With a bonus – Unusual translation of the day:

Psalm 119:120 REB
The dread of you makes my flesh creep;
I stand in awe of your decrees.

My flesh hath trembled for fear of thee. ^[1] At first sight the prophet seems to contradict himself. He had just now said, that, by Godﾒs severity, he was gently drawn to love his testimonies; now he declares, that he was seized with terror. But although these two effects differ widely from each other, yet, if we consider by what kind of discipline God forms us to reverence his law, we will perceive that they entirely harmonize. We require to be subdued by fear that we may desire and seek after the favor of God. Since fear, then, is the beginning of love, the prophet testifies, that he was awakened by a heart-felt fear of God to look well to himself. Nor is the mortification of the flesh so easy a matter, as that every one should consent to enter upon it, without the constraint of violent means; and, therefore, it is not wonderful if God struck his servant with terror, that, in this way, he might bend his mind to a holy fear of him. It is an evidence of no common wisdom to tremble before God when he executes his judgments, of which the majority of mankind take no notice. We are then taught by these words of the prophet, that we ought to consider attentively the judgments of God, that they may not only gently instruct us, but that they may also strike us with such terror as will lead us to true repentance.

^[1] The verb rmo, samar, rendered hath trembled, denotes being seized with horror, so that the hair stands on end. It occurs in Piel in Job 4:15. This state of horror was produced on the mind of the Psalmist by a contemplation of the divine judgments executed on the wicked, who are rejected like dross; and he was thus brought to fear God.

–John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries

The Fear of the Lord is a subject of interest of mine. Also see:

• The Fear of the Lord – more links at the bottom

Do you think it’s OK to exposit a single verse in this manner? I could go on and on about his going on and on but I wonder what you think.

I think this man is sincere and not a false teacher but I’m not sure about getting this much from one verse and ignoring the context. I’m looking for more helpful ways to either explain what the verse means and some possible applications, or how to go about teaching the other things he said using relevant Scripture, if there is criticism. Or maybe you think it’s OK.

Also see:
Psalm 118:24 — scroll down for commentaries

I’m probably biased because I love this Psalm but it seems like this beginning portion is one of the heights of the Psalms. Certainly in poetry regarding the words of God, in addition to a portion of Psalm 19. I seem to like a lot of the translations that are off the beaten path for this one, like REB, ISV, GNB and NJB. I have God’s Word (that’s the name of the translation) displayed below. I’m not sure where “written instructions” comes from in verse 2, but that’s not for me to know much about. None of the other translations I looked at have written and I’m sure much of it was passed on orally at that time. They must have their reason.

I may keep spending time mulling over this part before I move on. It was fun looking at all the translations with their similarities and differences.

See below for book related info.

Psalm 119:1-17 GW
Blessed are those whose lives have integrity,
those who follow the teachings of the LORD.
2 Blessed are those who obey his written instructions.
They wholeheartedly search for him.
3 They do nothing wrong.
They follow his directions.
4 You have commanded
that your guiding principles be carefully followed.
5 I pray that my ways may become firmly established
so that I can obey your laws.
6 Then I will never feel ashamed
when I study all your commandments.
7 I will give thanks to you
as I learn your regulations, which are based on your righteousness.
8 I will obey your laws.
Never abandon me.
9 How can a young person keep his life pure?
He can do it by holding on to your word.
10 I wholeheartedly searched for you.
Do not let me wander away from your commandments.
11 I have treasured your promise in my heart
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Thanks be to you, O LORD.
Teach me your laws.
13 With my lips I have repeated
every regulation that comes from your mouth.
14 I find joy in the way shown by your written instructions
more than I find joy in all kinds of riches.
15 I want to reflect on your guiding principles
and study your ways.
16 Your laws make me happy.
I never forget your word.
17 Be kind to me so that I may live
and hold on to your word.

I have the book Psalm 119 for Life by Hywel R. Jones that I will be reading soon.

I will refer to Psalm 119 – An Exposition by Charles Bridges. His exposition of Proverbs is excellent. Since it’s from earlier 1800′s it can be found for free or at low cost in electronic form:

• Free PDF (large)
• Amazon Kindle format for .99 cents

Psalm 112:1, 7 NLT
1 Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD
and delight in obeying his commands.
7 They do not fear bad news;
they confidently trust the LORD to care for them.

Job 9:12
“Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’ (NASB)

Daniel 4:35
“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

God’s Kingdom is not a Democracy or a Republic. We don’t get a vote. God is not always fair from our perspective. We can’t use our logic against God’s (Isaiah 55:8-9). God is not tame (C.S. Lewis). Three chapters of Job (38-41) are devoted to God’s response if we feel otherwise and want a taste of what’s in His heart on that matter. This is harsh and comforting. To know that God is in control, has plans, will carry them out, both for ours and others good to conform us to Christ (Rom. 8:28-29), and for His glory (Ps. 148:13). The future is not open. He planned to save us as a blood sacrifice from the beginning of time (Acts 2:23, Acts 4:27-28, 1 Peter 1:19-20, 2 Tim. 1:9, Rev. 13:8). And God will ultimately punish all evil at the end of time (Rev. 20:10) while using it for His purposes in the mean time (Lam. 3:37-38).

Revelation 21:1-8
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Many of us received a free New Testament of the Common English Bible. The Old Testament has now been completed. This may be old news to some by now, but I thought I would post it. I’m not very familiar with the translation and this post isn’t for discussion of pros or cons.

This was posted on the Bible Translation mailing list. (I don’t know why someone like me is subscribed to it.)

The complete Common English Bible (Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament) is now available online at www.commonenglishbible.com. Other sites such as youversion and Bible Gateway will be live by June 15. Same with eBook editions by June 15 (for $5.95) for all the mobile devices, such as Kindle or Olivetree. Print Bibles will be shipping in July.

-from Paul Franklyn,
CEB Associate Publisher and Project Director

P.S. The CEB is already on Bible Gateway.

Because of my embarrassment over not being able to name all of the commandments, my wife and I are going to memorize them. I made a document for her at her request and may give one to anyone in our Bible study who may need one. Here is a PDF file The Ten Commandments and also a large print version The Ten Commandments – Large Print.

I chose the HCSB because I like how it reads. These are just the commandments without much of the text that comes after them so be sure to read these in your Bible or memorize all of verses :3-:17.

These are made to be printed. The font of the commandments in the PDF files isn’t the greatest for screen viewing if you want to get picky about typography.

The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:3-17

1. Do not have other gods besides Me.
2. Do not make an idol for yourself.
3. Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: (see context)
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

If you don’t like The Message Bible translation, please ignore. Which would also mean no need to comment. Every once in a while I find an interesting one.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 The Message
3 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel!4 He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.5 We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort-we get a full measure of that, too.

1 Peter 4:19 NRSV
Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

Job 42:10-11 NRSV
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him;

The last part being the unpopular part. Although it was Satan that caused it, without God giving him permission it wouldn’t have happened.

Lamentations 3:37-38 NRSV
Who can command and have it done, if the Lord has not ordained it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

Psalm 1 is more like wisdom literature than a typical psalm (if there is one). Psalm 1 exhorts us to keep our commitment to moral living that meets with the LORD’s standards. It would be silly to use our favorite psalm verses that we like to hang on to (which taken out of context is a whole other problem for many of them) and then be living lives not worthy of the Lord (Col. 1:10). Jerome said that Psalm 1 is, “The main entrance to the mansion of the Psalter.”

See this excellent post for more context on the quote and commentary on this foundational Psalm.

Unlocking the Psalms – Catholic Diocese of Salina

After reading four introductions to the Psalms I think I’m ready to actually start reading them. I used the first volume of Goldingay’s Psalms commentary (given to me by a very generous pastor), the NLT Study Bible, the ESV Study Bible and The Essential Bible Companion to the Psalms. I’d like to read one Psalm a day and read the latter mentioned book along with it and the commentary for any questions I have for the first 49 psalms.

For some reason I’ve never been a big fan and I want to be. I seem to be a big fan of nearly everything else. I pray this time around I’ll get to like them better. I think it’s strange that I can’t get enough of Proverbs and I’ve never really been into most of the Psalms, which seems to be many people’s favorite. If anyone has been in my position and it changed, I’d like to read about it.

I may do a post every now and then. I have one coming up on David’s possible authorship of many of the Psalms “of David”.

I’m in the middle of If God Is Good right now, which is very comprehensive, and then plan on reading a commentary on Genesis. Then I have some other ‘regular’ books on OT topics which I look forward to.

• Luther and Suffering | Commentary on Romans 5:4
• Resisting Consumeristic Temptations
• Why the Debate between Formal Equivalence and Functional Equivalence is Deceptive
• Uncle… Uncle! – see the last part of the post–the lists

It’s all throughout scripture where God meets people where they are and brings them to where he is.

–Perry Noble

2 Samuel 14:14 NLT
All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

Since people have suggested I write about more mundane things because people like to read it, I thought I’d tell you what I plan on reading for a while, and keeps with the purpose of the blog.

Last year, as part of my “three year plan” which will end up lasting more than four years, was “the year of the Old Testament”. But with surgery right in the middle, it really slowed me down. So this year continues concentrating on the Old Testament.

I just got done with a commentary on Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. At some point a review is coming. I loved it.

I’m going back to Genesis now. I plan to read it through, then read Creation and Blessing by Ross, then read it again. Then read Handbook on the Pentateuch.

A very generous pastor who’s name starts with an M and blogs near somewhere gave me the first volume of a commentary set on Psalms by Goldingay. I’m going to read the introduction, which I’m sure will be very helpful overview, and then read the commentary on just the first two Psalms. Then I plan on reading one Psalm a day along with The Essential Bible Companion to the Psalms and use the commentary when I have a big question, until the first volume runs out. Then I can use Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. I’m not looking so much to study at this point, just get to know them better, pray better and worship God through them. I have to admit I haven’t been as big of a fan of the Psalms as many people are and I hope this will help.

While reading Psalms I plan on reading Is God a Monster? and Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament.

All along I will continue to work on my Greek at a snail’s pace.

I just got through reading James 20 times. Here is a post about this method.

I picked James because I just got done spending a lot of time in Proverbs, and James has many similarities, which will be shown in a future post. It’s also a small book so it would be easy to read 20 times on my first time doing it. And I need to work on how I say and write things and not just say whatever comes to mind without thinking about how it might affect people.

I would love to read every book of the Bible 20 times but I don’t think that will happen. I will definitely do it with Colossians when I study it thoroughly. Doing this with the whole Bible would be pretty incredible.

I took the opportunity to read just about every translation that I have in book form and also put a few of them on my Nokia eReader.

Here are the translations used. REB is my primary translation.

1-GW
2-GW
3-REB
4-REB
5-REB
6-GNT
7-MSG*
8-NCV*
9-Amplified
10-CEV*
11-NLT
12-CEB
13-TNIV
14-NRSV
15-HCSB
16-ISV*
17-GW/NLT (some comparison)
18-Lattimore
19-ESV
20-REB

* These are the ones I don’t have in book form.

I was surprised at how much I like the CEV. The Amplified was the only one I really didn’t like at all. It has brackets for alternative renderings, paragraphs and italic text that drives me nuts. I will never read that one again. Edit: Brian said it’s the multiple choice Bible.

I can’t say I got anything special from it. I think it would be better to use one or maybe two translations, using your primary translations for the majority of the readings. It was interesting to read all of those translations, but I think using one or two would somehow bring more out of it than reading such a diverse mix. You would also better know where things are. Even after reading it 19 times, I couldn’t remember where a passage was in James during group Bible study. I think if I read the same translation I would be able to see in my mind where on the page it was.

I think this would be a great thing to do before studying a book of the Bible. Familiarity is what it’s supposed to bring about. Then you can study it after getting to know it so well.

Before studying Proverbs I read it about 6-7 times and that was at least as valuable as reading James 20 times. I would encourage you to try it, especially if you will be studying a smaller book of the Bible.

In reading through James in many different translations, this verse and the surrounding passage really struck me in a Biblically fearful type of way.

Whether you know Greek or not, which do you think best gets the message across, especially with some literary flare, which I think is good for this passage? (The Message isn’t included here. No pun intended.) I remember us translation geeks doing this now and then. These selections of translations are just a little off the beaten path.

I read this in the NRSV. Then when I looked at many others, I found a couple that I like even better with one clearly the easiest for me to understand and appreciate. These are in alphabetical order.

1
James 3:6 The tongue is that kind of flame. It is a world of evil among the parts of our bodies, and it completely contaminates our bodies. The tongue sets our lives on fire, and is itself set on fire from hell.

2
James 3:6 The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell.

3
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

4
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.

5
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, representing in our body the whole wicked world. It pollutes our whole being, it sets the whole course of our existence alight, and its flames are fed by hell.

#3 has antiquated words like member and iniquity, and I don’t understand “the course of nature”. #4 is similar.

#2 comes across well, but it’s nothing special here. It’s my 2nd or 3rd favorite.

#5 really does it for me with literary flair that contributes to understanding the verse.

There is such an abundance of sin in the tongue that it may be called a world of iniquity. How many defilements does it occasion! How many and dreadful flames does it kindle! So is the tongue among the members that it defileth the whole body. Observe hence, There is a great pollution and defilement in sins of the tongue. Defiling passions are kindled, vented, and cherished by this unruly member. And the whole body is often drawn into sin and guilt by the tongue. Therefore Solomon says, Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, Ecclesiastes 5:6. The snares into which men are sometimes led by the tongue are insufferable to themselves and destructive of others. It setteth on fire the course of nature. The affairs of mankind and of societies are often thrown into confusion, and all is on a flame, by the tongues of men. Some read it, all our generations are set on fire by the tongue. There is no age of the world, nor any condition of life, private or public, but will afford examples of this. And it is set on fire of hell. Observe hence, Hell has more to do in promoting of fire of the tongue than men are generally aware of. It is from some diabolical designs, that men’s tongues are inflamed. The devil is expressly called a liar, a murderer, an accuser of the brethren; and, whenever men’s tongues are employed in any of these ways, they are set on fire of hell. The Holy Ghost indeed once descended in cloven tongues as of fire, Acts 2. And, where the tongue is thus guided and wrought upon by a fire from heaven, there it kindleth good thoughts, holy affections, and ardent devotions. But when it is set on fire of hell, as in all undue heats it is, there it is mischievous, producing rage and hatred, and those things which serve the purposes of the devil. As therefore you would dread fires and flames, you should dread contentions, revilings, slanders, lies, and every thing that would kindle the fire of wrath in your own spirit or in the spirits of others.

–Matthew Henry

I will probably post the translations tomorrow (Sunday) night or Monday.

Three eclectic items for you. I’m still not doing well, maybe worse. Please pray. I really don’t want to go to the hospital.

Proverbs 30:1-3 NLT
The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.
I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God.
2 I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense.
3 I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.

Job 25:4-6
How can a mortal be innocent before God?
Can anyone born of a woman be pure?
5 God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars.
6 In comparison, people are maggots; we mortals are mere worms.”

Psalm 22:5-6
They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!

Clifford observes that these examples of “low anthropology,” of self-abasement, express reverence.

–Bruce Waltke, Proverbs, quoting Clifford, Proverbs, p. 26

This makes sense because even these examples don’t begin to measure the difference in knowledge and wisdom, between God and us. One of my favorite phrases lately, when I’m not at my worst, is “I’m too stupid to be human.”

Isaiah 55:8-9
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

The more we learn this, the more we realize what a wretch we are, as in the hymn Amazing Grace, or how Wretched, as in the radio show.

On another note:

Hope for Your Dark Night of the Soul

And:

Marks of maturity
This ‘walk’ is similar to mine. I’m not sure I’m at the second part yet, or at least some of them. It’s an interesting post in any case.

We will love the spouses we have now infinitely more in heaven than we do here, as we will everyone else. I was praying during a difficult time and was thinking depressing thoughts and this came to my mind, which I had never thought of before.

Mark 12:25 NLT
For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.

Being in extreme agony last week (and still not doing real well, but better), for the second time in my life I wasn’t able to do much devotional type stuff at all. The other time was after my recent surgery and had to have my wife read the Bible to me. All of the other times, I was either sick or suffering a great amount from mental health stuff (sometimes at the same time), I was able to do these things. But when things are at their worst, I can hardly stand any stimulation of any kind. That may be why you see so many suffering people just sitting or lying down doing nothing.

I certainly prayed, but not all the stuff I usually pray about. I didn’t read the Bible enough or review very much memorized Scripture.

I’m not legalistic about this stuff. I love doing it. Talking to God, having Scripture memorized, reading the Bible and books about it or God–I can’t get enough.

But this served to re-iterate that God, in a sense, doesn’t care so much about that. He knows how much I want to love what he loves and hate what he hates and I pray for this a lot (Phil. 4:8, 1 Peter 1:15). He answers in the affirmative (and it’s a process of course) because it’s God’s will for everyone.

Even though I think I should have made more of an effort to read the Bible more, partly because of taking refuge in God and therapeutic value, I know that this, 1-doesn’t change one bit how much God loves me and 2-that God can get along just fine without some of my prayers. I’m not that important (Daniel 4:35).

I found a good video on part of this.

HT