Looking at Christ

Christopher Ash's Bible Delight is a wonderfully rich, pastorally sensitive exposition of Psalm 119. Taking a section at a time he slows us down to hear the music of grace in the background of what at first listen might sound strident; slows us down to dig up beautiful gems in apparently unpromising ground; slows us down to take in the nuances and carefulness of what might at first sight seem thrown together. If you haven't got a copy, check it out - it'll do your soul good.  I recently read through Bible Delight a second (or maybe third) time and did a series of 22 little audios for my church small group. In this strange lockdown time many of us have been finding it hard to concentrate, hard to read more than a sentence, hard to pray. So this was intended as bitesize encouragement a few times a week. The format is simple: I read the section of Psalm 119 (almost always using Christopher Ash's own translation of the Hebrew); spend two or three minutes going through the...

Richard Sibbes: "Many men will be glad to own Christ to be great by him, but as Augustine complains in his time, Christ Jesus is not loved for his own sake but for other things that he brings with him, peace, plenty etc. as far as [owning Christ] stands with these contentments. If Christ and the world part once, it will be known which we followed. In times of peace this is hardly discerned." ( Second Sermon on the Song of Songs ) This is basically what the Book of Job is all about. Does Job love God just because of what He has given him or because of who the LORD God is in Himself? "The Satan, for all his malice, is doing something necessary for the glory of God. In some deep way it is necessary for it to be publically seen by the whole universe that God is worthy of the worship of a man and that God’s worth is in no way dependent on God’s gifts." ( Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross , Crossway ) Jonathan Edwards, after commenting on Job 1:9-10 conclu...