Biblical Studies

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6 ESV) Geerhardus Vos served as Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Seminary from 1892 to 1932. A collection of the sermons he gave in chapel between 1896 and 1913 is available as Grace and Glory , now being published by Banner of Truth (2020).  Below are some excerpts from his sermon, "Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness", taken from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five... "It is God's inalienable right as God to impress his character upon us, to make and keep us reflectors of his infinite glory. But in a state of sin this can only intensify a thousand times the consciousness of man's utter inability even to begin to realize what nevertheless is the very core of his end in life, the sole ultimate reason for his existence." "[T]he purpose of this demand of God-likeness is not to be primarily sought in the desirability for ma...

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD!'" (Psalm 122:1) THE SONGS OF ASCENTS  are Psalms 120--134. These fifteen psalms are called the psalms of ascents, because traditionally they were recited on the way to the temple on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. Each psalm has a particular theme related to being a pilgrim on the way to God's house.  Why are these psalms in the Bible? I believe that it is because we need to know that we, like the ancient Israelites, are citizens of the kingdom of God, sojourning in this world as resident aliens. We're on our way to God's glorious eternal kingdom in the new heaven and new earth (Matt 6:33; Heb 11:16; 1 Pet 2:9-12; 2 Pet 3:13). Here are the fifteen themes.  DEPARTURE (120). The psalmist does not literally dwell in Meshech (to the far north of Israel) or Kedar (far to the east) but feels as if he lives among barbarian people who do not care about the God of Israel. Their lives are characteriz...