REFLECTION QUOTES

“He is short-sighted who looks only on the path he treads and the wall on which he leans.”

~ Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Lebanese-American writer, poet, visual artist and philosopher

“The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord’s choicest wines.”

~ Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), a Scottish Presbyterian pastor, theologian and author

“Lament isn’t the opposite of praise. Lament is a path to praise…”

~ Julius Kim, contemporary author, pastor, professor, and current president of The Gospel Coalition

“Lament is the transition between pain and promise. It is the path from heartbreak to hope.”

~ Mark Vroegop, contemporary author and pastor

“Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.”

~ J.I. Packer (1929-present), a British-born Canadian Christian theologian and professor

“A story is precisely the sort of thing that cannot be understood till you have heard the whole of it.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and lay theologian

“There are basically two ways to read the Bible — as a book of law, or as a book of promise. Our natural religious psychology wants to read the Bible as law… Every page [in the Bible], most deeply understood, shines forth as a promise of grace to sinners in Christ.”

~ Ray Ortlund, contemporary author and pastor

“God is a covenant-making, covenant-remembering, covenant-keeping God!”

~ Sinclair Ferguson (1948-present), Scottish author, pastor and professor

SERMON PASSAGE

Psalm 105:1-15, 42-45 (ESV)

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”



42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!