Psalm 116:7, 12 “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?” Observation: The whole of Psalm 116 celebrates the Lord’s deliverance from death. Verse 3 remembers that, “The cords of death...

Daniel 1:2 “And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God.” Observation: Daniel’s beginning sets the stage for some troubling personal reflection. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had besieged...

Lamentations 5:3 “We have become orphans without a father.…” Observation: The Jews are in Babylonian captivity, having lost everything. Their inheritance (v. 2) had been “turned over to strangers,” their houses had been forfeited to aliens. Everything they needed...

Ezekiel 20:1 “Now it came about in the seventh year, on the fifth month on the tenth of the month, some of the elders came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.” Observation: Ezekiel was Israel’s prophet-in-exile. He had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar’s army and...

Psalm 91:11–12 “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands.…” Observation: The whole of Psalm 91 is one of the most comforting in all Scripture. The promise is simple: If I will but dwell in...

Psalm 11:3 “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Observation: This verse, either spoken by David’s friends or perhaps by a whispering enemy seeking to wear down his faith, reflects the stress David experienced as Saul and his army...

Ecclesiastes 11:2 “Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster might come upon the land.” Observation: In this and surrounding verses, Solomon presses me to be liberal to the poor, generous in meeting the needs of others. Verse 1 tells me...

Psalm 20:3a “May He remember all your sacrifices.” Observation: Psalm 20 opens as a prayer for David. We aren’t told who is doing the praying. It may be priests who regularly surrounded David, or perhaps family and friends. But their prayers were the sort of thing I...

Genesis 4:7 “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Observation: God here addresses Cain, who had become “very angry” with God because God...

Genesis 2:3b “on it (the seventh day) He rested from all His work.” Observation: In six days, God had unleashed unimaginable creative powers. Things inanimate that had never before existed…earth and sky, dry land and seas, stars sufficient to fill the eternally...