Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

With the victorious cry: "You have answered Me!" (v21), Ps 22 transitions from lament to thanksgiving, travail to triumph, from prayer of suffering, alone & forsaken in the dark, to praise for salvation in the light of God's Presence, declaring the universal & eternal consequences of His sacrificial death on our behalf, from a prophecy of the Cross to His resurrection, ushering in a new age of gra...

The 1st Part of Psalm 22 (v1-21) is a Prophecy of Christ’s suffering & prayers on the Cross. Its 3rd Lamentation (v12-18), describes His physical sufferings inflicted by the Romans, described as DOGS (v16), and oppression by demonic powers (BULLS, v12) & Satan (LION, v13, 1Pet 5:8). Then He turns to God asking Him to draw near to Him, release His mighty power on His behalf (‘O My strength’), deliv...

Christ’s 1st Lamentation from the Cross was His spiritual suffering (v1-5), the 2nd was His mental suffering (v6-11). Now, we study His 3rd Lamentation, His physical suffering. 1st, He describes demonic forces around Him, eager to consume, after leaving His body to go down to Hades: “Many BULLS have surrounded Me; strong BULLS of Bashan have encircled Me. They gape at Me with their mouths, like a...

Last time, we studied the 1st Lamentation of Christ from the Cross describing His spiritual suffering (v1-5). This week, we study the 2nd Lamentation of Christfrom the Cross describing His mental suffering (v6-11), from His enemies who mocked and humiliated Him as He suffered. “But I am a WORM, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people” (v6, see Isaiah 53:3). This is made worse by...

Psalm 22 is a detailed accurate prophecy describing a righteous man executed by crucifixion, written 800 years before it existed. Nothing in Ps 22 was fulfilled by David, either in the details of his suffering or the world-wide consequences of his death. Rather David spoke by the Spirit of Prophecy (Acts 2:30), enabling him to describe Messiah’s suffering on the Cross. Whereas the Gospels record o...

Psalm 95:6-7: “Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will HEAR His VOICE” (quoted in Heb 3:7,15, 4:7). God is speaking today! *I. God is BROADCASTING (Ps 95:7b). Clearly God is speaking. He spoke from the beginning (Gen 1:3) and He is speaking now. He has a voice a...

Psalm 21 is the celebration of the accomplished victory prayed for in Ps 20. The kind of language used means it's a Messianic Psalm, for only Christ can fully fulfil these words, although it was fulfilled in measure by David. The ancient Rabbis interpreted it as speaking of King Messiah (v1), but the later Rabbis dropped this view, to try & prevent Christians from showing how Jesus perfectly fulfi...

Heaven's Coronation, is inspired by the recent coronation of King Charles III. In this country we have a long history of crowning kings and queens, in splendid ceremonies. Yet none compare to the vision seen by Daniel, when King Jesus ascended into Heaven to receive an everlasting Kingdom from His Father, the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13-14, see also Philippians 2:9-11). Peter's message looks at t...

Ps 20 describes Israel’s spiritual preparation before an impending battle, a day of trouble (v1). It is a model for how to prepare ourselves in prayer, to walk in victory in our spiritual battles & days of trouble. It twins with Ps 21, describing the celebration after the victory (c.f 20:2,5 & 21:1; 20:4 & 21:2). The central character is the anointed king (v6), leading his people into battle. It f...

There are many kinds of PRAYER. One kind is INTERCESSION or TRAVAILING in prayer: “My little children, for whom I LABOUR in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). We need to YIELD to the HOLY SPIRIT, for Him to pray through us as He wants. We want to yield our hearts & bodies to Him, to pray God's will into people’s lives: “It is not by (human) might, and not by (human) power...

Ps 19 transitions from God's general revelation in Creation (v1-6), to His special revelation in His written Word, which is more comprehensive, detailed, clearer & personal. Men can misunderstand God’s nature, when they see evil in the world, as nature is corrupted by the curse, so sends mixed signals. So, we need a clearer revelation of God - His perfect Word, without error & extolled in v7-11. v...

Psalm 19 is Messianic. It’s in 3 Parts: (1) God’s General Revelation in Creation (v1-6), (2) God’s Special Revelation in His written Word (v7-11), & (3) God's Purpose in revealing Himself & our right response (v12-14). In Part 1 the Divine Name is EL, and in Part 2, YAHWEH (x7), His personal Covenant Name. v1-6 describe His message thru the heavens: “The heavens declare the glory (splendour) of Go...

Jesus said in John 14:1,27: “Do not let your HEART be TROUBLED; believe in God, believe also in Me ... Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you... Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” *(I) The TROUBLED HEART: “Do not let your HEART be TROUBLED” (John 14:1a). The Greek verb used here for ‘troubled’ is tarassō: to stir up, agitate or roil, as of the sea (Matthew 2:3)....

Psalm 18 is a triumphant declaration at a time of great victory. David (and Christ) explode with love for the Lord (v1), who'd manifested His covenant love to them in many ways. They declare 9 Names of God, describing ways they knew God from personal experience thru many trials (v1-2). Many times they'd called on Him and He delivered them from their enemies. In particular, in the face of death the...

Psalm 18 is a Thanksgiving Psalm of intense emotion giving God the glory for all the victories God gave David and His Son (Christ) in fulfilling His covenant promises to them (v50). It continues the story * typology from Psalm 17. The title is: "A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all of his...

(1) The WONDER of the Choice. We have SINNED against a holy God (Romans 3:23), so we deserve judgment for our sins (Romans 6:23, John 3:19, Hebrews 9:27). It is a WONDER that God sent a Redeemer to save us (John 3:17, Titus 3:4, Luke 9:56). It is a WONDER because God FORGIVES our sins (Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 53:6, Colossians 2:13-14). It is a WONDER because God ADOPTS us as children (Ephesians 1:5,...

Psalm 17 is a Psalm of David when he was being pursued by Saul's armies, who have tracked him down and surrounded him (v9-12, see 1Samuel 23, especially v19-29). His prayer is in 3 parts, each part starts by him invoking a name of God. He prays (1) for VINDICATION, for he was being falsely accused (v1-5), (2) for PROTECTION, because his enemies were out to kill him (v6-12), and (3) for VICTORY - f...

FORGIVENESS is the Christian’s WEAPON to destroy the plans and works of satan in our life. Walking in FORGIVENESS is a major key to overcome the evil in this world, rather than coming under its power. God forgives and forgets our sins, when we repent, for He does not remember our sins any more (Isaiah 43:25, Jer 31:34, Heb 8:12,10:17), for He casts them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), whe...

Hilary teaches on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which Jesus gave His disciples, when they asked Him how many times should they forgive someone (Matthew 18:21-35). God, our Master and King, has forgiven us a massive un-payable sin-debt, so we ought to forgive one another. We should always be aware of just how much God has forgiven each one of us through the shed Blood of His Beloved Son,...

Psalm 16 is a Messianic Psalm which predicted the Resurrection of Christ. In v1-6 we see His single-minded loyalty to God, trusting in God for security (v1), welfare and righteousness (v2). He is singleminded in His mission to save His people, His saints in whom is all His delight (v3, Hebrews 12:2). He is singleminded in His worship of God (v4), His desire for God's Presence (v5), and His trust i...

Psalm 16 is an important Messianic Psalm, quoted by Peter & Paul to prove Jesus is the promised Messiah. Peter quoted Ps16:8-11 in Acts 2:25-28 and expounded it in Acts 2:22-33, as a central part of his sermon. It speaks of a Man who dies and His soul goes to Sheol, but is resurrected before His body sees corruption (within 3 days). Also, He is then exalted to God's right hand (v9-11). He points o...

There is a cry coming from Heaven, calling us to PASSION and INTIMACY with the Lord in worship, and we must begin to respond to Him. Psalm 27:4: “The one thing I ask of the LORD, the thing I seek most, is to live in the House of the LORD (in His Presence) all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty (sweet attractiveness and delightful loveliness) of the LORD, delighting in the LORD’s perfecti...

Psalm 15 starts by asking: "Who may abide in God's Presence", enjoying His hospitality, provision, protection & fellowship (v1), and then gives 10 descriptions of the character of those able to dwell with God (v2-5a), followed by a concluding promise of blessing for those who do abide in Him (v5b). It describes how to abide in FELLOWSHIP with God; not a prescription for salvation, which is not bas...

(1) DANIEL had the RIGHT PREPARATION. He studied the Word and the Promises of God before praying (Daniel 9:2,3, Jeremiah 29:10, Matthew 24:35, Psalm 119:89). (2) DANIEL had the RIGHT PERSPECTIVE. He recognised God’s righteousness and man’s sinfulness (Daniel 9:4-5,16,18) (3) DANIEL had the RIGHT PURPOSE. He desired for God to be glorified and honoured above all else, that God would answer His pray...

Psalm 14 teaches the safety of godliness and peril of ungodliness. It is almost the same as Ps 53, the repetition emphasising the importance of its truths. It begins by describing the sad condition of men who reject God: "The fool has said in his heart: “There is no God” (v1a). In Hebrew, it is: "The fool has said in his heart: “NO God”or "no God for me." Thus, it's not just talking about atheists...