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 1926 to 1950 of 4957 results

1926. David, Nabal, Abigail

1 Samuel 25:1-44

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... of Samuel, where the focus is on the question of power, primarily in national leadership. But here too power is a key motif, and there are several reasons the writers might consider this incident to be relevant. 25:1a Saul’s open acknowledgment of David’s claim to the throne (24:20) provides a turning point in the ongoing saga. Although his fight with reality continues unabated and David is again driven out of the country, the heart has gone out of Saul’s desperate clinging to power. The reader is no ...

1927. David Anointed King over Judah

2 Samuel 2:1-7

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... had taken action in the north. Ish-Bosheth was forty years old, but it seems that Abner was the driving force in the attempt to maintain power within the Saulide dynasty. Saul was dead, but this did not mean that support for his son’s claim to the throne disappeared. Whereas David was acknowledged by the men of Judah (v. 4), Ish-Bosheth was made . . . king by Abner, who apparently took Ish-Bosheth around the tribes, perhaps conducting ceremonies throughout the land in Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel as well as ...

1928. David's Victories

2 Samuel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... of Saul’s household, acted as the estate manager for Saul’s property. This was an important position, and in the absence of the owners he had made substantial financial gain out of it. He may or may not have been pleased to acknowledge Mephibosheth’s claim to the estate or have Mephibosheth close at hand rather than safely ensconced in Lo Debar on the other side of the Jordan. He is well aware of Mephibosheth’s existence and condition, but that he does not give a name perhaps indicates his attitude ...

1929. Bildad's Second Speech to Job

Job 18:1-21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... rage often come when we feel belittled and discounted. When we feel “less than” we often use anger as a protective wedge between ourselves and our attackers. They are wrong and their critique ridiculous! We reject their words and then do not take stock of their claims. Anger can also sometimes be a response of fear. When someone gets too close to our hidden truths, our response is sometimes to push them away with a burst of anger so that our inner turmoil is not brought out into the open. Perhaps Bildad ...

1930. Zophar's Second Speech to Job

Job 20:1-29

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... fate. Thus his speech is less a cautionary warning encouraging Job to repent than it is a dismissive consignment of Job to his deserved punishment. The troubled thoughts by which he claims to be greatly disturbed initially compel Zophar to answer Job. The cause of his disturbance is not so much that Job’s condition is inexplicable, or that his claims (if proven true) would turn Zophar’s secure world upside-down, as it is a sense of pique that Job does not recognize his status as a sage (or that of ...

1931. Job's Final Concession

Job 42:1-6

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... of things about God: God is sovereign and just. God is concerned with all of creation, not just humanity. God’s purposes and plans for humanity and the world are often mysterious and beyond human knowing. Nowhere has God attempted to refute Job’s claims that the world as God maintains it does not correspond neatly to the closed, cause and effect theology of retribution. 42:6 Therefore. Job grounds his response in this verse on the face-to-face experience of God he has just described. I despise myself ...

1932. The Lord’s King and Rebellious Peoples

Psalm 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... righteous,” and we are to take refuge under Yahweh’s rule and in his Anointed One (Hb. “messiah” or Gk. “Christ”) in particular. The importance of Psalm 2 for the Christian is underscored by its frequent citation in the NT as a prooftext of Jesus’ claim to being Israel’s messiah (v. 7 is echoed some ten times and the rest of the psalm some eight times). Yet the psalm in itself is not one that endears itself to most modern readers as either a “delightful” passage for meditation (1:2) or ...

1933. Security in the Midst of Attack

Psalm 3:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... emphasizing the many (three times) who rise up against me. Like several other psalms it quotes these foes (e.g., 22:8; 42:10; 64:5; 71:11), especially what they have to say about God, as a way of motivating him to intervene. Because they claim, “God will not deliver him,” he should now prove them wrong. 3:3–6 These verses are a confession of trust, testifying of Yahweh’s protection through several images. Characteristic of the psalms of the individual, which call upon “my God” (v. 7), is the ...

1934. Entering the Lord’s House

Psalm 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... and make straight your way before me, are not general petitions for guidance but are requests for direct admittance into Yahweh’s holy court. As Psalms 24:5 and 65:1–5 (see the commentary) make clear, entry into the temple is achieved not by claims of moral rectitude but “by your great mercy.” As righteousness is a blessing bestowed on Yahweh’s seekers who enter the temple in 24:5, so here “your righteousness” is not a threat to the speaker’s entry into the temple, as though it indicated ...

1935. Mercy for the Languishing

Psalm 6:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... may continue. Once the appeal has been sung (and perhaps a salvation oracle has been heard), the psalm directs the worshiper to testify to any who would oppose him that God has heard and will make a difference. How can Christians make use of a psalm that claims that death silences God’s praise? It is clear that within the wider scheme of God’s progressive revelation we must regard Psalm 6 as pre-Christian, but it is not sub-Christian. We would be remiss if we treasured only the final stage and the final ...

1936. Acquittal for the Falsely Accused (Ps. 7)

Psalm 7:1-17

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... , judge me . . . according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, smacked of pharisaic presumption. What probably occasioned this petition is a charge brought against the speaker (v. 3) by those who pursued him (v. 1). This claim of righteousness must be heard relative to this charge; it is not an absolute claim of moral purity (see further the comments on Pss. 15; 24; 26). This is a civil case between human parties. If we are correct in reading this psalm in light of 1 Kings 8:31–32, then ...

1937. God Will Redeem My Soul from the Grave

Psalm 49:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... point the speaker’s wisdom (v. 3) could derive from observational wisdom, but verse 15 clearly comes from the other side: God will redeem my “soul” (as noted in the NIV’s margin) from the grave; he will surely take me to himself (further on this key claim, see Gen. 5:24 and the commentary on Ps. 73:24). Verse 15 thus responds to verse 7: only God can afford to redeem one’s life from this inevitability. 49:16–20 As a result of this testimony about himself, the speaker advises the audience, “Do ...

1938. Rest in God

Psalm 62:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... psalm, but we should not imagine they come easily or naturally. In fact, this psalm of trust admits that these qualities do not come without effort. This is not a personal testimony of one boasting in his confidence but a liturgy that leads worshipers to lay claim to the salvation that is in God. The exhortations of verses 8 and 10 are plural and imply a congregation or assembly (“O people”) is present. Verse 8 seeks to apply to the group (“God is our refuge”) what the speaker or liturgist has just ...

1939. The God Who Blesses Israel’s Harvests and His International Praise

Psalm 67:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... is the inclusio, may the peoples praise you. At the center of the psalm is its longest verse and a tricolon. We must be clear that the statement, for you rule (or “will rule”) the peoples justly, is a claim about how God characteristically rules, not a claim about world affairs (i.e., that justice now prevails). According to the psalms of Yahweh’s kingship, the international manifestation of Yahweh’s judgment is future: Yahweh “is about to come to judge the earth; he will judge . . . peoples ...

1940. In Celebration of the Ritual Procession of the Cherubim-Ark

Psalm 68:1-35

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... wasteland. As noted, the song of the ark commemorated Yahweh’s guidance through the wilderness by means of the ark. The recital then reviews God’s journey from the wilderness and Sinai through to the conquest and settlement of the land. This sequence climaxes in the claim, the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary (clarified in v. 29 to be the one in Jerusalem; also cf. Deut. 33:2). As in 47:5, the movement, you ascended, was symbolized by the ascent of the cherubim-ark, where “God is seated on ...

1941. Jesus and Beelzebub

Matthew 12:22-37

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the image of a tree and its fruit. A good tree bears good fruit, but a diseased tree bears unusable fruit. The quality of the fruit tells you what kind of tree you have. Matthew applies the saying of Jesus to the Pharisees who have just claimed that Jesus has exorcized a demon by the power of Beelzebub. People show by the fruit they produce what they are really like. Verse 34 indicates that Jesus denounces the Pharisees for their evil conclusions regarding his activity. A few writers suggest that Jesus is ...

1942. The Sign of Jonah

Matthew 12:38-45

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... opposition to Jesus and his ministry. Jesus vindicates his disciples’ plucking grain on the Sabbath (vv. 1–8), restores a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath (vv. 9–14), moves away when he hears of a plot against him (vv. 15–21), refutes the Pharisees’ claim that he drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub (vv. 22–32), calls his antagonists “snakes” who will be held accountable on the day of judgment (vv. 33–37), and refuses to perform a miracle for the “wicked and adulterous” people of ...

1943. It Is God Who Brings Down and Exalts

Psalm 75:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... oracle is awkward when the psalm is read as literature, it would not have been so when another voice, a prophet, steps forward. Yahweh’s speech rings with echoes from the psalms of Yahweh’s kingship. The connection drawn between Yahweh’s claim to judge with equity (NIV uprightly) and his claim to hold the pillars of the earth firm (both introduced by it is I, Hb. ʾanî and ʾānōkî) may seem strange, but these Hebrew terms and motifs are likewise juxtaposed in these psalms (96:10, 13; 98:9; 99:4 ...

1944. The Nations “Reborn” in Zion

Psalm 87:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... after a stunning defeat (76:11–12), but here they are “born in Zion”! The placement of this psalm after 86:9 is probably no accident: “all the nations you have made will come and worship before you.” 87:1–2 The opening verses express Yahweh’s claim to Zion, a claim characteristic of the Zion psalms though expressed in various forms (48:1–3; cf. 46:4; 76:2; 122:3–4; 132:13–14). The opening verse is one line instead of the normal two. It is possible verse 5c was originally its second line ...

1945. The Divine King Is Mightier than the Chaotic Waters

Psalm 93:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... must understand that the expressions “long ago” (lit. “from then”) and “eternity” (Hb. ʿôlām) do not denote infinite time but simply remote time. Nevertheless, while these temporal expressions describe Yahweh’s established throne, they are noticeably absent in the parallel claim, the world is firmly established (a confession at home with other testimonies of Yahweh’s kingship, 96:10; cf. 24:2; 89:11; 104:5). The world’s stability stands as a visible monument to Yahweh’s rule, but that ...

1946. The Divine King Comes to Judge the Earth

Psalm 96:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... argues for monotheism not on metaphysical grounds but on the grounds of a deity’s words and acts (see, e.g., Isa. 41:21–29). Heavenly bodies were particularly favorite objects of worship in the ancient Near East (Deut. 4:19; 17:3). Yahweh thus has legitimate claim to the royal attributes listed in verse 6. Splendor and majesty are applied to Israelite kings in the royal psalms (21:5; 45:3) and to Yahweh in 104:1, where he is depicted in a role of divine kingship. Strength and glory (Hb. ʿōz wetip ...

1947. The Saving Righteousness of the Divine King and the Cheers of Nature and the Nations

Psalm 98:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... are to be recognized internationally. Thus, these opening verses probably refer not to specific marvelous things, but to all the many instances within Israel’s salvation history in a summative fashion. As verse 2 claims, he revealed his righteousness to the nations, so 97:6 makes a similar claim, and this revelation occurs via a thunderstorm visible to “all the peoples.” Similarly, Psalm 93 speaks of the superiority of “the LORD on high” to “the great waters” (vv. 3–4). Psalm 99 commands ...

1948. An Invitatory to Enter the Temple’s Gates with Praise

Psalm 100:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... was a key component in Yahwistic faith. The congregation is commanded both to understand its rationale and to make it known. The primary datum is that the LORD, as opposed to other claimants to deity, is God. The rest of the verse unpacks the significance of this. The claim, it is he who made us, can refer to God’s roles as creator of humankind and as creator of a covenant people (cf. Isa. 43:1, 15; 44:2). The designations, his people and the sheep of his pasture (cf. 23:1), point particularly to the ...

1949. The Lord, the Builder of the House(hold)

Psalm 127:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... toiling for food to eat is in vain—unless the LORD is in it. (It does not, therefore, contradict Prov. 24:30–34.) The claim, he grants sleep to those he loves, has troubled interpreters. (The Hb. term for “sleep,” šēnāʾ, occurs only here in the OT ... “my enemies” in 1 Sam. 2:1 are simply the rival wife, not life-threatening militants.) To us moderns the claim that children are a reward from God might seem particularly offensive to parents struggling with infertility. But we must recognize ...

1950. Alone and Persecuted

Psalm 142:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... are not insincere and manipulative, as though he had suddenly become religious in the face of an emergency. “You are my refuge” (Hb. maḥsê) is a familiar confession and becomes especially meaningful in view of the preceding lament of having no refuge (Hb. mānôs). Claiming Yahweh as my portion in the land of the living is particularly associated with the Levites (Num. 18:20). However, it is also found in psalms that do not appear to be the peculiar property of the Levites (16:5; 73:26; 119:57). The ...

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