Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 3476 to 3500 of 3926 results

3476. A Wisdom Prayer for Those Who Fear the Lord

Psalm 25:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... not a mere document to be read, but one with which Yahweh himself acts as tutor. Yahweh, in effect, takes the believer into his confidence. Closing this section of praise is the speaker’s affirmation of loyalty: my eyes are ever on the LORD. Its supporting reason, namely that Yahweh is rescuer, also acts as a bridge to the following petitions. 25:16–21 These verses are typical of prayer psalms, petitioning Yahweh to be gracious, look (or probably “attend to,” if one reads qešōb in v. 18 to restore ...

3477. Walking in Integrity and Loving the Lord’s House

Psalm 26:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... ” and “being merciful,” so he may “stand on level ground” and “praise the LORD in the great assembly.” The request, Do not take away my soul along with sinners, reflects the fear of the holy, noted in 15:1 and 24:3. Supporting these petitions is a contrast of behaviors. While those described in verses 3–8 are primarily religious (i.e., concerning rituals and assemblies of worship), those mentioned in verses 9–10 are social, focusing especially on one’s treatment of innocent people. But ...

3478. To Be Spared from the Lord’s Judgment on the Wicked

Psalm 28:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... measure to the crime (the three Hb. prepositions, all ke or “according to,” are clearer on this point than the NIV’s threefold for in v. 4). 28:5 If verse 5 had continued in direct address to Yahweh, we might consider it to be a supporting motivation for the preceding petitions (instead of will the verbs of v. 5b could be translated as “should”) or as a petition itself (these verbs could also be translated, “may he tear . . . and never build”). But the change in address may be a signal that ...

3479. My God as Refuge from Social Alienation

Psalm 31:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... as “the wicked.” Bridging these developments is, Let me not be put to shame, which echoes the petition opening the psalm. (These kinds of literary links at key literary seams evidence the artistry of the Hebrew poets, whether they be authors or editors.) Supporting these petitions are motivations contrasting what each party has said: I have cried out to you but they speak arrogantly against the righteous. 31:19–20 The psalm now turns to hymnic praise, expressed in terms of you and them (vv. 19–20 ...

3480. Treasures In Heaven

Matthew 6:19-24

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... laying up treasures in heaven, where the uncertainties of life cannot affect them. Where people put their treasure reveals where their hearts really are. Unless “moth and eating” (the NIV follows Tyndale’s translation of brōsis as rust, which lacks support from the LXX) is a grammatical expression meaning “eaten by moths,” we have three ways in which earthly possessions are destroyed. In the ancient East elaborate clothing was viewed as part of a person’s treasure. Such material was easily ...

3481. Cultivating Faithfulness Until the Flourishing Wicked Wither

Psalm 37:1-40

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... be interpreted as a future action.) Verses 23–24 offer promise through the image of a child whose feet may slip out but whose hand is grasped by the parent (cf. 73:2, 23). Again, the righteous are not spared from stumbling but they are promised support. 37:25–26 Readers may misunderstand verse 25 as an indication that the speaker has led a narrow or sheltered life. The next verse makes clear that focus is not given to mere individuals. It is the generosity of the righteous community (note also v. 21 ...

3482. Turn Your Gaze from Me before I Am No More

Psalm 39:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... prayer psalms (Hear, listen) but soon shift to those more in keeping with Job (see esp. 14:6) and Ecclesiastes. The psalm characterizes the speaker as an alien and a stranger—with you (cf. Lev. 25:23; 1 Chron. 29:15). He is without social connections and support. As confessed already, his only connection, his only hope (v. 7), is the God who hears the prayer. Yet ironically it is God’s scrutinizing gaze that is his chief problem: Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more ...

3483. Past and Future Deliverances and Present Trust and Obedience

Psalm 40:1-17

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 40 looks like two psalms of the individual spliced together. Verses 1–10 sound like a thanksgiving psalm and verses 11–17 like a prayer psalm. In support of this division we should note that verses 13–17 elsewhere form an independent prayer psalm, namely Psalm 70. Closer examination, however, reveals the integrity of the whole psalm. The thanksgiving of verses 1–10 lacks the report of distress characteristic of thanksgiving psalms (see the Introduction). The prayer of ...

3484. Betrayed by God in Battle?

Psalm 44:1-26

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... selling shepherd in the marketplace, but from verse 17 onwards he is the divine judge overseeing the covenant relationship (see esp. 50:5–6). As judge, he is to rouse himself to the facts of their case, and so rise up and help us. Supporting these petitions are laments. The first questions why Yahweh has done what a covenant judge should not do to a loyal partner, that is, estrange himself and disregard their plight (v. 24). The second emphasizes that the people’s situation is desperate (we are brought ...

3485. Applause for the Ascending King of All the Earth

Psalm 47:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... psalm,” Hb. mizmôr). This indicates that other psalms would be sung later in the liturgy. Once again, substantiating this command to praise is the claim, for God is the King of all the earth (cf. v. 2). 47:8–9 This time the supporting evidence lies not in history but in the liturgical proceedings themselves. First, we hear the acclamation characteristic of the psalms of Yahweh’s kingship, God reigns. The phrase God is seated on his holy throne may imply the symbolic cherubim-throne is still visible ...

3486. Jesus Heals Many

Matthew 8:14-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... bears our sins and is pained for us”). He applies the text to the healing activity of Jesus in the physical realm (He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases). Elsewhere in the New Testament the Isaiah passage is used to support the vicarious and redemptive nature of Christ’s ministry. Matthew’s application of the prophecy of Isaiah to the healing ministry of Jesus is striking. Additional Notes 8:14 Peter: Clement of Alexandria (a second-century convert to Christianity) wrote that Peter and ...

3487. Defeat in Battle with Edom

Psalm 60:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... 44:9b). The concluding petition of the psalm does not ask merely for God to restore damages (as in vv. 1–2), nor merely for him to “save us” from defeat and retreat (vv. 4–5), but asks for him to give us aid against the enemy. Supporting this petition is a motivation that plays on the words man (Hb. ʾādām) and Edom (Hb. ʾedôm). The closing confession of trust does not address God directly, and so may have served as an expression of confidence to the congregation: With God (probably “Yahweh ...

3488. Rest in God

Psalm 62:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... thus act as the liturgist’s instructive testimony to the congregation (God is not addressed directly here). With this shift from “my refuge” to “our refuge,” the remainder of the psalm consists of direct exhortations to the audience (vv. 8–10) and their supporting reasons, expressed in hymnic praise (vv. 11–12). In this light, the opponents of verses 3–4 may not be personal enemies or a specific group, and we should note that the man assaulted is not explicitly identified as the speaker. The ...

3489. The God Who Blesses Israel’s Harvests and His International Praise

Psalm 67:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... Verses 6–7 Subject: peoples, nations the ends of the earth Action: praise, be glad, sing fear Reason: God judges and guides the nations God blesses us with rich harvests The differences between the respective actions of the nations and their supporting reasons are certainly not incompatible, but the next observation suggests they may be explained by different sources. Third, the verses referring to God in the third person (vv. 1, 6–7) show particular affinity to priestly material in the OT, and those ...

3490. When I Am Old and Gray

Psalm 71:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of verse 6 attributes more conscious action to the speaker than is justified (I have relied on you and I will ever praise you). Since these actions are from birth and from my mother’s womb, it is more appropriate to translate “upon you I have been supported (Hb. nismaktî)” and “in you has been my praise continually”—in other words, “you have been the source of my praise.” Verse 6 is thus more a statement of God’s doing, than of the speaker’s. (Cf. 139:13–16 and esp. 22:9–10, where ...

3491. Jesus' Mother and Brothers

Matthew 12:46-50

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... s account, Jesus’ mother and brothers had come to take charge of him because they thought that he had gone mad (Mark 3:21). John 7:3–5 clearly indicates that his brothers did not believe in him. The absence of any reference to Jesus’ “father” Joseph supports the conjecture that he was an older man when he married and had probably died by this time. Not only the Jewish religionists but Jesus’ own family as well failed to grasp his mission and message. Verse 47 is missing in a number of the older ...

3492. The Parable of the Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... as he was to discursive exposition, the Semite practised the art of persuasion by thus skillfully appealing to the imagination” (HDB rev., p. 725). For many years the church allegorized the parables, ignoring the obvious meaning and finding support for theological positions. It was Adolf Jülicher’s famous Die Gleichnisreden Jesu (1888–99) that convinced interpreters to abandon the allegorizing approach and accept parables as didactic stories that made one essential point. The parable is an ...

3493. The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:31-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

3494. The Parable Of the Weeds Explained

Matthew 13:36-43

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

3495. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

Matthew 13:44-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

3496. The Parable of the Net

Matthew 13:47-52

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

3497. God’s Reputation and the Destruction of Jerusalem

Psalm 79:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... blood like water all around Jerusalem” (v. 3, cf. v. 10), so God should now pour out his wrath on the nations. (Verses 6–7 are echoed in Jer. 10:25. The preceding verse echoes Ps. 6:1.) The petitions and the motives (i.e., arguments) supporting them move around the relational triangle of God, his people, and the nations. First, the nations are characterized as those who do not acknowledge (lit. “know”) you. But, by referring to the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord (v. 12), the psalm makes ...

3498. The Conspiracy of the Nations

Psalm 83:1-18

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... against your people and against those you cherish (vv. 2–3), and they form an alliance against you (v. 5). The poet does not endeavor to draw God into a conflict between human opponents—this dilemma is presented as God’s business already. As evidence supporting the claim of conspiracy, a quotation from these foes is included in the prayer to God: “come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation” (v. 4). At stake is the very existence of the nation. 83:9–15 The next two sections are ...

3499. The Pilgrim’s Longing to “See” the God of Zion

Psalm 84:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... is comprised of hymnic praise (vv. 1, 3), the second of blessing (vv. 4–5), the third of an intercession for the king (vv. 8–9), and the fourth of another blessing (v. 12). In the three “he” sections we probably hear the supporting testimony of a liturgist speaking on behalf of individual pilgrims. It is possible that matching the change in address to God is a change of speakers: a priest recites the “you” sections and a representative pilgrim the “he” sections. The psalm’s liturgical ...

3500. A Prayer for the Afflicted and for the Ruins of Zion

Psalm 102:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... the name of the LORD (v. 15) and assemble to worship the LORD (v. 22). This praise serves as praise to Yahweh and his name in its own right, and as a promise that assures the speaker and the people. In addition, it serves as a motivation supporting the prayer. The connective for (Hb. kî) supplies reasons why Yahweh should act. Yahweh will have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her (v. 13). Why? For her stones are dear to your servants (not to Yahweh, as we might have expected). Yahweh ...

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