“Six days shall you labor
The seventh is the Lord's
In six He made the earth and all the heavens
But He rested on the seventh
God rested
He said that it was finished
And the seventh day, He blessed it
God rested.”
—Andrew Peterson
Redeemed to be a Blessing (Zechariah 8:13-23)
Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee
Savior all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord
—Scottish Psalter (Psalm 51)
Powerfully Proclaim the Works of the Father (John 10:22-42)
The King of Love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.
Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And, where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me;
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing brought me.
In death’s dark vale, I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.
Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thine unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth.
And so through all the length of days,
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.
—The King of Love My Shepherd Is, Henry Baker
The Good Shepherd Leads with Mercy (John 10:1-21)
“The action of Jesus in giving his life is an act both of complete freedom and of filial obedience. He is not the passive victim of other men’s purposes. … Jesus in going this way offers his life to the Father in whose will is his joy, confident that what he has so offered cannot be lost but will be received back. This path of freely willed and obedient surrender to the Father is the way which Jesus is, and along which he leads his people.”
— Lesslie Newbigin
A Crisis of Mercy (John 9)
“Thy mercy my God is the theme of my song; the joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue. Thy Free Grace alone from the first to the last, hath won my affections and bound my soul fast.”
—John Stocker, 1776
John, Jesus, and Us (Luke 1:57-79)
“As always, the people of God must decide what reading of their experiences they will live by. Are they to look at the darkness, the hopelessness, the dreams shattered and conclude that God has forgotten them? Or are they to recall his past mercies, to remember his present promises and to make great affirmations of faith?... Hope is the present reality, part of the constitution of the ‘now.’ The darkness is true, but it is not the whole truth, and certainly not the fundamental truth.”
— Alec Motyer, Commentary on Isaiah
Advent: Coming and Remembering (Luke 1: 39-56)
Oh come, oh come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel.
Who mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appears.
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel.
Has come to thee oh, Israel.
—O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Should I not Pity Ninevah? (Jonah 4:5-11)
“How we react is often a better thermometer of our heart than how we act.”
—Sinclair Ferguson
Do You do Well to be Angry? (Jonah 3:10-4:4)
“It is in the dark struggles with God that we are surprised by His response to our anger and fear. What we receive from Him during our difficult battle is not what we expect. We assume He wants order, conformity–obedient children. Instead, we find that He wants our passionate involvement and utter awe in the mystery of His glorious character.”
—Dan Allender and Tremper Longman, Cry of the Soul
God's Mercy changes Everything (Jonah 3:1-5)
“Thy Mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel it’s own hardness depart.
Dissolved by thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.”
—John Stocker, Thy Mercy My God