The Small Branch

  129  (Biblical text in italics) 1“Many times they have assailed me from my youth up,” Let Israel now say, Perhaps a responsive reading? 2 “Many times they have assailed me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me. They remember how often Israel has been in trouble and that God has preserved them anyway. 3 The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.” There has been definite suffering, slavery even.  4 Yahweh is righteous; He keeps His promises because God is good, no matter how we suffer.  By remembering past trials, we can trust God because we know how He has delivered us from them and stood by us while we dealt with them.  (See the book of Job, especially Job 13:15a.) He has cut up the cords of the wicked. He is just and saves them from slavery.  Ultimately, He saves us from the slavery of sin. 5 Let all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward; 6 Let them be like ...

  128  (Bible text in italics) - another wisdom psalm, further showing the blessedness that was described in Psalm 127 1 How blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh, fear=respect and awe Who walks in His ways. Obedience is a sign of this respect.  We show our love for the Lord by our obedience (see John 14:15, 21, 23; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 6). 2 When you shall eat of the fruit of the labor of your hands, How blessed will you be and how well will it be for you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the innermost parts of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. 4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed These are blessings from the Lord - work you enjoy that is fruitful, this references agricultural work that produces your food; a wife whose work at home is also fruitful and brings joy to your home; children who are growing and healthy, strong and fruitful.  Blessing flows from the Lord through those who fear th...

  127   (Biblical text in italics) This is a “wisdom psalm” written by King Solomon.   The ESV Study Bible gives a few helpful themes: “without the Lord’s blessing, human toil is worthless” and “diligence is neither greed nor restless anxiety.” 1 Unless Yahweh builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless Yahweh watches the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. When we try to do things ourselves, be it control things about our home or protect those we love, we end up failing.  We must trust the Lord to do all these things and be about the business of obediently following Him, no matter what He asks us to do.  We must work in faith, trusting God with the outcome of our labors. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early, That you sit out late, O you who eat the bread of painful labors; For in this manner, He gives sleep to His beloved. The Lord doesn’t want us to be focused strictly on busyness and “getting ahead” or even on protection...

  126  (Biblical text in italics) 1 When Yahweh returned the captive ones of Zion,   God is the one who returned the exiles to Jerusalem, not Cyrus or any other king. We were like those who dream. They couldn’t believe what was happening.  It seemed like a dream that they were finally going home. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with shouts of joy;   They have great joy at the freedom and restoration God has given them to be His and to return home. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.” 3 Yahweh has done great things for us; They acknowledge that God is good and He has done so much for them, and they are grateful.  This is especially important considering these are exiles that were removed to Babylon (and elsewhere) when Jerusalem was destroyed.  These Israelites recognize that they need to be grateful to God, even though they have been through so much, because He is ...

  125   (Biblical Text in italics) 1 Those who trust in Yahweh Our trust should always be in the Lord, not in anything or anyone else as our mainstay. Are as Mount Zion, which will not be shaken but will abide forever.   Mount Zion is the location of Jerusalem 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, There are higher mountains around the mountain Jerusalem is on, so it is like it is walled in by mountains. So Yahweh surrounds His people The Lord surrounds His people like a wall surrounds a city.  He is faithful and holds His children carefully so that our souls are never harmed. From now until forever. Those who trust in the Lord are absolutely secure forever. 3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,  The scepter represents kings.  Israel has had some wicked kings in its history  The wicked will not rule forever, though.  God’s ideal will come to be the reality of Israel - Jesus as K...

  124  (Biblical text in italics) 1 “Had it not been Yahweh who was on our side,”   God is in control and totally sovereign. Let Israel now say,   This line may have been said by a priest leading corporate thanksgiving. 2 “Had it not been Yahweh who was on our side When men rose up against us,   This probably refers to God delivering Israel from Egypt, but there have been numerous instances in history where it has been clear that God is intervening for His people (the whole book of Judges, for example). 3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,   Here, the Psalmist is pondering what would have happened to them if men were the ones in control.  “Swallowed us alive” is a phrase used to indicate that their enemies would have killed them (see Proverbs 1:12 for clarification). When their anger was kindled against us; 4 Then the waters would have flowed over us, The stream would have swept over our soul; 5 Then the raging waters...

  123  (Biblical text in italics) 1 To You I lift up my eyes,   The Psalmist lifts his eyes to the Lord rather than seeing the tempest (Matthew 14:28-31).  This is where we need to look when we are distressed. The One enthroned in the heavens!   He is Lord and King. 2 Behold, as the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a servant-girl to the hand of her mistress,   We are His slaves - doulos - because He has saved us.  We are utterly dependent on Him.  Many New Testament Scriptures help us to understand the word “doulos,” a Greek word that can be translated “bondservant” or “slave.”  In Luke 1:38 and 48, we learn that this word expresses humility and utter submission.  In Romans 1:1 and Galatians 1:10, we see that this word indicates someone who is totally at the disposal of a master.  In Philippians 2:1-11, we see Christ’s example of living out the meaning of this word.  This passage shows us...

  122  (Biblical text in italics) - general note: compare to Psalms 46, 48, 76 1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of Yahweh.”   They go to the temple “That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” (Isaiah 2:3b, see also Deuteronomy 12:5-7)  Now, we can meet with God wherever we are because of Christ (see John 4:19-23).   2 Our feet are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem,   They have arrived!  The psalmist is excited to be in Jerusalem, heading to the temple.  Jerusalem represents all believers (Galatians 4:26) and is a type of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-27).   3 Jerusalem, which is built As a city joined altogether; 4 To which the tribes, the tribes of Yah, go up— A testimony for Israel—   See Psalm 87 To give thanks to the name of Yahweh. The people go to Jerusalem not just because of obedience, but mostly out of gratitude.  They go to ce...

  121   (Biblical text in italics)   Compare this Psalm to Psalm 91 1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? 2 My help comes from Yahweh, Our help comes from the Lord through   His Word, His people (see Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, 2 Corinthians 1:10-11, and 1 Thessalonians 5:14), His Spirit, even His   arranging circumstances.  It does not always come in the form of a miraculous interventions.  Sometimes (often) we stay in the trial, but God gives   us what it takes to get to the other side of it.  God knows, better than we do, how these trials sanctify us and draw us closer to Him.  Who made heaven and earth.   The Lord is Creator and Sustainer (see Colossians 1:15-17) 3 He will not allow your foot to stumble; He who keeps you will not slumber.   This is unlike human guards who will fail because they must sleep. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will not slumber and...

  This summer, some friends and I are looking at the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134; our packet uses the Legacy Standard Bible ).   This is the packet of study we are using - here . First, a few notes I made about worship to get started with these Psalms.  Worship is an act of homage or reverence to God; it is sinful to render worship to any created being (I got this from the BLB app).  We worship God because of who He is and what He has done.  We worship God by our obedience and submission to Him.  Worship involves praise, thanksgiving, and a true heart.  We worship Him in spirit and in truth (see John 4:23-24). Today, I’m going to share some of my notes for Psalm 120: 120 (Biblical text in italics) In my distress I called to Yahweh, (This is the first place we need to go when we are distress, straight to God.  Jeremiah shows us a great example of this with the book of Lamentations.  You can find a free mini-study from BSF on Je...

  Today was our sharing day for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) so I thought I would just post a plug for BSF.   I have also done CBS (Community Bible Study) in the past and they are very similar. Both of these Bible study groups are international organizations with many years of experience behind them.  They both use inductive methods and study Scripture “by the book” rather than topical studies.  The only real difference I have seen is that, in BSF, everyone in the world does the same study together while for CBS, each class picks the study they will do for the year from the selection of CBS studies. Both groups have amazing curriculum for people birth through adults.  Depending on the class you attend, there will be childcare, preschool classes, elementary and middle school classes, and even high school classes.  You can check out their websites to register for next year’s class.  Both groups begin in September and go through May and some fill u...

  As part of the G3 reading challenge this year, the first category is “A Book about a Book of the Bible.”   When I first started this challenge, the Bible study I was in was working on the book of Judges, so I decided to read Judges: Such a Great Salvation by Dale Ralph Davis .   This is a good commentary on Judges and helped me in my study.   It was very readable, which was great.   Some of the commentaries I have read are so technical and “high level” that I have a hard time getting through them.   I almost feel like they are “talking down their nose” to me, sure that I couldn’t possibly be smart enough to understand.   With this commentary, I never felt that way, but yet it is still scholarly and has many great insights, both concerning the text and its historical context.   I will be picking up more of Dale Ralph Davis’s commentaries for future studies.  

  Psalms 119:9-16 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me stray from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Yahweh; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have recounted All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will muse upon Your precepts And look upon Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. I was looking at statistics on Bible reading today after someone I was talking to made a comment about the small percentage of people who read their Bible.  The statistics I saw all said only around 10% of Christians (or Americans, depending on the survey) read their Bibles daily.  On top of that, it seems that more and more people see the Bible as just another book.  Wow!  I’ve only posted the f...