Wilderness Wanderings

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)   This is one of the few psalms that comes with a definite historical context.  The exi...

Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits. Thank the God of all gods, His love never quits. Thank the Lord of all lords. His love never quits (Psalm 136:1-3, The Message) .   Gratitude is not natural; it certainly does not come easily for most of us. Many Christians bristle at the biblical instructions to give thanks. When I preach on a text such as " Give thanks in all circumstance...

Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, you servants of the Lord, you who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession. I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all...

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord! May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 134). Once, when I took a two-week course at a retreat centre, our professor, the late Dallas Willard, began the course with two instructions: you will sleep 12 hours t...

How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalm 133)   The Israelites didn't have separate denominations.  They cer...

Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might…For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, 'this is my resting place forever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it' (Psalm 132:8, 13-14). We are still among the psalms of ascent, the songs the Israelites sang as they came and went to Jerusalem for the festivals of their fa...

My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. (Psalm 131)   Psalm 131 connects with the psalm that comes before it, psalm 130, which is a cry f...

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you… Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption (Psalm 130:3,4,7). When we think of God's accounting ability, we ought to cringe. Suppose every unkind word we had ever spoken, every lie we had ever told, eve...

"They have greatly oppressed me from my youth," let Israel say; "they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long. But the Lord is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked." May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame. May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it ca...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 1 Samuel 9:1-10:16 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca...

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord (Psalm 128:1-4). This psalm has created anxiety for many saints. It has been t...

It's useless for you to work from early morning until late at night just to get food to eat. God provides for those he loves even while they sleep. Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from him (Psalm 127:2-3). Reading the Bible well involves our imagination. It also requires understanding the whole story and its context. Too often Christians take material from the Old Testament st...

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy....

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved and will endure forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forevermore. Evil people will not always rule the land the Lord gave to those who do right. If they did, those who do right might do what is evil (Psalm 125:1-3). Reading the Bible well requires us our imagination. The Word o...

If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel say—if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 2:21-40 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries...

"As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us mercy" (Psalm 123:2). In the Old Testament there is no finer picture of a servant at prayer than what is pictured in this psalm. In the culture of the ancient Near East, a master spoke to a slave as little as possible, especially du...

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:1-2)   Psalm 120 marked the repentant turn that began the journey to God.  Psalm 121 marks the trustful journey up.  And now, already in Psalm 122: we've arrived at our destination.  "Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem." Even though the journey is the b...

"I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let you foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:1-4). Two things should be clarified as we consider this psalm. First, via the King James Version and Maria von Trapp, an err...

I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. What will he do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue? He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom bush. Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am for...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 2:1-20 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca Dive In...

"I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will...

But now be strong, Zerubbabel,' declares the Lord. 'Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the Lord, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the Lord Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.' "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once...

Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who...

Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor be...