The Gospel – God’s Meeting Time
“And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did…
929 and Isaiah 53
In June this year, I attended a seminar presentation about the Scriptures hosted by the Council of Christians and Jews NSW. The venue was a hall of the Great Synagogue, Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Two presentations were given. The first by…
A woman’s wit
I read Bishop Hall’s reflection on 2 Samuel 17, verses 15-20, and I was struck first by his vivid description of the woman’s action, and second by the archaic word ‘bewray’ (meaning betray): “Jonathan and Ahimaaz are sent, descried, pursued,…
Bishop Hall and Terra Australis
I’ve made another surprising discovery about Joseph Hall, the Bishop of Exeter (see previous post). Back in the early 1600s, he is busy writing about Australia…or, at least, Terra Australis as it was known. It turns out that he wrote…
Bishop Hall on David’s grief
“The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?” (2 Samuel 18:32). One more from Bishop Hall who in his reflection upon the death of Absalom connects David’s response to the death of Christ. “As…
Bishop Hall
In my previous post, CH Spurgeon referred to one ‘Bishop Hall’. I had not heard of Joseph Hall who lived from 1574 to 1656. He was the Bishop of Exeter in the 1630s. The church historian, Thomas Fuller, said he…
Spurgeon on Ahithophel – ‘the Nestor of debate’
Charles Spurgeon preached these words in a sermon on the death of the traitor, Ahithophel, based on 2 Samuel 17:23: “He…put his household in order, and hanged himself.” Spurgeon comments: “His case teaches us that the greatest worldly wisdom will…
A Widow’s Snippets
‘For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.’ (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Ann Dawson was a faithful parishioner at our church for many years. I took her funeral back in 2018. Every now and then she would…
Lilith – Jewish & Christian night-mare
“And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place.” (Isaiah 34:14). ESV has a footnote for the word translated ‘night bird’…
What is man?
‘A great admiration rises upon me; astonishment seizes me.’ Augustine. “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10, ESV). The word…