by Paraclete Press | Apr 9, 2017 | Covenant, Happiness, Law, Promise, Terms of Heart
“Incline our hearts to keep this law.” Each of the first four Sundays of Lent the order of worship in my church begins with the congregation repeating that refrain nine times, in response to the pastor’s recitation, one by one, of the first nine...
by Paraclete Press | Feb 26, 2017 | Covenant, Law, Promise, Terms of Heart
In The Heart of Psalm 119 (Part 2) our focus was on examining how the elements of design and structure in the psalm support, enhance and help define its meaning. The frequently discussed word pattern also clearly falls within the category of design, whether one...
by Paraclete Press | Feb 12, 2017 | Promise, Silence, Terms of Heart, Vision
In the first part of this series I mentioned the “acrostic pattern” and “intricate architecture” of this magnificent poem. Those passing references were insufficient to convey the importance of structure, however. Understanding it, and the purposeful complexity of...
by Paraclete Press | Jan 15, 2017 | Covenant, Law, Promise, Terms of Heart
It has been several months since I last spoke in this space. There is no easy transition from that silence, and even less to the subject that I have finally mustered the courage to engage. I must both confess and warn that in finally breaking the silence, I will also...
by Paraclete Press | Aug 14, 2016 | Covenant, Happiness, Promise, Terms of Heart
In response to my June post on the Heart of Happiness, a thoughtful reader commented “I have frequently used joy instead of happy” and inquired whether or not I thought that substitution would “work.” I responded that I did not know, but I...
by Paraclete Press | Jun 26, 2016 | Happiness, Terms of Heart, Voice
Both regular and casual readers of the psalms might legitimately question my supposition that the heart of “the man after God’s own heart” was one primarily characterized by and possessed of happiness. In light of the fact that the psalter is heavily...
