Hate Evil!

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Pete

I read the “command to obey” in Psalm 97 and it triggers something. It picks at something that’s bugged me for a while. But part of me wants to just brush it off for fear of getting on a hobby-horse. And yet another part of me says, it’s been served up this morning, so chew on it.

What’s that something? It’s the idea that choosing “the lesser of two evils” is a righteous thing to do.

Somehow that’s become a thing in this cultural moment. If two things are evil, and you feel like you gotta pick one, then the right thing to do must be to choose “the lesser of two evils.” That, if you want to advance the things of righteousness but there are no righteous options, then it just makes sense to opt for the “the lesser of two evils.” But is that really the way it works in the economy of the kingdom of heaven?

Romans 12 has been my “go to” text for objecting to buying into the rightness of getting behind “the lesser of two evils.”

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

(Romans 12:9, 21 ESV)

You don’t overcome evil with the “lesser of two evils”, you overcome evil with good.

And that, as I’m reminded in this morning’s reading, is because of what we believe about our God.

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
       let the many coastlands be glad!

O you who love the LORD, hate evil!
       He preserves the lives of His saints;
       He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
       and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
       and give thanks to His holy name!

(Psalm 97:1, 10-12 ESV)

O you who love the LORD, hate evil! . . . That’s what’s grabbed me this morning.

A truth about our God — the LORD reigns — connects to a command to obey for me — hate evil!

Don’t choose evil, even when it’s the “lesser of two evils”. Hate it!

And how can I do that when so much is at stake? Set your mind on things above (Col. 3:2) and remember — and believe — the LORD reigns.

If God rules (MSG), if He really is king (NLT), then nothing needs to force my hand to NOT hate evil. Nothing corners me into choosing the lesser of two things which I am to abhor.

For the LORD preserves. And the LORD delivers.

And it is the LORD who sows seeds of light among His people (that sounds pretty metaphysical, something to chew on for another time). Nothing else, nor anyone else, in this world will produce a harvest of righteousness for the upright in heart.

Thus, because the LORD reigns, by faith I can always abhor what is evil and only hold fast to what is good and believe that evil just will not overcome evil (even if it’s “the lesser of two evils”), but that good, under God, ultimately prevails.

By His grace. For His glory.

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They Named Him

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Pete

For many, there’s a lot that goes into picking a newborn’s name. Lists to read, lineages to remember, legacies on which to ruminate. While not every mother-to-be, nor every father-to-be, may put the same level of effort into coming up with their child’s name, I’m guessing that for most it’s rarely left up to the neighbors to decide. And that’s what caught my attention this morning — they named him.

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed.”

(Ruth 4:13-17a ESV)

The women of the neighborhood gave him a name . . . They named him . . .

Wait a minute! Where’s the mother in the middle of all this? She’s the young widow who had determined not to abandon her embittered mother-in-law and instead chose to leave her land and leave her people for a foreign land and for a foreign people. She’s the one who had worked the fields. She’s the one who had found favor. She’s the one who consented to marrying the man. She’s the one who had born the baby. And yet, other than being “his wife” and “your daughter-in-law”, after the birth of her baby Ruth shares relatively little of the limelight. Instead, it’s her mother-in-law, Naomi, who’s the focus. “A son has been born to Naomi,” they said.

What’s more, it’s not Ruth who gets to read the lists, remember her lineage, or consider her legacy. Instead, when it comes to giving her newborn son a name, the women of the neighborhood gave him a name.

Chew on it for a bit and, it seems to me, something’s out of whack. Sure, it might just be ancient cultural practices clashing with my modern expectations. But, I’m thinking that even in bible times, parents typically were the ones who named their children. But this child was part of a much larger story, as was his mother.

So, I’m noodling on Ruth and her role in this redemption story. Someone “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel” and a stranger “to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). Someone who found favor in the eyes of a redeemer (Ruth 2:10-13). Someone bought by the redeemer to be his wife (Ruth 4:10). Someone who, in her “before life”, did not bear children but now is blessed of God and fruitful. Someone who, in the end, is left out of the spotlight, though the impact and remembrance of her legacy will be remembered forever (Matt. 1:5).

Hmm . . . kind of like the bride of the One Boaz points to as the greater Redeemer, Jesus the Christ — kind of like the church. Foreigners who have found favor. Bought with a price (1Cor. 6:20, 7:23). Redeemed to be a Bride (Eph. 5:25-27, Rev. 19:7-8). Once barren, now able to “bear much fruit” (John 15:5). Not only for her own good, but for the good of others. Not just for her glory, but for her Redeemer’s. Not so she would own the spotlight, but ready to decrease that her Bridegroom might increase (John 3:29-30).

She didn’t even get to name her baby, the women of the neighborhood gave him a name . . . They named him.

But she would always know the joy of being her Redeemer’s bride.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Meet the Worthys

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Pete

The connection popped immediately. Because I’m so observant? Could be. But not likely so early in the morning. Because the Spirit is illuminating? That’s what I’m going with.

In Ruth 2, the God-breathed description of Boaz is translated in the ESV as “a worthy man” (v.1). In Ruth 3, the same Breath reveals that Ruth is considered by her neighbors as “a worthy woman.” Meet the Worthys.

A match made in heaven? Evidently. A love story to tell a greater, grander love story? Yup. The Worthys worth chewing on? I’m thinkin’ . . .

At first it felt like this was the first time I’d ever noticed this specific connection. But then something (Someone) prompted me to go back in my archives. Sure enough, 10 years ago I met the Worthys. Here’s how they were processed back then. More importantly, here’s Who they pointed to.

They probably wouldn’t have seen one another’s profile on eharmony.com. She was a young widow from the country of Moab. He was a bachelor of the clan of Elimelech of the tribe of Judah. She hadn’t much more than the clothes on her back. He was a man of great prominence and wealth. He owned fields. She worked in them. He was able to redeem. She was in need of redemption. But, based on my reading this morning in Ruth, there is one attribute that was a direct match for this least-likely-to-be-compatible couple. They were both worthy.

Now Naomi had a relative of her husbands, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

(Ruth 2:1 ESV)


“And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.“

(Ruth 3:11 ESV)

The connection jumped off the page as I was reading. Not as evident in other translations where Boaz is described as “a man of great standing” or “a man of great wealth”, and Boaz’s characterization of Ruth is translated as “virtuous” or a woman of “noble character.” But it is the same word in the original used to describe both of them and so the ESV translators used the same English word, “worthy.”

It is a word that means to have strength, to be mighty, to have efficiency, to possess wealth. A word also used of those of with notable valor or virtue. So, whether it refers to a physical strength defined by position and profitability, or of a strength of character evident by humility, loyalty and service, both Boaz and Ruth had a reputation of being worthy.

And what is so remarkable about this match made in heaven is that they lived “in the days of the judges” (Ruth 1:1). Dark days when men and women did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Chaotic days when, in general, there was little to distinguish the people of God from the pagans around them. Days of idol worship and depraved behavior. Days where seemingly not much could be described as “worthy.” But here are Boaz and Ruth, a worthy man and a worthy woman.

And there’s something about authentic character that brings a light to the darkness. Something about virtue that sparks a flame of hope in the midst of despair. Fact of the matter is, you quickly find yourself really liking Ruth and warming up pretty quickly to Boaz. You think on these two worthy people and it fans the flame of knowing afresh that God works even in the darkest times to fulfill His purposes.

And it causes me to think of another who is worthy. Not in kind with a Boaz or a Ruth but so much greater than either of them. And Paul’s exhortation comes to mind,

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

(Philippians 4:8 ESV)

Anything worthy? Think about these things . . .

And so I do. Jesus is true and He is honorable. Jesus is just, He is pure and lovely and deserving of all good report. Jesus defines excellence and He is the embodiment of virtue. Jesus is worthy. Worthy of praise . . . “and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev.5:12).

Worthy.

Because of His great grace God raised up a man whom He deemed worthy to redeem a woman whom He deemed worthy. And in so doing, He painted a picture of a greater Redeemer who would one day pay the greatest price in order to purchase His Bride. And He set the stage for a throne to be established. A throne that one day will be occupied by this same Redeemer who is worthy beyond all description.

What joy, what blessing to think on these things.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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A Song for the Sabbath

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Pete

It’s song to be sung based not on circumstance, but according to the calendar. Not a song just for the good times, but a song always for when it’s the right time. A song to be sung not only as a response but fit also for times of reflection. For, more than a song about rhythms, it’s a song about rest.

That’s what Psalm 92 is — that’s what I’m chewing on this morning — a song for the Sabbath.

A song to be sung when the ancients were to cease from their work and enter into a rest. A song when their labors gave way to reflecting afresh on their LORD. A song to be sung in feast and famine by those who, regardless of the season, were always flourishing (v.12-15).

How much more then is it a song for those who know an abiding Sabbath rest (Heb. 4:9) because they are “in Christ”? A lot more!

Sing it, you saints!

«A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.»
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
       to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
to declare Your steadfast love in the morning,
       and Your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
       to the melody of the lyre.
For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work;
       at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.

(Psalm 92:1-4 ESV)

A song by His grace. A song for His glory.

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We Need a King

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Pete

The last chapters of the book of Judges have to be among the most disturbing in all the bible. The train wreck of a life that marked Samson’s “rule” as a judge of Israel was but a relatively small indicator of the cultural chaos that consumed Israel at the time.

Silver idols cast and dedicated to the God who said not to do idols (Judges 17:3). Household altars erected to household gods with household members appointed as private priests for self-directed, household worship (Judges 17:5). Rogue tribes building their own religious order and ruthlessly acting on their own, self-imagined imperialistic ambitions (Judges 18:17). Sodom and Gomorrah-esque sin overtaking entire cities of God’s chosen, resulting in unimaginable desecration to those who were to be image-bearers of the Creator (Judges 19). Civil war in the name of justice as vengeance is left to the whims of men while others defend evil for the sake of tribal fidelity (Judges 20). And then, the goofiest of goofiest of reparations devised to “save” a tribe from extinction, with no regard to the souls of others in enacting the plan (Judges 21).

This whole era summarized with these bookends:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

(Judges 17:6, 21:25 ESV)

And in case the reader misses the point, in case they fail to connect the dots between the craziness described and the cause at its roots, two more times in this section is it stated that, “in those days”, in Israel, “there was no king” (Judges 18:1, 19:1).

When there’s no king, everyone’s gonna do what’s right in their own eyes. And then watch the gong show that takes place.

I just finished a book by Carl Trueman, “The Desecration of Man: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity.” In some ways — though in ways that we’ve become used to and no longer seem as crazy as they really are — the book is a kind of reflection on our own “end of Judges” era. Having declared “God is dead” back in the ’60’s, having kicked out the King, Trueman says it’s been left up to us to be gods. Or, to employ Judges language, it has fallen to each man and woman to do what is right in their own eyes. To use cultural terms, it’s fallen to “expressive individualism”, to everyone vying for “authenticity” and being led by being true to his or her own self. So, looking back on 60 years of “no king” and what’s right in our own eyes, Trueman asks the question, “So, how’s that working out for us?”

I hover over these mind-bending, last chapters of Judges, and I think to myself, “Self, we need a king!” Not a man who thinks he’s king. Not a political system that we look to as king. Not a confidence in self so that each of us rules our own lives as king. But we need a king. A King of kings. A Lord of lords. Even so, Lord Jesus, come!

To be sure, come again, Lord, to reign physically on earth, but come even now — come this day — to take up Your rightful rule in this man’s life. That while there may be no king in Israel, there will, by Your grace, be a King over this man’s heart.

Only then, can we swim against the tide of the cultural wave of expressive individualism, and not be overwhelmed by the tsunami of angry tribalism, nor subject to every other whacked-out ism that seems right in the eyes of men.

Only then, when there IS A KING, will we do what is right. Not in our own eyes, but in His. Not according to our own wisdom, but according to His. Not through our own power, but through His. Not for the sake of our own kingdoms, but for His.

How we need a King.

The King of grace. The King of glory.

Amen?

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A Heavenly Birth Certificate (2016 Rerun)

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Pete

It’s kind of a cryptic song. For me it’s a little hard to completely piece together. But I do know it’s a song about Zion. The city on the holy mount founded by God Himself to be the place where His glory is known and where the throne of His rule is established. And what is obvious is that the LORD loves the place . . . “more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.” What’s more, through His prophets, glorious things have been spoken about the city of God and about its future role upon the earth.

But what grabs me this morning in this song about this city, though I know I’m not fully picking up everything that is being laid down, is the emphasis placed on keeping birth certificates.

And of Zion it shall be said,
       “This one and that one were born in her”;
       for the Most High Himself will establish her.
The LORD records as He registers the peoples,
       “This one was born there.”               Selah

(Psalm 87:5-6 ESV)

The LORD Himself will keep a special record of those who are born in Zion. The Most High Himself who establishes the city will take note of those who found life in the city. And while I’ve got a lot more studying to do on Psalm 87 before I can really speak with conviction, it seems the birth being referred to here isn’t just an initial physical birth. It appears that peoples from other nations will also be born there. Those who know the LORD from Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon, from Philistia, Tyre, and Cush — of them it will be said, “This one was born there” (v.4). There is a sense, it seems, in which it will be a spiritual birthplace — or rebirth place, as the case may be — for many among the nations. And of those, there will be kept in heaven a record of their second birth.

When Messiah returns, when His throne is established on the earth, Zion will be the home of His glory, the seat of His power, and the place where people come and find a new birth (Isa. 2:2-3). And it will be recorded in heaven, “This one was born there!”

And as I think about that future day when Messiah is lifted up in glory and power, though my thoughts are clouded due to how little I understand of all that it will entail, I also reflect on a day past when on another hill the glory of the Messiah was manifest as He was lifted up in shame and apparent defeat. On that hill, far from inhabiting a throne, He was nailed to a cross. The power of the King of Heaven masked as He was mocked and derided as the wannabe king of the Jews. But to that hill, just as to Zion one day, many have come from the nations. And there “one was born.”

They have come believing that before Messiah comes as the conquering King of Heaven, he first had to come as the sacrificial Lamb of God. That before He could own a people as His subjects, He first must make eternal atonement for their sins. Before He could stand upon Zion’s hill, He needed to die for His creation’s rebellion, be buried, and then rise on the third day according to the Scriptures. And for those who come to that holy hill in faith, it is recorded in heaven, “This one was born there. This one was born again there!” For all those who own Jesus as Savior and Lord, there will be, in a sense, a heavenly birth certificate.

But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His.”

(2Timothy 2:19a ESV)

God loves the hills He establishes. He loves the hill of Calvary, though upon it He endured the pain of inflicting His Son for our iniquity. And He loves Mount Zion, for there He will see His Son reign in all His majesty and power. And God knows those who find new life at those hills. Their rebirth is marked, a record is kept. Praise God for a heavenly birth certificate.

All because of His grace. All for His glory.

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Do It Again, LORD!

Posted on April 16, 2026 by Pete

You read the psalm and you sense something’s gone wrong. Some sin has entered the camp. Some disobedience has derailed God’s people. Some transgression has taken away their joy.

So, the songwriter recounts a time past when, in a similar circumstance, God showed favor (Ps. 85:1-3). When He forgave the people’s iniquity and covered their sin. When we withdrew His wrath and turned from His anger. And then the psalmist sings out, “Do it again, LORD!”

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
       and put away Your indignation toward us!
Will You be angry with us forever?
       Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
Will You not revive us again,
       that Your people may rejoice in You?
Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD,
       and grant us Your salvation.

(Psalm 85:4-7 ESV)

Restore us again . . . Revive us again . . . More than just food to chew on, this morning, they’re lyrics to sing out.

I don’t think I’m under the disciplining hand of God as much as I’m feeling the dryness that sometimes comes with the things of everyday life. Not to say there isn’t sin to be forgiven — there is. But it’s more there’s a listlessness that needs to be enlivened. A weakness that needs to know strength. A malaise that needs some inner stirring. A weariness in need of renewal.

Restore us again . . . Revive us again . . .

I come from a “suck it up, buttercup” background. When the going gets tough, well then you just need to get going. But that’s not how it works when it comes to the spiritual valleys we encounter from time to time. It’s not about just doing better or reaching higher. Not about doubling down on the disciplines or buckling up on the obedience. During those times when the heart feels cold and stiff, while I can keep going through the motions — while I can try and “suck it up” — it’s still going to feel dead and dry.

Instead, I need to sing the psalmist’s song.

Restore us again . . . Revive us again . . .

Inner man issues are not resolved by outer man efforts. Dane Ortlund reminded me of that this morning through his thoughts on Psalm 85.

In praying for this renewal, the psalmist leads us in acknowledging that we cannot manufacture inner renewal on our own. We need God to intervene. We need him to work.

He’s done it before.

Do it again, LORD!

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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That They May Seek Your Name

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Pete

Psalm 83 is a “Go get ’em, God!” song. A psalm of Asaph composed as a lament for a people under threat by their enemies. It’s an “arise O’ God” psalm. A “do not keep silence; do not hold Your peace or be still, O God!” (v.1) song.

But here’s what grabs me this morning, it’s also a “save them, O God!” song.

Fill their faces with shame,
       that they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
       let them perish in disgrace,
that they may know that You alone,
       whose name is the LORD,
       are the Most High over all the earth.

(Psalm 83:16-18 ESV)

That they may seek Your name, O LORD . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Sing the song and, make no mistake, the songwriter wants his people’s enemies to fall. But he also wants them to become followers.

He wants them to be conquered yet cries out that they would also be converted. While pleading for relief for God’s people, the psalmist also petitions for a rebirth among those who oppose God’s people. For to seek the LORD and to know the LORD as the Most High is to have eternal life (John 17:3).

How’s that for blessing those who persecute you (Rom. 12:14)? How’s that for loving your enemies (Matt. 5:44)? How’s that so not like us?

Enemies are real. Praying for their defeat makes sense. Persecution and oppression, no joke. Wanting rescue, understandable. Defending doctrine and jealous for God, all good. But there’s a bottom line for the people of God who are to be the channel through which “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). That even the defeat of our enemies should be not just for our good but, according to God’s steadfast love and His amazing grace, for their deliverance.

Enemies who, by God’s kindness — even His severe kindness, might repent and become family (Rom. 2:4, 11:22). That should be our heart even amidst the heat. That should be our aspiration even when we’re arguing (though, technically, the man of God / the woman of God should not be arguing . . . see 2Tim. 2:24-25). Even when we are taking it in the teeth — even when God’s “enemies make an uproar” and “lay crafty plans” against His people (Ps. 83:2-3), as we cry out for relief it should be with a desire that God’s rescue on our behalf would be used to bring about repentance on their’s.

Really? How we gonna do that? I don’t think I have what it takes to love my enemies like that. Yet not I, “but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

That they may seek Your name, O LORD. Would that be why we fight the good fight. Would that be why we contend for the faith. Would that be why we stand fast and stand firm. Would that be why we cry out for deliverance when the darkness seems to prevail.

” . . . that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

(John 17:3b ESV)

By His grace. Through His Spirit.

For our enemies’ good.

For our God’s glory.

Amen?

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How Are We Doing?

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Pete

For as long as I can remember, it has been the first occurrence of a black underline, my marking for sin, when reading Judges. The first occurrence of when a tribe of Israel didn’t do what the Lord had told them to do when it came to the inhabitants of the land. The first time I read that they “did not drive out the inhabitants.” But it’s not the first time I’ve hesitated in doing so.

After recounting conquest after conquest by the tribe of Judah as they continue to claim the land given to them by the LORD, the author of Judges then writes this:

And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.

(Judges 1:19 ESV)

The LORD was with Judah . . . Ya’ think? Just read the previous 18 verses.

But he could not drive out the inhabitants . . . Underline with a black colored pencil? Mark it as sin because they failed to clear the land? That’s the question. Because how does the beginning of that verse tie with the end of it? If God is with Judah, then how can the inhabitants stand against Judah?

This morning, a new commentary gave me something to consider that may answer that question. The commentator pointed to Judges 3.

Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, . . . They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

(Judges 3:1a, 4 ESV)

They were for the testing of Israel . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Remnants of the nations that the LORD left. Perhaps the “chariots of iron” defeat in chapter 1 is less about a failure to obey and more about a determination to assess. I don’t know if I’m totally convinced given that Judges 1 is pre-Joshua’s death and about a people who DID KNOW the LORD and the work He had done for Israel (Jud. 1:10) and Judges 3 is about those “who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan” (Jud. 3:1b). But it’s worth considering and, I think, there’s an application worth applying.

God uses the culture around us to test the character within us. God sovereignly ordains the powers that be (or, as in the cases of Judges, the powers that remain) in order to know the hearts of the people He has bought. Said differently, when we think we see God’s hand behind the workings in our world, it may not necessarily be an indication of His endorsement but instead the construction of a crucible for our assessment.

So, how are we doing as a people in a land not yet fully subdued by the kingdom? How are we doing as proclaimers of good news in a culture where there are many proclaimers of “great” news? How are we doing in keeping ourselves from being entangled by a world around us that seeks to be a thorn in our side and snare in our lives (Jud. 2:3)? If God is testing us in this current cultural moment, how are we doing?

They had chariots of iron . . . We know chariots are no big deal to God — that’s clear from Judges 4. So maybe Judges 1:19 is a failure due to Judah’s frailty.

But Judges 1:19 also tells us the LORD was with Judah, and so, perhaps the inhabitants of the plain were left by God’s sovereign determination to test His people. Could be.

For whatever reason “chariots of iron” remain, they will test the people of God. Test their commitment. Test their character. Test how they convey the good news of a coming kingdom.

How are we doing?

Oh, that we would be found faithful. Oh, that we would be found fruitful.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Honey from the Rock

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Pete

I don’t know if this psalm was part of the inspiration for that hymn, but that’s the connection I’m making this morning.

For many years, the familiar “friend” found in Psalm 81 was in verse 10.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

(Psalm 81:10b ESV)

Quit sampling from the tables of “strange” gods, (which, as 1Corinthians 8:4 reminded me this morning, aren’t real gods anyhow), says the LORD through the songwriter, but feast at My table. Pull up a chair, tuck your bib in under your chin, and open your mouth wide. And the promise to claim? I will fill it.

Talk about your “all you can eat” buffet. Talk about having to loosen your belt or even having to undo the top button of your pants because you’ve feasted until there’s no more room for feasting. Talk about being full. That’s the kind of full you get when it’s God doing the filling.

But as much as I enjoy meditating again on a mouth opened wide and the soul being filled to the full, over the past couple of years, it’s what’s specifically mentioned as being on the menu which brings a smile to the face as I chew on it.

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
       that Israel would walk in My ways! . . .

He would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
       and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

(Psalm 81:13, 16 ESV)

Honey from the rock . . . That’s what’s on the menu!

And that Rock is Christ (1Cor. 10:4, 1Peter 2:4).

Cue the hymn . . .

‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to trust his cleansing blood;
and in simple faith to plunge me
neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
just from sin and self to cease;
just from Jesus simply taking
life and rest, and joy and peace.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!

~ Louisa M. R. Stead (1882) ~

O for grace to trust Him more!

That in Him, and in Him alone, I would be satisfied.

My soul filled to the full of His sweetness.

With honey from the Rock!

By His grace alone. For His glory alone.

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