Savoring the Scripture

His Compassion Will Not Be Restrained  Psalm 40 To speak of God the Father as “the Father of mercies” is to say that he is the one who multiplies compassionate mercies to his needful, wayward, messy, fallen, wandering people. Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly God’s compassion toward us is His tender mercy, pity, and love. In Psalm 40, David prays, “You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me.” The ESV translates this as, “As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me.” This is tender comfort for those times when “evils beyond number” surround us (40:12). Whether it be our own iniquities which abound, others who seek to hurt us and delight in it, or anything that makes us afflicted and needy (40:12,14, 17). His compassionate mercy toward us is not restrained. He is mindful of us. He is our help. He is our deliverer. In His faithfulness and lovingkindness He will be there to meet us with His presence in our time of need.  We can trust that He will act acco...

God's Omniscience     In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it asks this question, "Does God know all things?" The answer states, "Yes, nothing can be hidden from God." The immensity of that truth overwhelms us at times. We understand this to mean that God knows the vastness of each galaxy and every star He placed in it and, in fact, knows each one by name (Ps. 147:4). He knows every tiny creature that creeps on the earth.  There are millions of beetles alone and the Lord knows each one's location, what it ate for breakfast, and even its very life span, for He gives to every creature its food in due season and life and breath to all (Ps. 104:27; Acts 17:25). There are no scientific, historical, mathematical, economic, or personal facts or details He does not know.  And when we talk about mankind, He knows us more intimately than we know ourselves. He knows us and is intimately acquainted with all our ways. He knows our thoughts, our lying down and going out,...

The Care of Widows in the Scripture In the Old Testament, a widow was left in a difficult position with the death of her husband.   She could not inherit from him and thus if she was childless she may have the opportunity to marry her husband’s brother and stay in the family.   If she had children, her eldest son was to care for her. In the OT, God made provision for the widows by having them participate in the triennial third tithe, gleaning, and religious feasts (Deut. 14:29; 24: 19-21; 26:12). There was blessing from the Lord for those who followed this command to help provide for the widow, orphan, and alien.   God commanded the people not to pervert justice for the widow (Deut. 27:19), and He Himself would be her defender and execute justice on her behalf (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18, 24:17,19; Ps. 146:9). In the NT, Paul expected families to care for their widows (1 Tim. 5:4-8), and the church would care for widows who were widows indeed (1 Tim. 5:3-16). However,...

Empathy is defined as the capacity for understanding, being aware of, being sensitive of, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. Christ in His tenderness towards His children empathizes and sympathizes with them, for indeed, we are His own body that He “nourishes and cherishes.” His sympathy is such that “in our pain, Jesus is pained; in our suffering, he feels the suffering as his own” (Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly). In fact, He co-suffers with us (Acts 9:4). Christ’s own testimony is that He is gentle and lowly (Matt. 11:29). He is “Tender. Open. Welcoming. Accommodating. Understanding. Willing” (Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly). We are to imitate Christ in our treatment of our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are members of His body (1 Cor. 11:1; 12:18-20).  We must be most tender with those who are weakest—spiritually, physically, mentally. We must strive to show solidarity with them; to be understanding of their infirmit...