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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014

Psalm 40, 54; Isaiah 10: 5-19; Matthew 11: 2-15

Have you ever been the subject of a book? Or even a character in a story? I can imagine that one might have a variety of emotional responses to such a moment. Perhaps one would feel pride at having been chosen for a close examination of action or character. Or, once your life is writ large for others to see, paranoia might set in while you remain vigilant for the presence of paparazzi.
In Psalm 40 the psalmist rejoices in being included in the scroll of the book that God has written. We are even told what the scroll says about the singer “I delight to do your will… your torah (teaching, law) is in my heart.” Little wonder then that the psalmist wants to announce God’s steadfast goodness toward creation. The psalmist seeks a platform from which to declare the Creator’s ongoing benevolence. In fact, the psalmist has found a “great congregation” to tell the story to.
With unrestrained lips the psalmist glories in declaring the great news that God’s deliverance has come to the psalmist and to the people. In this season, may we let our lips loose to declare the Advent of Christ, the good news of God coming to dwell with us.
May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Great is the LORD”! Amen.

Dr. Steven Bishop
Associate Professor of Old Testament
Saint Michael and All Angels Chair in Biblical Studies
Seminary of the Southwest

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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Dr. Bishop came to the Seminary of the Southwest from the Boston area in 2004 where he earned three graduate degrees and taught at several universities. Formerly an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, he served churches in Texas and Massachusetts before beginning graduate studies in the early 1990s. Dr. Bishop’s academic interests include the poetry of the Hebrew Bible and literary translations of it into English, and the influence of Hellenistic thought on Hebrew wisdom literature. In addition to writing book reviews and presenting scholarly papers, Dr. Bishop assisted the well known Old Testament scholar Bernhard Anderson in editing and revising two books: Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for us Today and Contours of Old Testament Theology. Dr. Bishop worked again with Anderson as an editor and contributor for the fifth edition of Understanding the Old Testament. That book was published in spring 2006.
B.S., Abilene Christian University. M.S., Texas A&M University. M.T.S., Boston University School of Theology. M.A. and Ph.D., Boston University

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