Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones You have broken rejoice. Psalm 51:8 NASB Joy and gladness – I love to listen to the Blues. For years the plaintive cries of those lyrics have echoed my own struggles. They remind me of M. Scott Peck’s famous opening sentence, “Life is difficult.” Yes, it is. And…
But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. For You bless the righteous person, Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:11-12 NASB Shield – Don’t we wish the poet’s words were true! How life would be different if every…
You have put joy in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine are abundant. Psalm 4:7 NASB Joy – You might have thought the end of the phrase should be “the pursuit of happiness,” but you will find that happiness is a rather ephemeral objective. Why? Happiness is that state of feeling contentment…
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,” James 1:2 NASB 1995 Joy – Although we investigated this verse more than six years ago, I thought it might be reconsidered in light of Job’s story, especially our discovery about the complexity of Job 10:20. Do you suppose Paul would have written this verse…
I have inherited Your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. Psalm 119:111 NASB Inherited – Two or three words matter here. The first is nāḥal (to inherit), the second is the familiar ʿēdût (testimony), and the third is joy (śāśôn). First, nāḥal. “The verb nāḥal basically signifies giving or receiving property which is…
Blessed are those who comply with His [b]testimonies, And seek Him with all their heart. Psalm 119:2 NASB With all – It’s the last bit that counts. bechol-lev yidreshoohoo—“with all their heart.” “All their heart” is interesting in itself because we would expect the plural “with all their hearts” but we get the singular bechol-lev. It’s a common heart, that is,…
Go, eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine in joy; for your action as long ago approved by God. Ecclesiastes 9:7 JPS Go – Walk the path. Take the journey. Move along. Hālak is the Hebrew term here. You are the traveler on your life’s path, and there are some good things along…
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 NASB The desire of the flesh – “We are defined by the way in which we orient ourselves to desire.”[1] Paul wasn’t a Platonist. At times he certainly sounds like he believes in two separate worlds: the…
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB Shall love – How are we supposed to express our love toward God? You will notice that I did not ask, “How are we supposed to express our love for God?” That is the…
In the evening one beds down weeping, and in the morning, glad song. Psalm 30:6b [Hebrew text] Robert Alter In the morning – The Gnostic thinks that this world is a place of bondage, of ignorant slumber, a prison house of matter deceiving the soul. Of course, his view emanates from philosophical assumptions derived from…
