the Psalms will wake up our hearts to find joy in Christ. Our goal is not to master the Psalms but to be mastered by them. — James Johnston

The Psalter ought to be precious and dear, were it for nothing else but the clear promise it holds forth respecting Christ’s death and resurrection, and its prefiguration of His kingdom and of the whole estate and system of Christianity. It might well be entitled a “Little Bible,” wherein everything contained in the entire Bible is beautifully and briefly comprehended, and compacted into … a Manual. It seems to me as if the Holy Ghost had been pleased to take on himself the trouble of putting together a short Bible … touching the whole of Christianity … in order that they who are unable to read the whole Bible may nevertheless find almost the whole sum comprehended in one little book.… The Psalter is the very paragon of books. — Martin Luther

Far from inhibiting evangelism, faith in the sovereignty of God’s government and grace is the only thing that can sustain it, for it is the only thing that can give us the resilience that we need if we are to evangelize boldly and persistently, and not be daunted by by temporary setbacks. — J. I. Packer