v. 20-21 In only two verses, this great miracle is summarized. It’s length inclines me to believe it all the more. No need to carry out in some great length of storytelling. Just tell it like it is. The Bible often does that. On these verses, it is worth quoting Matthew Henry at length.

I. The sepulchre of Elisha: he died in a good old age, and they buried him; and what follows shows, 1. What power there was in his life to keep off judgments; for, as soon as he was dead, the bands of the Moabites invaded the land—not great armies to face them in the field, but roving skulking bands, that murdered and plundered by surprise. God has many ways to chastise a provoking people. The king was apprehensive of danger only from the Syrians, but, behold, the Moabites invade him. Trouble comes sometimes from that point whence we least feared it. The mentioning of this immediately upon the death of Elisha intimates that the removal of God’s faithful prophets is a presage of judgments coming. When ambassadors are recalled heralds may be expected. 2. What power there was in his dead body: it communicated life to another dead body, v. 21.

This great miracle, though very briefly related, was a decided proof of his mission and a confirmation of all his prophecies. It was also a plain indication of another life after this. When Elisha died, there was not an end of him, for then he could not have done this. From operation we may infer existence. By this it appeared that the Lord was still the God of Elisha; therefore Elisha still lived, for God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And it may, perhaps, have a reference to Christ, by whose death and burial the grave is made to all believers a safe and happy passage to life. It likewise intimated that though Elisha was dead, yet, in virtue of the promises made by him, Israel’s interests, though they seemed quite sunk and lost, should revive and flourish again.

The neighbours were carrying the dead body of a man to the grave, and, fearing to fall into the hands of the Moabites, a party of whom they saw at a distance near the place where the body was to be interred, they laid the corpse in the next convenient place, which proved to be Elisha’s sepulchre. The dead man, upon touching Elisha’s bones, revived, and, it is likely, went home again with his friends. Josephus relates the story otherwise, That some thieves, having robbed and murdered an honest traveller, threw his dead body into Elisha’s grave, and it immediately revived. Elijah was honoured in his departure. Elisha was honoured after his departure. God thus dispenses honours as he pleases, but, one way or other, the rest of all the saints will be glorious, Isa. 11:10. It is good being near the saints and having our lot with them both in life and death.

v. 6-7 “fan into flame the gift of God…” We have all been given gifts. And we are all commanded to fan them into flame. First we must discern what those gifts are. To do so should not be overly difficult. Just look at your desires and your strengths. Over the course of a few years of walking with Jesus, your gifts ought to become quite clear.

Yet even though these gifts are divinely given, they still require effort on our part to make the most of them. I have been given the natural gift to play basketball. But that does not mean that basketball came easy to me. No. The gift needed to be fanned into flame. And that fanning required much diligence and work. The same rings true for the gifts of the Spirit. For the gift does not arrive ‘mature’ in the immature. The strength of our gift grows as we grow–and as we even focus on strengthening our respective gift, that is, as we fan it into flame.

The gifts we possess will naturally lead us to seek opportunities to use those gifts. But they will not always lead us to do everything we need to do to fan it into flame. Various things hinder such an effort. So, we are wise to try and recognize what our respective gifts (natural and spiritual) really are and in turn, to ask around and think about what we need to do to strengthen those gifts to their highest exercise capacity. Surely the help of the community is needed here.

v. 7 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. I confess, I am not inclined to think this way. Too often, I minimize the power of the Spirit while I exalt the power of my own sin. Such a notion is foolishness. So the Lord reminds us that the Spirit He has deposited in us is not the same as the spirit of this world. He is the Spirit of God. He is deity dwelling within. Why then shall we struggle with the same sins time and time again and then rationalize or spiritualize why we do so? Sure, the Spirit does not sanctify completely here and now, but He is still willing and able to sanctify us to a much greater degree than we may realize is now possible.

Let us take pains to meditate on the power of the Holy Spirit and to realize that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Even more, He is who is in us is greater than our own sinful desires. Jesus died to set us free. He rose again conquering death and the power of sin. The Holy Spirit has come to enable to us live as we ought and as we can. Do we believe it? O let us believe it! For God has given us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

v. 9-12 These verses deserve more words than I can possibly speak or write. And through them all, they deserve to be exalted in, for such truth should make us stand in awe. Should make us rejoice For we learn that God has saved us and called us to a holy calling.

We who are sinful and depraved and rebellious. We who have belittled His infinite worth. We who have spit upon His glory time and time again. Yes, God has saved us and called us to a holy calling. Never should there be a day that goes by when we do not stand amazed

‘not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace…”

This should go without saying I suppose. We who are full of sin and neglect, God has called and saved. And He has done so of His own accord. He has done so not because we deserve such a thing. On the contrary, we deserve to spend an eternity in hell. We deserve nothing but pain, nothing but struggle, nothing but judgment. And God comes along and sets His favor and love upon us, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace.

Have we marveled today at the fact that we believe in God? Have we stood in awe of the fact that we have been saved and called to a holy calling? Have we rejoiced in the greater mercy and goodness and grace of God to us, a people who deserve anything but all those things? Well then, let us rejoice and marvel and stand in awe right now. The reason for our salvation lies in the heart of God. His purpose. His grace. His freedom. His power. God Himself is the reason we are saved.

‘which he gave us in Christ Jesus before times eternal….“

Huh? What? If we have not yet been captured by the realities just spoken of, then we must be captured by this. Before we even existed. When we were just a thought in the mind of our eternal God, the Lord set His grace upon us. He set apart a people for Himself for the work of redemption. He and the Son covenanted to save that people and sanctify that people and glorify that people.

Do we think that God’s mercy is a response to our desire for Him? Well, if we do we are wrong. Instead, God’s mercy has been in Him (and for us) before time began. Indeed, an eternity before time began, the Lord had it all planned out. It was as good as done.

Sure, our minds cannot wrap themselves around eternity. And maybe that is the point. We should ponder it until we fall down before our Maker in humble recognition that He is great and we are not, that He is worthy of all glory and honor and praise. Before times eternal, He set His favor upon us. He determined to make us His own. O let us marvel at our Maker and Savior!

‘and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus…”

And let us give thanks that God was not content to have it all planned out within His own Person. Let us give thanks that the Lord went public with His plan. Let us give thanks that He was jealous to make manifest the fullness of His glory and grace, particularly through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus.

O how jealous the Lord is to make manifest the fullness of His glory. And O how thankful we ought to be that He is jealous for such a thing!

‘who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel….’

Here again we cannot help but rejoice. Death has been abolished. Life and immortality have been brought to light. They can be enjoyed. Sin can be conquered. All through the gospel.

Do we marvel at the day and age in which we live? So often, we seem to take for granted our exposure and embracing of the gospel. This ought not to be the case. For we live now in light of the gospel. Unlike billions who have gone before us in human history, we have the opportunity to walk with the Lord and pray to Him and labor to see His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. O let us marvel today! Let us be full of thanksgiving in light of His great grace!

v. 12 Notice that Paul’s knowledge of Christ is what enabled him to live unashamed. If we find ourselves ashamed of the Savior, no doubt our knowledge of Him is deficient.

v. 1-8 This is yet another example of the Lord’s marvelous providence. Who could orchestrate such a thing but God? Think of the length of the women’s journey. Imagine the various things that hindered her or sped her up on her way. Then think of the fact that the king just happened to want to hear about Elisha during this specific time. And while, Gehazi was recounting Elisha’s works, at just the right moment, the widow comes walking in. Every moment is a divine appointment. The Lord is the greatest of all teachers, for He knows exactly what we must learn, exactly how we will learn it, while possessing the power to carry all of it out exactly.

O let us never despair His providence. Let us never complain about the various ‘interruptions’ of life, or the things that sometimes hinder our travel. For the Lord has a plan. And He is executing that plan. He knows exactly what He is doing, working all things out for the good of His people and the glory of His name.

In this situation, maybe it was that the king of Israel would not have restored the land so quickly unless he was in the midst of admiring the stories of Elisha. Whatever it was, it was awesome, and it surely did not go unnoticed by those involved.

v. 16-24 The revolt of the Edomites coincided with Johoram’s ruling in wickedness. This was by no means a coincidence.

v. 30 “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.” If we want to walk in faithfulness to the Lord, we must do as the psalmist did. We must set the rules of the Lord (and indeed, the entirety of His Word) before ourselves. Nothing fancy. Just get the Word of God before our minds eye. Read it. Meditate upon it. Talk of it. Listen to it expounded upon. Read as it is expounded upon. Just set it before you and do so consistently.

This is why daily Bible intake is so vital for the Christian. Faithfulness is impossible apart from the practice. May the Lord raise up many more Christians who are diligent in their setting the Word before their minds and hearts. For such people change the world.

v. 31 When we cling to the testimonies of the Lord, we can petition the Lord just like the psalmist does here. And we ought to realize that such a petition is grounded about God’s jealousy for His own glory. For if we are hoping in His testimonies and are in turn, put to shame, what does that say about God? If you want God on your side, hope in His Word.

v. 41-42 Again, this petition is grounded in God’s jealousy to bring Himself the glory due His name. When we hope in the Word of the Lord, we hope in the Lord Himself. And when we hope in the Lord Himself, we call upon Him to defend His name, His honor by making good on His Word. Indeed, by making manifest the fact that He makes good on His Word.

v. 11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” We cannot fight against sin unless we fight to intake the word of God. Renewal of mind comes through no other means. All other means must revolve around this central reality. We are desperate, day in and day out, to store up the Word of God within our minds and hearts. This means reading it. This means meditating upon it. This means talking about it. This means memorizing it and writing about it and reading about. And doing anything we possibly can to know the Word as we ought and as we can.

It is not an exaggeration to say that a Christian’s primary responsibility is to know the Bible. For if we know the Bible, we will in turn, know everything else that is required of us. Fellowship? The Word of God calls us to it. Prayer? The commands are clear. On and on we can go. If we neglect our Bibles, we neglect our own good. O let us store up the Word of God! Let us be diligent to cultivate a hunger for God’s Word. Let us do what we must to know it as we ought for our own good and God’s great glory.

v. 13 The psalmist says here that he speaks the Word of God. This is a good practice even if we are by ourselves. But together, we are also commanded to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another. Let us never be shy about speaking the Word, even if it is only for our own ears to hear.

v. 15-16 We are all in need of resolve such as this. “I will….I will…” There comes a time for all of us when a line needs to be drawn, when we say, “Enough is enough. I am going a different direction and I am not turning back.” Such an action could be our own pride, yes. But that is a risk me must take, for the humble man to must be a man of resolution. Resolve is sorely needed in our day and age. How prone are we to wander! May the Lord grant us grace to know what we ought to do and to faithfully do it.

v. 17 Notice that it is the Lord’s bountiful care that enables and strengthens us to keep the Word of God, that is, to walk in obedience to Him. Prayer can never be separated from our study of the Scriptures, for we desperately need the Spirit of God to open our dull minds to the Word and to stir us to action. Let us declare our dependence daily and cry out to God for the grace to do what we know we cannot do apart from His power.

v. 18 Do you pray this prayer daily? Well, we all should. As we come before the Word of God daily, let us petition the Lord for the grace to see, to really see. Wondrous things are in this Word, wondrous things that cannot be seen if we rely only on our own strength or wisdom. Grace is desperately needed. The Spirit of God must come.

Notice a few things (v. 1-19)

First, Daniel was man who studied the Word of God. He did not come up with this number out of nowhere. He was studying the words of Jeremiah the prophet.

Second, Daniel was a man who remained steadfast in his worship of the Lord. The reason this is especially significant is because he was, at this point, an old man who had lived and ruled in Babylon for decades. But even though he lived and ruled in this foreign nation, he did not become foreign. Instead, he kept his place as a ‘foreigner’ or ‘exile.’ The beauty of Daniel’s life is that he longed for his true home while making a faithful investment into his present home. The lesson for us is clear, for we, as Christians, are called to do the same. We are exiles, yes. And we ought to long for our true home. But we ought to do so while making a faithful investment into the betterment of this one.

Third, in response to the Lord’s promise to bring back the people, Daniel prays. He petitions the Lord to act according to His Word. He does not simply sit on his hand and knees to wait for the Lord to do what He said. No. He prays fervently. The promise of God stirred Daniel up to confidently petition the Lord to act. And so it ought to be for us.

Fourth, the bulk of Daniel’s petition is confession and repentance on behalf of the people of God. Daniel interceded for the people. He confessed his sins and the sins of the nation. He recognized that his only hope was for undeserved kindness from the hand of the Lord.

Fifth, Daniel petitions the Lord with great confidence and sums up his prayer with a strong request for the Lord to act for His name’s sake. Confidence flowed not from the strength of his petition, but from the jealousy Almighty God has for His name’s sake and glory. It is surely significant that Daniel’s prayers end here.

v. 1-5 A little girl is carried off from Israel during a raid of the Syrians. This is just a small window into the ‘normal’ events of that day. Such a thing is spoken of as if it were no big deal. Anyhow, this little girl seems to care for her master (which does point to the good possibility of her being treated well). And she tells him about the prophet in Samaria (Elisha naturally).

v. 8 After the king reacted in unbelief, Elisha steps in, knowing that the Lord is jealous to reveal Himself to the Syrians. Yet Elisha does not even go to meet Naaman (even though they are standing at his door!), but instead, sends a messenger to him (v. 9-10).

Naaman’s response is classic. He is angry because the prophet did not meet his expectations. So he wasn’t going to do what he said! How often are we bothered when our expectations are not met? Bothered to the point that we do not act as we ought. Thankfully, for Naaman, his servant speaks to him with wisdom and convinces him to do the simple thing and find healing.

Note: Let us not despise the Lord’s simple directions to us. We may never be sent to a foreign land to do great exploits for God. Our lives may be quite ‘normal’ in fact. But let us realize that an ordinary life lived in an extraordinary way is a powerful witness to the Lord Most High. Let us beware of despising our simple callings. And let us instead, embrace the life the Lord has called us to and to faithfully live for His glory and honor.

v. 17 Naaman seems to have become a true worshiper, though he asks to be excused for his bowing before Rimmon. From his words, it seems as if he were saying that he would be bowing, but not worshiping. The interesting thing here is that Elisha excuses him.

v. 26 Elisha was grieved by Gehazi’s actions. (And wasn’t Gehazi incredibly foolish to think that he could somehow get away with his lying before a prophet of the Lord?!) Gehazi’s gifts were surely not worth the judgment that befell him. We reap what we sow. And if we sow to the flesh, what we reap is never pretty.

Continually, we hear the psalmists celebrate the steadfast love of the Lord. His lovingkindness. His unfailing goodness to His people. This psalm is no different. The whole of the psalm is commentary on the call to praise the Lord for His steadfast love.

v. 13 “I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.” Notice that the psalmist reached the point where he was falling. But it was here especially that he found the Lord’s help. Let us not think that God will not allow us to fall, or at least come very close to falling–and falling hard. No. For though He promises us His help, He will often bring us to brink in order to show Himself with greater clarity and power. He will ordain that we be pushed hard, so that we will be falling. For it is then that we will see our need for His help with greater clarity. And it is then that we will call upon Him for grace upon grace. And it is then that He will answer and show Himself Almighty.

So let us not despise the things that push us hard. Let us not complain about being brought to the brink of despair. Instead, let us embrace such moments as divine opportunities. Let us give thanks for such times b/c the Lord has ordained them for our good and His glory. We are right where He wants us to be, b/c He jealous to show Himself faithful once again, so that we might celebrate His steadfast love all the more.

The Lord will help us. Yes, He will. But He will make sure that we recognize with great clarity how much we need His help….and that He Himself is the One who stepped in and worked for us.

v. 14-16 Here is the celebration we just spoke of. Glad songs fill the tents of the righteous, because the righteous have been pushed hard, so that they had to cry out to God. And God answered. So what else can they do but praise His great name.

v. 29 This is where the psalmist began. This is where he ends. Everything in between stirred up the soul to praise the Lord even more. Let us not despise ‘commentary’ in our prayers, for it is often used to stir in us a greater love for the One we are speaking of. Sure, we do not want to use unnecessary words. But words describing the Lord’s faithfulness are by no means unnecessary in prayer.

Again, we are called to praise the Lord. After all, we are reading in the Psalms! Even so, when we see who God is and all that He has done with any sort of clarity, how can we respond with anything but praise? It should simply well up within us and overflow. Indeed, it will well up within us and overflow if we are seeing as we ought.

His name is to be blessed (v. 2) not only now, but forever. Never will there come a day when the saints tire of praising His name. Never will we become bored with blessing Him and exalting Him and celebrating Him in all of life. O yes, may His name be blessed forever! Indeed, this day, from the rising of the sun to its setting, that is, every single moment we are awake, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

And we ought to praise Him in everything we say and do. All of life is worship if we are living it rightly. Our hearts must be centered. Our minds must think God. But not necessarily in an overly-spiritual sort of way. It’s spiritual for sure, but not to the extent that it minimizes and belittles physical existence and joy and celebration and activity. No, instead, it gives meaning to every activity, so that if we are seeing rightly, we will see that the Lord is pleased with our activity (if we are doing the right things of course) and give thanks to Him for the joy He bestows through all of life.

v. 4 Our God is greater than all other gods, b/c He only is real. He rules not only over our nation, but over every nation. So the only nations who are thinking rightly are those nations who want to line up their laws and principles with His. The nation that throws off the Lord’s restraints is the nation soon to fall headlong into destruction. America is now on that slippery slope.

v. 5-6 We are wise to daily give voice to the Lord’s uniqueness. Who is like our God? Who can be compared to Him? Really? The answer is plain and it ought to stir up in us a certain degree of holy zeal and depth of humility and celebration for the fact that He has made us His own.

v. 7-8 One aspect of His uniqueness, a central aspect in fact, is the way in which He works for those who wait for Him. In particular, He raises up the needy. He works for those who cannot help themselves in order to reveal His fullness and power and glory. Other gods call their subjects to work for them. Not our God. Not the true God. No. He works for us. For it is His joy and to His glory to do so.

And not only does He work for the weak and needy, but He exalts them far beyond where they could ever go in their own strength. The last shall we first and the first shall be last. The Lord loves to make His power known by empowering the powerless.

v. 9 And He loves to make His glory known by doing the impossible, like giving the barren woman a home and making her the mother of children. Is anything to difficult for the Lord? When then are we so slow to trust Him? And why then are we so slow to praise? Let us forsake such slowness now and bless His holy name!

This is indeed an incredible chapter of Scripture. Much could be said, as is always the case. Essentially, what we find in this chapter is Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony of his encounter with the Lord. He has a dream. Daniel interprets the dream for him and calls him to repent, so that….“Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity” (v. 27). Those are good words for America today.

Yet a year went by and Nebuchadnezzar had not humbled himself. He did not yet see clearly. So as he gave glory to himself for his kingdom one day, the Lord banished him to the wilderness as it were, to live as a animal. He humbled him. He brought him low, down to the dust, in fulfillment of the dream.

But notice, after the end of seven years, Nebuchadnezzar tells us that as he lifted up his eyes to heaven, his reason returned to him. Now that is significant isn’t it? It was only as he looked to God that he began to think clearly. All of the sudden his thoughts of God became clear. Then everything else became clear.

It is as if sin brings upon us a kind of insanity, one in which we overestimate our own glory and goodness as we underestimate or ignore the Lord God. This is stupid and yes, insane. For it is only when we acknowledge and embrace God’s absolute authority over all things that we can think clearly as we ought.

Yes, when we are thinking clearly, we will rejoice in the fact that God rules over all the nations; that His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures throughout all generations; that the inhabitants of the earth as as nothing before Him, and that He does as He pleases all the time; and that no one can question what He chooses to do!

O let us humble ourselves before and rejoice in such a great God! He is accountable to no one but Himself. For there is no one greater than He!

And after all of this–seven years of acting like an animal, Nebuchadnezzar is restored to his place as king. Who but the Lord can do such a thing?