“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.” Isaiah 26:3 The term “perfect peace” literally is “peace, peace,” which comes only from the Lord, who is called the Prince of Peace. “Trust in You” means knowing God and His love gives true peace. Martin Luther said, “This…
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 The Greek word we interpret as “member” can also be interpreted as limb or…
“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165 In Psalm 119, the psalmist took great delight in God’s Word because his soul had been made alive by God’s grace, and it was now his responsibility to praise the living Lord. Like a lost sheep, who never find…
“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned his ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1-2 These verses simply state the reason for the psalm … the Lord answered the Psalmist’s cry for help. The rest of…
“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:18-19 “My foot is slipping” meant imminent death, indicating the serious nature of the threats to the psalmist. “Your unfailing love” or steadfast love is a loyalty to one’s community,…
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32 Paul answers the rhetorical question in the previous verse with a question. Since God has done the greatest thing, giving His own Son, will He not…
“By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42:8 “Directs His love” is a phrase meaning “loyalty” to one’s community, which is the most common term for God’s grace in the Psalms (125 times). Luther described this Hebrew phrase as…
“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8 King David writes as though the Lord stands beside him and holds his hand, like a father caring for his son. The Lord is the focus of David’s service and his ally. In Israelite…
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 We have the Son by believing all that God has testified concerning Him. This faith is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8–9). We possess the gift of eternal life…
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 “For to me” is similar to the common expression “As far as I’m concerned.” The phrase “to live is Christ and to die is gain” means Paul would experience gain in his own death because he would be with Christ….