All Articles For II Samuel

And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! II Samuel 18:33

“And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.” Genesis 32:1, 2

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself That the LORD may continue his Word, which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: November 15, 2008, p. 90. Wisdom and Solomon Wisdom is the most important word in Proverbs and is used 119 times in the book, almost as many times as in the rest of the Old Testament. There are a number of synonyms used for wisdom as well, including discretion, prudence, subtlety, and understanding. All these words tell us something about wisdom as a necessary spiritual virtue. The outstanding thing in the book of Proverbs, however, is that wisdom appears in the book not...

Recently I received two questions about this subject, both from the West Coast, but from different localities. The one question asked in general whether it is possible to break God’s covenant. The other question was more specific. It arose out of the discussion of the question whether the elect can or do break God’s covenant. My questioner evidently was of the opinion that this is impossible. I draw this conclusion from the following two specific questions which he asks: “1. If the elect can break God’s covenant, how can the five points of Calvinism possibly be maintained? 2.

Not everyone can pray. Nor is every prayer heard (Is. 1:15). Prayer is a distinctly holy and covenantal activity. Prayer is that act of faith whereby a child of God communicates with his covenant Lord, worships Him, petitions Him for what he needs, and thanks Him for what he receives. Prayer and thanksgiving are friends. One cannot pray without thanks, for God gives His grace and Holy Spirit to those only who are continually thankful for them (L.D. 45). Nor can one give thanks without prayer, for it is the chief part of thankfulness. But prayer is not chiefly giving...