Posts in the Weekly Commentary Category
June 2, 2019 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Kings 13:18 ‘But he lied unto him.’
May 26, 2019 by David Farmer 0 comments
Ephesians 1:4 ‘He chose us in him from before the foundation of the world.’
May 18, 2019 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 116:15 ‘Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints.’
May 12, 2019 by David Farmer 0 comments
Galatians 1:6 ‘A different gospel.’
May 5, 2019 by David Farmer 0 comments
This Week’s Focus Passage: Psalm 100 ‘All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheer
January 6, 2019 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 4:10 ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God.’
December 30, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 1:21 ‘For it is he that shall save his people from their sins.’
December 23, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Job 42:5 ‘I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.’
December 16, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Micah 6:8 ‘….but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God.’
December 9, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Amos 3:2 ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth.’
December 2, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 14:16 ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.’
November 18, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 John 2:12-15 ‘I write unto you, my little children,…fathers,,,,,,young men.’
November 11, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
3 John ‘Gaius the beloved, Diotrephes, who loveth preeminence, Demetrius hath the witness.’
November 4, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 8:58 ‘Before Abraham was born, I am.’
October 28, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 6:66 ‘Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.’
October 20, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 6:66 ‘Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.’
October 13, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 5:46 ‘If ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me.’
October 6, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 2:19 ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’
September 29, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
James 1:18 ‘He brought us forth by the word of truth.’
September 15, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 23:43 ‘Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.’
September 9, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 23:12 ‘And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day.’
September 1, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 20:46 ‘Beware of the scribes.’
August 26, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Proverbs 19:5, 9 ‘A false witness shall not be unpunished.’
August 19, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Titus ‘To Titus, my true child after a common faith.’
August 12, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 17:3 ‘And if he repent, forgive him.
August 5, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Proverbs 8:30 ‘And I was daily his delight.’
July 29, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Timothy 2:5 ‘For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men.’
July 22, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
2 Chronicles 33:13 ‘Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God.’
July 15, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 142 ‘Maschil of David, when he was in the cave; a Prayer.’
July 8, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 9:30 ‘There talked with him two men, who were Moses and Elijah.’
June 30, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 130 ‘If thou, Jehovah, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?’
June 30, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Ephesians 1:4 ‘In Him before the foundation of the world.’
June 16, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 6:10 ‘Stretch forth thy hand.’
June 15, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 3:21-22 ‘The Holy Spirit descended….and a voice came out of heaven.’
May 12, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 106:30 ‘Then stood up Phinehas.’
May 6, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 71:18 ‘Yea, even when I am old and gray-headed, forsake me not.’
April 28, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
The Old Hundredth - ‘Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah, all ye lands.
April 22, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Ruth 1:16 ‘Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’
April 15, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Mark 7:28 ‘Even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.’
And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syro-phoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. And he said unto her, let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, for this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out....Keep Reading
April 8, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Judges 2:10 ‘And there arose another generation after them, that knew not Jehovah.’
April 1, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Corinthians 6:11 ‘Such were some of you.’
Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. ...Keep Reading
March 25, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 71:18 - ‘Yea, even when I am old and gray-headed, forsake me not.’
My mouth shall tell of thy righteousness, and of thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Jehovah: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth; and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Yea, even when I am old and gray-headed forsake me not, until I have declared thy strength unto the next generation, thy might to every one that is to come....Keep Reading
March 18, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 28:15 - ‘This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day.’
Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things that were come to pass. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day....Keep Reading
March 11, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 24:36 ‘But of that day and hour knoweth no one.’
A question was put to our Lord Jesus Christ by His disciples as it is recorded for us in Matthew 24. This question has been asked by His disciples over and again ever since. It is the question of the return of our Lord, or His second advent. ...Keep Reading
March 4, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Numbers 21:9 ‘When he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.’
These words spoken by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, are words that immediately precede perhaps the most well-known verse of the Holy Scriptures, namely John 3:16, which it may well be unnecessary to set before my reader, but I will do so, for convenience, anyway; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. ...Keep Reading
February 25, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Romans 1:16 ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel.’
The New International Version translation of the Bible...Keep Reading
February 18, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Acts 28:31 ‘Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord.’
And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him. ...Keep Reading
February 11, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 16:17 ‘Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.’
This grand declaration from the lips of our Savior were uttered in response to the blessed and renowned statement of Peter; his confession of faith, if you will, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God....Keep Reading
February 4, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 27:4 ‘One thing have I asked of Jehovah, that will I seek after.’
Psalm 27:4 -One thing have I asked of Jehovah, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of Jehovah, And to inquire in his temple....Keep Reading
January 28, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 11:28 ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.’
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ...Keep Reading
January 21, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Acts 13:41 - ‘A work which ye shall in no wise believe.’
These words of the apostle Paul are cited from the words of the prophet, Habakkuk, found in chapter one, verse five. This prophecy is spoken of by Habakkuk as The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. ...Keep Reading
January 14, 2018 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 17:15 ‘I shall be satisfied when I awake.’
Arise, O Jehovah, Confront him, cast him down: Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword; From men by thy hand, O Jehovah, From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure: They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their substance to their babes....Keep Reading
December 31, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 2:12 ‘Kiss the Son.’
Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, And ye perish in the way. For his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him....Keep Reading
December 24, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 21:25 ‘And there are also many other things which Jesus did.’
Wow! Are we already approaching another year? It hardly seems that an entire year has passed since this thought was set before us. What is there that we ought to do, or be doing, as we look back upon the year 2017?...Keep Reading
December 17, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Revelation 21:2 ‘And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.’
One twentieth-century writer, I believe, is quite helpful in his attempts at setting before us this awe-striking portrait which John through God the Holy Spirit has set before us in lovely, simple words; And I saw a new heaven and a new earth....Keep Reading
December 10, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 17:9 ‘I pray for them: I pray not for the world.’
No less than five times in this single chapter from John’s gospel account did our Savior speak of those believing on Him as those given unto Him by the Father Himself. ...Keep Reading
December 2, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Amos 3:3 ‘Shall two walk together except they have agreed?’
This third chapter in the prophecy of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, was directed by God toward the hearing of the children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt. The remarks of Thomas Scott (1747-1821) on this verse are well worth noting....Keep Reading
November 29, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Job 26:14 ‘Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways.’
If I may be excused for doing so, I intend to communicate a rather large extract from the 12 volumes of his Practical Observations on Job by the Puritan Joseph Caryl (1602-1674). A recent purchaser of this reprint (the first after 400 years) offered the following remarks:...Keep Reading
November 19, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 John 5:1 ‘Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God.’
This rather simple statement by the apostle John toward the conclusion of his first epistle is full of Gospel reality. It is interesting to note that this particular phrase, ‘whosoever believeth,’ of this verse is found in only four other places of the Word of God....Keep Reading
November 12, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 10:11-13 ‘He that is a hireling and not a shepherd.'
“Alexander Henderson (1583-1646), Scottish minister, described as ‘the Second Reformer’. Born probably in the Fife parish of Creich, he graduated with distinction at St. Andrews (1603) and was appointed regent there. Favored as a supporter of Episcopacy, not later than 1614 he was given the parish of Leuchars, an induction carried out against the wishes of the parishioners, who had secured the church doors....Keep Reading
November 5, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
2 Peter 2:20 ‘The last state is become worse with them than the first.’
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire....Keep Reading
October 29, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Ezekiel 9:2 ‘One in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side.’
And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal....Keep Reading
October 22, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 6:66 ‘Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.’
‘Upon this,’ or, ‘after this’? We may understand that the rendering, ‘upon,’ is intended to signify ‘built on,’ or, ‘coming on,’ that is, ‘with connection to,’ but the rendering ‘after,’ almost certainly must suggest a time frame....Keep Reading
October 15, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
John 5:25, 28 ‘The hour cometh and now is……the hour cometh.’
We must needs have before us the entirety of this enigmatic passage if we are to have any opportunity to grasp the enormity of what our Savior has spoken to those Jews that were so completely perplexed over His speech. ...Keep Reading
October 8, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
James 5:11 ‘Ye have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.’
Behold, we call them blest that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful....Keep Reading
October 8, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
James 5:11 ‘Ye have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.’
Behold, we call them blest that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful....Keep Reading
October 1, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
James 1:18 ‘Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth.’
Great is the number of men that have, not only imagined but, taught that salvation is a product of the human will. ...Keep Reading
September 24, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Isaiah 65:25. ‘The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.’
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea....Keep Reading
September 17, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Isaiah 53:10 ‘Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him.’
It is difficult to pass by an opportunity to offer remarks on one of the most blessed portions of the Word of God, namely the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah is the Old Testament volume frequently referred to...Keep Reading
September 10, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 22:43 ‘And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.’
If the Christ, the God-man, Emmanuel, God with us; our Champion; God Himself manifest in the flesh, retaining omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, required the sustenance and/or comfort that this angel was able to render, how much more do we weak and frail humans stand in need of such strengthening. How in the world could we even begin to conceive of ‘standing it alone,’ if the Son of God; the Son of man; our Man in Glory was deemed to need such sustenance?...Keep Reading
September 3, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Hebrews 1:2 ‘Hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son.’
How has He spoken in his Son? Is it not through the Word and His Spirit? May we not ‘hear’ the voice of the Son through His Spirit as we read the Scriptures? ...Keep Reading
August 27, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Proverbs 18:13 ‘He that giveth answer before he heareth, It is folly and shame unto him.’
This verse powerfully suggests a common scenario among men. We should say mankind for, surely, it has infected both man and woman; both men, women, and yes, the offspring of these men and women; that is, their progeny; their children. We are reminded of the psalmist’s asseveration when he cried, All men are liars! This, happily, is not absolutely true....Keep Reading
August 20, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Titus 3:7 ‘Being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs.’
I thought that we were justified by faith! What goes on here? Has not Paul clearly stated, in Romans 5:1, Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Did the apostle write to the church at Rome telling them that they were justified by faith, and then later write to his follower, Titus, that we are justified by grace?...Keep Reading
August 13, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Proverbs 13:14ff. ‘The law of the wise is a fountain of life.’
I well recall reading a small volume about the translation of Scripture. The author was actually critiquing the most recent translation among the four most used renderings of the Word of God; namely the New International Version, or N.I.V....Keep Reading
August 6, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 13:34 ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem’
This astounding cry of lament over the city of Jerusalem by our Savior is surely remarkable for its somewhat enigmatic nature. How is it that the Son of God, God Himself, must cry over this great city of His own people according to the flesh? Is it that He could not save them?...Keep Reading
July 30, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 13:3, 5 ‘Except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish.’
In the days of the so-called Second Great Awakening there arose practices that are continued even into our own day. It may not be unfair to attribute the initiation of these methods to the developed thought of the ‘great revivalist’ Charles Grandison Finney....Keep Reading
July 23, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalms 146-150 ‘Praise ye Jehovah……Praise ye Jehovah.’
According to theologians and biblical historians, the Hallel...Keep Reading
July 16, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
2 Chronicles 12:16 ‘And Rehoboam slept with his fathers….and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.’
The kings of Judah were descendants of David, the second king of Israel succeeding Saul of Benjamin. God had made a covenant with David that his seed always be seated on the throne of Israel forever; 2 Samuel 7:16:...Keep Reading
July 9, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Thessalonians 4:17 ‘Then we that are alive, that are left.’
hat is a conspiracy? I ask the question because this text brings to my mind what I believe to be a conspiracy in the church at large. We find in our dictionary that a conspiracy may be defined as:...Keep Reading
July 2, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Colossians 4:10 ‘And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.’
Who was John Mark? Who was Barnabas? Both John Mark and Barnabas have excellent scriptural pedigrees. By scriptural pedigrees, I mean the records of the Scriptures by which we have come to know these men. ...Keep Reading
June 29, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Colossians 1:27 ‘Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’
In what is frequently declared to be His ‘farewell address,’ our Lord Jesus Christ intended to impart confident encouragement to His own. He encouraged their very hearts early in this discourse with the deservedly well-known exhortation:...Keep Reading
June 18, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 119:176 ‘I have gone astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant.’
The 119th psalm, it has been frequently observed by writers, is inundated with references to the Word of God. In all but a very few of the 176 verses there is an express reference to the Word. The Word has been spoken of in the many characters that it bears. The Psalmist...Keep Reading
June 11, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 119:122 ‘Be surety for thy servant for good.’
In his Old Testament Word Studies, William Wilson has given to us the meaning of the noun, surety. He has offered this definition; ‘To become surety for any one, properly to exchange with him, to stand in his place; to become surety for one’s life, to pledge oneself for the life of another; for another’s debt, to give security for the payment.’...Keep Reading
June 4, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Luke 4:28 ‘They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.’
This demonstration took place after Jesus had read the Scriptures to those before Him in the synagogue. He had been asked to read, we may presume according to their custom. They had delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah, which He opened to a particular place where, we are told, it was written, and He read;...Keep Reading
May 28, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Kings 2:27 ‘That he might fulfil the word of Jehovah.’
The pericope under our purview for this week’s commentary is that which is related in context with king Solomon’s following his father David’s instructive warnings and advice which he gave to his son shortly before he died. He warned Solomon about Joab and Shimei, giving suggestive counsel recommending how he should behave toward each of them. This may be applied, by implication, to Abiathar the priest for he indeed implicated himself into the subtle plot of Adonijah’s attempt to usurp the throne. Solomon linked Abiathar with Adonijah and Joab in his response to his mother, Bath-sheba, recorded in 1 Kings 2:22......Keep Reading
May 7, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 102:7 ‘I watch, and am become like a sparrow that is alone upon the housetop.’
The verse cited above for our focus passage this week is found joined together with the previous verse which should probably be taken as a piece. We put them together for consideration in that way; I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become as an owl of the waste places. I watch, and am become like a sparrow that is alone upon the housetop....Keep Reading
April 30, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Samuel 1:14 ‘How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.’
Is this a classic case of misjudgment on the part of a ‘church leader’? If it is, indeed, not classic, it is at least most pointed. And does it not speak volumes to the issue of pastoral oversight and, particularly, to several other integral matters? Matters such as not judging empirically; in other words, not basing your judgment entirely, or primarily, on appearances; not ‘judging a book by its cover,’ perhaps we could say. Eli made an uninformed judgment based solely upon what his eyes saw and his mind imagined. We are, each one of us, prone to this sort of a lapse, and are most likely, each of us, guilty of it at some time in our lives and behavior, even as Christians, and perhaps, in some instances, especially as Christians....Keep Reading
April 23, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Corinthians 15:55 ‘O death, where is thy victory?’
‘O death, where is thy victory?’ These words of the apostle Paul in 15:55 of his first letter to the church of God at Corinth are citations from a pair of Old Testament prophets. Isaiah, in his twenty-fifth chapter had written, many years before Paul, these blessed promises from God to His covenant people for their faith and encouragement:...Keep Reading
April 16, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 86:1 ‘Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me; for I am poor and needy.’
While the majority, even most, of the Psalms have a superscription at their beginning...Keep Reading
April 9, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Corinthians 10:4 ‘They drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.’
Paul is here referencing the account found in Exodus 17:1-7 which took place in the course of the march of the children of Israel through the wilderness after that God had delivered them from the bondage in Egypt under Pharaoh. We are told;...Keep Reading
April 2, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
1 Corinthians 1:18 ‘The word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness’
This word of the cross; just what is it, and why would it be foolishness to any of the sons of men? What does foolishness involve? How may we recognize it? In ourselves? In others? How do people determine if they are being given a pure line of bologna? Is there some clue that will betray for us whether what we are being told and expected to believe is really only an ‘urban legend’? And what is the faculty; or what are the faculties, by which we may separate truth from fiction; reality from unreality; a demonstrable truth from the foolishness of men? Paul has, here in this letter to the church at Corinth, in these few brief, but terse, expressions, set forward several striking things; items for serious contemplation to the reader, or hearer....Keep Reading
March 26, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Joshua 2:13 ‘Save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters.’
More often than not when the question of Rahab the harlot is admitted into any conversation, whether it be about the sinfulness of harlotry, or whether or not she lied about having knowledge of the whereabouts of the two spies, the matter of her surprising faith is, sadly only infrequently, brought to bear upon this truly amazing Old Testament narrative. ...Keep Reading
March 19, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 28:15 ‘This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day.’
Although the 18th verse of this 28th chapter of Matthew’s gospel account is indisputably the best-known portion of this disciple’s closing remarks, the 15th verse may be one of the most intriguing. After the resurrection of our Savior and His giving of this directive, Fear not: Go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me...Keep Reading
March 12, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 25:7 ‘Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.’
These individuals were quite evidently deceived, perhaps even self-deceived, but deceived nonetheless. Like their counterparts in 7:22, they may have spoken of the many things that they had done, claiming, even believing, that they had done them “by His name,” that they had been living lives, doing ‘mighty works’ in the name of religion; in the name of Christianity and for the church....Keep Reading
March 5, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Romans 5:8 ‘Christ died for us.’
How fearful it is that we may ever have spoken these glorious words tritely, or without due consideration of their incomprehensible depths: the depths of the love of Christ that truly passes our understanding; the depths of the love of the Father in giving His Son for us; the depths of the love of God the Holy Spirit in applying the infinitely costly salvation to any of the rebellious sons of men. Amazing Grace is too light an expression to adequately denote the wonders involved in these precious words, Christ died for us, and that, incredibly, while we were yet sinners. O the deep, deep love of Jesus! Thank God for eternity; for eternity will never exhaust the love that we owe to the Lamb of God....Keep Reading
February 26, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Romans 1:16 ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel.’
A new translation of the Scriptures, the Word of God for Protestant Christians, namely, that is, the Bible, appeared in full in the year of our Lord, 1978, the New Testament had earlier made its appearance in 1773; the publishers evidently not wishing to wait for the entirety of both the Older and the Newer Testaments to be ready....Keep Reading
February 19, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Matthew 20:31 ‘Lord, have mercy on us, thou son of David’
And as they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, thou son of David. And the multitude rebuked them that they should hold their peace: but they cried out the more, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, thou son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I should do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and straightway they received their sight, and followed him. ...Keep Reading
February 12, 2017 by David Farmer 0 comments
Psalm 37:1 ‘Fret not thyself…….’
The inspired words of the focus of our attention this week are found on only four occasions, at least in the American Standard Version (1901) of the Scriptures. Three of these four occasions are to be located in the psalm under consideration, namely the 37th Psalm, ‘a psalm of David’ according to its inspired inscription. The fourth employment of ‘Fret not thyself’ is to be found in the book of Proverbs......Keep Reading