Good and Pleasant Praise

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Good and Pleasant Praise

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 147. We’re coming close to the end, not just to the fifth book of the Psalter but of the entire Psalter, and you can feel, in these final psalms, that the arranger is building to a crescendo of praise to God. This psalm, like many other praise psalms, begins and ends with an exhortation for us to praise the Lord. You’ll notice that at the beginning of verse 1 and at the end of verse 20. But there are three fairly easily identifiable parts to this psalm and I'd like you to note them. First of all, you’ll see these parts by the series of exhortations. In verse 1, 7, and 12, you will find an exhortation to praise the Lord, to sing to the Lord. You’ll see that in verse 1 — “Praise the LORD! For it is good to…

Skipping Mountians and Fleeing Seas

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Psalm 114. This psalm is a remarkable recounting of the redemption of God, of His people, in the exodus. And it's marked by exuberance. I dare say that the exuberance of the text of this psalm is every bit the match for Miriam and the women on the shores of the Red Sea. If you look at the two poems which are sung on that occasion or the song that's sung on that occasion and compare it to this psalm, you’ll see the same kind of exuberant delight in God's deliverance. But this psalm is not only characterized by exuberance, it's characterized by poetic imagery that is almost over the top. You recognize everything that is being described in the psalm as you read along, but there is almost hyperbole at every turn. Exaggerated,…

Cities of Refuge

Wednesday Evening April 30, 2008 Numbers 35:1-34 Numbers — With God in the Wilderness “Gimme Shelter” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Numbers 35, the second to the last chapter in this great book that we have been studying since January 2007. A couple of words about where we’re going next: God willing, next Wednesday night we’ll finish this book looking at the fairly short chapter, Numbers 36, which picks up on a really great story which we’ve already touched on in this book. If you peek ahead, you’ll notice that Numbers 36 has to do with a change in inheritance laws in Israel, and that change in inheritance laws stems from a conversation that some godly daughters of Israel had with Moses, and with God’s…

With God in the Wilderness(47) Divvying Up Canaan

The Lord’s Day Evening Numbers 34:1-29 With God in the Wilderness Divvying Up Canaan Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. Please be seated. If you have your Bibles with you, I’d invite you to turn with me to Numbers 34. Back on Sunday evening, April 6, when we were last together in Numbers with God in the wilderness on the Lord’s Day, we were in a passage which contained a wilderness travel log, Numbers 33:1-49, and it had a succession of almost unpronounceable names and obscure place…

With God in the Wilderness (44): From Egypt to Jordan

The Lord’s Day Evening Numbers 33:1-49 With God in the Wilderness From Egypt to Jordan Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. Please be seated. When we started our series on the book of Numbers, all those months ago back on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, we admitted that Numbers is probably not one of your top ten favorite Bible books. In fact, some of you may not be particularly excited about studying Numbers. Some of you may not have read through it in a long time, and some of you may never have…

With God in the Wilderness (29) The Wars of the Lord

The Lord’s Day Evening October 21, 2007 Numbers 21:10-35 “The Wars of the Lord” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. Please be seated. If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Numbers 21. The last time we were together in the book of Numbers, we were looking at Numbers 21:1-9, that deeply moving story of the Lord bringing judgment on the grumbling people of Israel in the form of poisonous snakes; and then, having cried out to the Lord for relief in repentance and in…

With God in the Wilderness (25) Levites’ Duties…

The Lord’s Day Evening Numbers 18:1-32 “Levites’ Duties and Priestly Portion” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. Please be seated. If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Numbers, chapter 18. For those of you who haven’t been with us on Wednesday nights working through this great book, we have called this series “With God in the Wilderness,” and we’ve chosen that title because the name of this book in the Hebrew Bible is “In the Wilderness” —…

Spies in the Land

Wednesday Evening August 1, 2007 Numbers 13:1-33 “Spies in the Land” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III The spies are in the land and they discover giants, and it is dismaying to them. John Bunyan leads us to sing about that in that hymn, even as Moses leads us to lament the way the children of Israel responded to this particular challenge. This is one of those pivotal passages in the book of Numbers. As we’ve worked through this book together, coming to chapters 11 and 12 we have begun to see…

Grumbling

Wednesday Evening June 6, 2007 Numbers 11:1-15 “Grumbling” Dr. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Numbers, chapter 11, and let me just remind you of one thing from last week together. You can take a look at Numbers 10:33-36, and just remember that at the end of Numbers 10, Moses is reminding you of how God visibly demonstrated and manifested His care for, His providence over, His protection of the children of Israel, and He did this in at least…

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