Last week I presented the historical context for Psalm 137, a context of the people of God living in exile among a pagan people. Now once again, understanding this immediate context may cause us to wonder, how in the world could this psalm be relevant for Christians today? Certainly we do not live under such depressing… Continue Reading
Last week I began a series looking at Psalm 137. I am going to do two things with the psalm; first, I will look at the psalm, and then I would like to look through the psalm and allow it to speak to us today. So let us begin by looking at Psalm 137. The psalm… Continue Reading
Deuteronomy 12:2–7 reveals important principles regarding the way God desires to be worshiped and, specifically, the relationship between the biblical way to worship and the ways of the pagans. You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under… Continue Reading
We hear it all the time in corporate worship services: “God, we invite you to come as we worship you.” “God, fill this place as we worship.” “God, you are welcome here. Come down as we worship you.” The motivation is, of course, noble: we want to commune with God in worship. We don’t worship… Continue Reading
There is no doubt that some of the practices of ancient Hebrew worship bear remarkable resemblance to the worship practices of the pagan nations around them. Other nations practiced similar sacrificial systems, had temples and priests, and many scholars note the the idea of covenants established by God with his people is virtually identical to… Continue Reading