9/22/12

Sept. 22 Psalms 92-94


Sept. 22
Psalms 92-94

Psa 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks to Yahweh, to sing praises to your name, Most High;
Psa 92:2 to proclaim your loving kindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night,
Psa 92:3 with the ten-stringed lute, with the harp, and with the melody of the lyre.
Psa 92:4 For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands.
Psa 92:5 How great are your works, Yahweh! Your thoughts are very deep.
Psa 92:6 A senseless man doesn't know, neither does a fool understand this:
Psa 92:7 though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
Psa 92:8 But you, Yahweh, are on high forevermore.
Psa 92:9 For, behold, your enemies, Yahweh, for, behold, your enemies shall perish. All the evildoers will be scattered.
Psa 92:10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. I am anointed with fresh oil.
Psa 92:11 My eye has also seen my enemies. My ears have heard of the wicked enemies who rise up against me.
Psa 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psa 92:13 They are planted in Yahweh's house. They will flourish in our God's courts.
Psa 92:14 They will still bring forth fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green,
Psa 92:15 to show that Yahweh is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psa 93:1 Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can't be moved.
Psa 93:2 Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting.
Psa 93:3 The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves.
Psa 93:4 Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty.
Psa 93:5 Your statutes stand firm. Holiness adorns your house, Yahweh, forevermore.
Psa 94:1 Yahweh, you God to whom vengeance belongs, you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth.
Psa 94:2 Rise up, you judge of the earth. Pay back the proud what they deserve.
Psa 94:3 Yahweh, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?
Psa 94:4 They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast.
Psa 94:5 They break your people in pieces, Yahweh, and afflict your heritage.
Psa 94:6 They kill the widow and the alien, and murder the fatherless.
Psa 94:7 They say, "Yah will not see, neither will Jacob's God consider."
Psa 94:8 Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise?
Psa 94:9 He who implanted the ear, won't he hear? He who formed the eye, won't he see?
Psa 94:10 He who disciplines the nations, won't he punish? He who teaches man knows.
Psa 94:11 Yahweh knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.
Psa 94:12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah, and teach out of your law;
Psa 94:13 that you may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.
Psa 94:14 For Yahweh won't reject his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
Psa 94:15 For judgment will return to righteousness. All the upright in heart shall follow it.
Psa 94:16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
Psa 94:17 Unless Yahweh had been my help, my soul would have soon lived in silence.
Psa 94:18 When I said, "My foot is slipping!" Your loving kindness, Yahweh, held me up.
Psa 94:19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me, your comforts delight my soul.
Psa 94:20 Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute?
Psa 94:21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
Psa 94:22 But Yahweh has been my high tower, my God, the rock of my refuge.
Psa 94:23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own wickedness. Yahweh, our God, will cut them off.

Sept. 22 2 Corinthians 2


Sept. 22
2 Corinthians 2

2Co 2:1 But I determined this for myself, that I would not come to you again in sorrow.
2Co 2:2 For if I make you sorry, then who will make me glad but he who is made sorry by me?
2Co 2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, so that, when I came, I wouldn't have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy would be shared by all of you.
2Co 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be made sorry, but that you might know the love that I have so abundantly for you.
2Co 2:5 But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I not press too heavily) to you all.
2Co 2:6 Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the many;
2Co 2:7 so that on the contrary you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his excessive sorrow.
2Co 2:8 Therefore I beg you to confirm your love toward him.
2Co 2:9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things.
2Co 2:10 Now I also forgive whomever you forgive anything. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
2Co 2:11 that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2Co 2:12 Now when I came to Troas for the Good News of Christ, and when a door was opened to me in the Lord,
2Co 2:13 I had no relief for my spirit, because I didn't find Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went out into Macedonia.
2Co 2:14 Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God, in those who are saved, and in those who perish;
2Co 2:16 to the one a stench from death to death; to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
2Co 2:17 For we are not as so many, peddling the word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.

THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON Introduction To Philemon

                        THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON

                        Introduction To Philemon

AUTHOR:  PAUL, the apostle of Jesus Christ (1,9,19)

PLACE OF WRITING:  ROME, about the same time the epistle to the
Colossians was written.  This deduction is based upon the following:

   1) Like the epistle to the Colossians, the epistle to Philemon was
      written when Paul was in chains (1,10,13,23)

   2) Timothy joined Paul in both epistles (1; Col 1:1)

   3) Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke joined in the
      salutation of both (23,24; Col 4:10-14)

   4) Onesimus, the subject of this epistle, was one of the messengers
      by whom the epistle to the Colossians was sent (Col 4:7-9)

   5) Archippus, to whom this epistle is partially addressed (2), is
      also addressed in the epistle to the Colossians (Col 4:17)

TIME OF WRITING:  If the epistle to Philemon was written about the
time Colossians and the other "prison epistles" (Ephesians and 
Philippians) were written, then it was written during Paul's 
imprisonment at Rome, sometime during the period of 61-63 A.D.

BACKGROUND OF THE EPISTLE:  Philemon was a member of the church at Colosse
(cf. 1,2, with Col 4:17), and a very hospitable one at that
(1,2,5,7).  It is possible that he was one of Paul's own converts (19).
It is also plausible that Apphia was his wife, and Archippus his son
(1,2).

Onesimus had been one of Philemon's slaves (16), who had run away (15).
It appears that he somehow traveled to Rome where he found Paul and
was converted to Christ (10).  He had become very dear to Paul, and was
proving to be very useful (11-13).

But Paul did not think it right to keep Onesimus in Rome, and was
sending him back to Philemon (12-14).  This letter to Philemon is an
appeal for him to receive Onesimus now as a brother in Christ, and for
him to forgive Onesimus if he had done any wrong (15-21).

PURPOSE OF WRITING:  From the content of the epistle, it appears that
Paul had both a primary and secondary purpose:

   1) Primarily to secure forgiveness for Onesimus

   2) But also to provide from himself a place of lodging after his
      release from imprisonment (22)

THE VALUE OF THIS EPISTLE:  This short, but valuable epistle has been
described as:
               * A Model Of Christian Courtesy
               
               * A Manifestation Of Christian Love
               
               * A Monument Of Christian Conversion

Perhaps this is why the Holy Spirit deemed it proper to preserve it for
our benefit.

KEY PASSAGE:  "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have
               begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable
               to you, but now is profitable to you and to me."
               (10,11)

BRIEF OUTLINE:   Paul's Courtesy (1-3)
                 Paul's Compliment (4-7)
                 Paul's Counsel (8-21)
                 Paul's Conclusion (22-25)

A detailed outline of the epistle can be found in the material on
Chapter One.

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE INTRODUCTION

1) Who is the author of this epistle?
   - Paul

2) Where was he writing from?
   - Rome

3) Approximately when was this epistle written?
   - Sometime between 61-63 A.D.

4) What other epistles were written by Paul about the same time?
   - Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians

5) What church possibly met in Philemon's home?
   - The church at Colosse

6) Who was Onesimus?
   - A runaway slave that had belonged to Philemon

7) What was Paul's purpose in writing this epistle?
   - To secure forgiveness for Onesimus
   - To provide for himself a place of lodging after his release from
     imprisonment

8) What are the key verses to this epistle?
   - Philemon 10-11