Insightful Musings on the Scripturesby
Ray Sparre, NU class of '67
Ray has a wealth of experience as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary, and student of the Word. He believes and practices his faith where the rubber meets the road. You'll find his writings to be practical, insightful, and grounded in a truly Christ-centered world view.
Below are links to a printable daily Bible reading guide which Ray has followed, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010 and 2011.
| Sparre Home Page | Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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17 July 11
Good morning, dear ones.
On this date in 1940, my brother was born. Wow! That was 71 years ago! Happy birthday, Louis!
Lots to squeeze into the day. Need to run. Blessings. Love—Dad/Ray.
17 July 2011
Psalm 76
Focus: “Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.” Psalm 76:10.
I can understand the motive behind developing the doctrine of “plenary inspiration”—the insistence that every single word used in the original text of Scripture is inspired. I have some difficulty with that doctrine in its absolute across-the-board application—mainly because I don’t think it’s necessary. Nor am I interested in joining the ranks of those who spend a huge amount of time and effort being hyper-technical over translations and debating over hair-splitting theological details with the quest to formulate the absolute perfect version of Bible doctrine. It’s not insignificant to note that this kind of tension has been going on for 2000 years—and that PERFECT VERSION still eludes the church—at least one that is universally embraced. Shouldn’t that say something right there?! My conclusion is simple: That which is most important is A HEART AFTER GOD.
We apparently have in this FOCUS VERSE another one of those irritating little translational challenges where it is not easy to get it flawlessly and precisely right. This NIV translation puts it, “Surely your wrath against men brings you praise.” There is a footnote in the NIV at this point that says, “Or Surely the wrath of men brings you praise.” So which is it? Is it God’s wrath that plays out to praise God, or is the man’s wrath that plays out to praise God? I’m not just trying to be clever and trite, but I think the best answer is YES!—all of the above.
I did something this morning for the first time since taking on this excursion of walking one-psalm-at-a-time through this book. I finally picked up a book I purchased from the college bookstore back in 1966—NOTES ON THE PSALMS by G. Campbell Morgan. Let me quote one sentence from his entry on this psalm that I think relates well to the matter we’re discussing. “So perfect is His government that by judgment He compels evil to serve His purpose, making the wrath of men to praise Him.”
Amen, Brother Morgan! I’m fine with leaving it at that, and reaffirming my commitment to being a participant in His praise rather than an object of His wrath.
“A heart of praise and love shows others what Jesus can do in the lives of men.”