Commentary - Psalm 25

1

· To lift up one’s soul means to desire.

· For unless the heart is lifted up, the lifting up of the eyes or hands in prayer is of no avail.

· He often begins his psalms with such professions, not to move God, but to move himself, and to engage himself to answer those professions.

· With a holy contempt of the world and the things of it, by a fixed thought and active faith, we must set God before us, and let out our desires towards him as the fountain of our happiness.

2

· Protection from earthly enemies prefigures protection from the ultimate evils of Satan, sin, and death. God the Father delivered Christ from his enemies in his resurrection and that is the basis of our deliverance.

Romans 4:25

^“…who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

· To not be ashamed by disappointment of hopes and relief.

3

· Suffering enlarges the heart by creating the power to sympathize.

4

· Christ perfectly followed the path of the Lord. Through Christ and his instruction and through the teaching of the Spirit of Christ believers learn to be disciples and follow his path.

John 14:6

^“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

· In doubtful cases we should pray earnestly that God would make it plain to us what he would have us to do.

5

· Those who desire God seek to learn what manner of life pleases Him.

· Jn 16:13

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

7

· The faithful ask God to attend to them in mercy rather than according to their sins.

· Our youthful faults and follies should be matter of our repentance and humiliation long after, because time does not wear out the guilt of sin.

8

· God’s goodness and uprightness are in perfect union. They were perfectly blended in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on Calvary. Because God Himself has paid the price of the cross, He can be just and yet justify the ungodly; His goodness and righteousness are harmonised.

· God is gracious in calling sinners to repentance.

9

· Meek spirits are in high favour with the Father of the meek and lowly Jesus, for he sees in them the image of his only begotten Son. They know their need of guidance, and are willing to submit their own understandings to the divine will, and therefore the Lord condescends to be their guide.

10

· What a rich satisfaction may this be to good people, that, whatever afflictions they are exercised with, All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, and so it will appear when they come to their journey’s end.

11

· God’s perfections of love, mercy, goodness and truth are manifested in pardoning sin and the greatness of sin renders pardon more needed.

· He pleads for pardon for God’s name’s sake. He has no expectation of pardon for the sake of any righteousness or worthiness of his for any good deeds he had done, or any compensation he had made for his sins.

· When a beggar begs for bread, he will plead the greatness of his poverty and necessity. When a man in distress cries for pity, what more suitable plea as this: for he is moved to mercy towards us by nothing in us but the miserableness of our case.

13

· He who fears God has nothing else to fear.

15

· The Psalmist’s trust in God is fixed.

17

· The road to heaven is soaked with the tears and blood of the saints.

18

· 1 John 3:5

“You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.”

· Blessed is the man to whom sin is more unbearable than disease, he shall not be long before the Lord shall both forgive his iniquity and heal his diseases. Men are slow to see the intimate connection between sin and sorrow, a grace taught heart alone feels it.

Conclusion

It is our duty and privilege to trustingly wait upon the Lord in adoration, supplication and service all the days of our lives. Those whose hearts are right with Him, shall not err for want of heavenly direction in any time of perplexity.

Commentary - Exodus 17

1

· They journeyed according to the commandment of the Lord, led by the pillar of cloud and fire, and yet they came to a place where there was no water for them to drink - We may be in the way of our duty, and yet meet with troubles, which Providence brings us into for the trial of our faith.

2

· The people of Israel show a hardness of heart like Pharaoh and the Egyptians despite all that God has done for them

5

· The cloud rested on a particular rock, just as the star rested on the house where the infant Saviour was lodged.

· Though they spoke of stoning him. He must take his rod with him, not to summon some plague to chastise them, but to fetch water for their supply. O the wonderful patience and forbearance of God towards provoking sinners! He maintains those that are at war with him, and reaches out the hand of his bounty to those that lift up the heel against him.

6

· Some understand the command to be God’s command to Moses to strike God Himself, with the result that God Himself is the source of the life-giving water that flowed from the rock.

· This prefigures Christ who is stricken to provide the water of eternal life.

John 4:14

”but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

1 Corinthians 10:4

“…and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”

· God can open fountains for us where we least expect them. Those who, in this wilderness, keep to God's way may trust him to provide for them.

7

· Dt 6:16

"You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”

8

· The Amalekites were descendents of Esau, who were at enmity with Jacob’s descendents.

11

· Moses is the one whom the Lord has chosen to lead Israel.

· The Lord is responsible for working their deliverance through Moses (signified by the staff of God and the fact that Moses hands grow weary, showing his human weakness).

· 1 Timothy 2:8

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;”

· The church's cause is ordinarily more or less successful, according as the church's friends are more or less fervent in prayer.

13

· Though God gave the victory, yet it is said Joshua discomfited Amalek, because Joshua was a type of Christ, and of the same name, and in him it is that we are more than conquerors.

· Christ is both to us; our Joshua, the Captain of our salvation, who fights our battles, and our Moses, who ever lives, making intercession above, that our faith fail not.

16

· Amalek's destruction was typical of the destruction of all the enemies of Christ and his kingdom.

Conclusion

Fed by the Bread of Life; refreshed by the Water of Life means victory for the believer in every conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil.

John 7:37

”On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

Commentary - Luke 19

1

- Jericho of this period was significantly different to the OT Jericho. It boasts a tropical climate excellent access to water.

- Joshua previously cursed Hiel of Bethel, who rebuilt Jericho. (Joshua 6:26; 1 Kings 16:34)

2

- "Chief tax collector" is used only here in the NT.

- Jericho was a major toll collection point.

- Zacchaeus was Jewish.

5

- "Zacchaeus…I must stay at your house today" signifies divine necessity of Jesus bringing salvation to Zacchaeus' house.

- Christ had probably never seen Zacchaeus in the flesh nor heard of him. (John 10:3)

- Zacchaeus was an unexpected convert considering:

- He was from Jericho, a city that had been cursed.

- He was a cheating tax collector.

- Those whom Christ calls must humble themselves and come down.

8

- Numbers 5:7

9

-"Son of Abraham" refers not to Zacchaeus just being a physical descendant of Abraham but now also a spiritual descendant. (Galatians 3:7)

10

- What encouragement is there in this narrative to hope for unexpected conversions.

11

- Jesus gave the parable in response to those who supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately with Jesus coming.

- This parable differs from the parable of the talents in that the former illustrates different degrees of improvements of the same opportunities and the latter illustrates equal fidelity with different degrees of advantage.

12

- The "far country" is the world.

- "To return" at His second coming.

14

- "His citizens" refers to the Jews.

- John 1:11

15

- This parable does not support the prosperity gospel. The servants receive their rewards, AFTER the nobleman returns, not before.

17

- This parable teaches degrees of reward and responsibility in heaven.

20

- Those who do not utilise the resources, talents and opportunities that God gives them fall under his displeasure and may thereby indicate that they are not even true believers (cf. Matt. 25:30)

21

- Luke 19:17, 19 show Christ to be abundantly generous and gracious, so the third servant clearly does not know or understand his master.

26

- The person who welcomes Gods rule and presence will be given more of God's intended fruit; the one who depends on his own resources without receiving the word will lose even that.

29

- Fulfilled prophecy. (Zechariah 14:4)

34

- Fulfillment of prophesy about the Messiah in Zech. 9:9

38

- The great honour paid to Christ by multitudes makes the ignominy of His death to appear the greater. Christ clearly could have influenced the crowd so as to avoid rejection and crucifixion but He was set on fulfilling His divine purpose.

40

- Habakkuk 2:11

- Christ can elicit praise even from hearts of stone.

41

- Lamentations 3:51

42

- Hebrews 7:2

43

- These trenches and encompassing were indeed established by Titus, the Roman general.

46

- Jeremiah 7:11

Conclusion

The Lord Jesus came from heaven to make possible the bringing of those that are lost to God. Having made this provision, He has gone into a far country to receive for Himself a Kingdom and return in great power. He has endued his followers with advantages and capacities of serving the interests of His church until He returns to receive it, when all shall render account to Him and receive their reward accordingly.

The Hitlist (201-250)

201. Celebrities who adopt babies
202. Tasmanians
203. Braces on 30 year old people
204. Blonde hair and dark eyebrows
205. Bad pick up lines
206. People who brag about being rich
207. People who beep the horn instead of coming in to get you
208. People who cut you off
209. Fake imitation brands
210. People in the fast lane who drive slow
211. American accents
212. People who change the subject randomly
213. People who complain about bad food at a restaurant AFTER they finish it
214. People who grease you off for no reason
215. People who can't tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi
216. People who store food in margarine containers
217. Sunburn
218. People who drink alcohol to be cool
219. Hockey referees who tell you the rules of the game when you do something wrong
As if you really care about hockey in the first place
220. Sport coaches who yell at you to do something you're already doing
221. Dimi
222. Canada
223. Fat guy's wedgies and when they pick them
224. Adrian Sukri's "Anti-Hitlist"
225. People who add to this list without my permission
226. LMS (Little Man Syndrome)
227. The string from the "Extra" chewing gum packets that you pull off to open it and that always sticks to your hand
228. Parabolas
229. People who come out of exams that were obviously really hard and say they're easy
230. People who write "TJ Inc." after everything they write
231. When its casual clothes day and you get that 'uncertainty' feeling about whether it really is casual clothes day and your scared you'll go to school and look like an idiot
232. How impossible it is to unwrap Chupa Chups
233. Marilyn Manson
234. Australian movies
235. Sub-continental dads
236. Teachers' pets
237. Fat girls who wear tight clothes
238. Stuff thats grotty just to think about
239. Hobo-beggars who aren't really poor
240. When you first open a tissue box and when you try to take a tissue out, 50 come out with it
241. People who use bulletins to send private messages
242. People who do bulletin surveys
243. The spelling of 'bulletin'
244. Single-sex education
245. Lebos who think they WOG when they really Asian
246. Free huggers
247. Getting no reception on your phone
248. Black people who use sunscreen
249. Good dreams that you can't remember
250. Flies

The Hitlist (151-200)

151. People who get offended by the term 'black'
152. Childcare
153. Random things that 'loud' Dimi says and regrets later
154. Getting put on hold
155. People who always ruin the moment
156. Barney the dinosaur
157. Losing something expensive and then finding it after you just bought a new one
158. Keeping track of all the entrees on this hitlist so I dont repeat anything
159. Actors on crappy soapies that start a singing career to get more famous
160. People who go to birthday parties and make-out for the whole time
161. Girls who only watch TV shows for the hot guys on them
162. Telemarketers that call you up and then hang up on you
163. Telemarketers in general
164. Precis writing
165. When you turn on the radio and its a song you really like but its at the end bit
166. Water restrictions
167. People who water their driveway
168. People who rearrange your stuff in your hotel room while your gone
169. Tram conductors
170. Red eye in photos
171. Girls who wear skimpy clothes at Christian conferences/events
172. Women who go topless at public beaches
173. Skinny girls who think they're fat
174. People who think they know everything about Christianity but they haven't even read the Bible
175. People who have more than 8 items in the '8 Items or Less' aisle
176. Paris Hilton
177. Cops who hit on girls they pull over
178. Celebrities who wear massive sunglasses to hide no make-up
179. Girls who hit on cops to get out of fines
180. Suicide bombers
181. Fat guys in speedos
182. People who wear colour contacts when they don't even need them
183. Fake tans
184. In-laws
185. People who drink milk out of the bottle
186. Cactus
187. Palm trees in the suburbs
188. People who throw up on rollercoasters
189. People who think they can sing when they can't
190. People who hit you when they laugh
191. Human Nature
192. Scissor Sisters
193. The Young Divas
194. People who brag about having a black belt
195. Expensive food at public venues
196. Truck drivers who don't honk when you ask them to
197. Siblings that yell at eachother in public
198. Parents that ignore their kids
199. Old people that pinch your cheeks
200. Asian shop owners

The Hitlist (51-100)

Before you make suggestions make sure it isn't already on the list -_-

If its good enough it'll go straight on



51. Late night game shows
52. Not being able to understand what old people are saying
53. Loners who think they have friends
...like you...*shivers*
54. People who complain about this hitlist
...get...a...job...
55. White people who think they're black because they play basketball
56. Holiday homework
57. People who do study notes for exams
58. Arvins
I've only met one though
59. Red heads
60. Magic cards
61. Yugi-Oh
62. People who feel the need to draw *private parts* everywhere
YOU NEED HELP!
63. People who steal your iPod from your blazer when you're in a P.E. lesson
Not kool man
64. Dirty R.E. teachers
65. Old people that get mad at you for no reason
66. Shaquille O'neal
67. School librarians that don't let anyone in when the library is only half full
68. Black celebrites who have raped people but still have stacks of fans
It should be 'I'm a Rapist' not 'I'm a Flirt'
69. People who somehow always connect everything with something dirty
70. Pop-ups
71. Old Asian ladies
72. Terrorists
73. Fat people who are confident
Don't gimme attitude FATTY!
74. Scrawny white kids who think they're tough
75. People who come over to your house and sleep
And i dont mean with you
76. Gaisians
Gay Asians
77. People who mumble
Instead of talking
78. Computer Viruses
79. People who play loud music over the phone
80. Lazy teachers
Although they can be good sometimes
81. People who wear their hockey/football socks when they're not playing
82. People who are always touching you in a non-violent way for some reason
It makes you wonder if you'd prefer it to be violent...
83. Weird couples
84. People who don't reply to TXTs
Jerks
85. Mel Gibson
86. People who scab money
87. People who borrow things and never return them
88. People who take FOREVER to hit puberty
89. People who are so blunt its not funny
90. People who think they are funny but are really just creepy
91. People who play at music performances
92. People who laugh weird
93. People who are always at Highpoint for some reason
It's kinda creepy...
94. Monobrows
95. Chemistry
96. People who have bad/random/weird msn names
Slap yourself if you do...and don't say "Mines not bad!" when its lyk 50 words.....your name is one word!....3 at most...
97. People who pretend to be your friend's ex-girlfriend and then go on msn and tell him that they are dating you
YES, it has happened to me
98. Teachers who spend most of the year rambling, then teach you everything the day before the exams
99. People who fall in 'love' with a new guy/girl every week
If i had a dollar for everytime someone told me they were in love and then broke up wif their bf/gf like a month later...I'd probably be too rich to be black
100. People who don't give you paper when you need it

The Hitlist (101-150)

101. People who put things that THEY don't like on YOUR hitlist
102. Teachers who give you pracs with complicated formulae without explaining them
103. Umpires, referees and all authority figures at sporting events
104. Awkward silences
105. Comprehension exercises
106. People who think you are too into God and stuff
107. People who only talk to you on msn then ignore you in real life
108. Prime numbers
109. DDR and all other asian arcade games
110. GST
111. Teachers who take their jobs seriously
112. Petitions
113. Athletics
114. VCE
115. Petrol Prices
116. Christians who are ashamed of the gospel of Christ
117. People who make a big deal when celebrities die
118. Dimi's (ex-) goatie
119. Chess nerds
120. Dilmah
121. Overly emotional people
122. Bali 9
123. Michael Jackson
124. Communism
125. George Bush
126. People who call you up to speak in front of the whole church
127. Abortion
128. Scribble
129. Evolution
130. Boredom
131. Unnecessarily long, detailed and explained entrees on this hitlist
132. Running out of paper when writing stuff on the hitlist
133. Chain mail/forwarded crap
134. Having to think of stuff for the hitlist
135. People who get mad at you at least ONCE a week
136. Guys who have girlfriends but still look at p**n and m********e
137. Girls who don't have enough respect for themselves to dump their boyfriends when they find out he fits under 136
138. Walking
139. Internet Service Providers
140. Dial-Up
141. Poetry
142. Brick mobile phones
143. Australian Hip-hop
144. Relativity
145. Religion
146. Country Music
147. People who think all black people come from Africa
148. People who think Sri-Lankans aren't Asian
149. People who still played downball after year 7
150. People who bag fairy bread even though they know they love it

The Hitlist (1-50)

THATS RIGHT! The Hitlist is finally going soft-copy!
YAY haha i cbs typin it all up at once (cos we all know theres a lot on it...) so you're gonna get it in small portions....ENJOY!

(Note: Please do not get offended if you fit in one of the catagories below. I fit in at least 20 of them too)

1. Teachers who know nothing about what they teach
2. People who make crappy hitlists
I said 'crappy'...
3. Muzzas
4. Big Brother
Will Gretel eva die?!?!?
5. Satanists
6. Catholics
7. White people
8. Black people
9. Jocks (the sport freaks, not the underwear)
And is it just me, or do they like to touch eachother excessively?
10. Art History
11. People who think art history is important
12. People who think P.E. is necessary
13. WOGs who try to be gangster
14. WOGs in general
15. Emos/Goths
16. The person who wrote this
What kind of name is 'Dimithra' anyway? Plus he's a jerk
17. People who appear on TV once and think they are celebrities
I probably shouldha just kept it at 'celebrities'
18. Dancing with the stars, Dancing on ice, It takes two, etc. etc. blah blah
19. Miami Heat and all fans of Miami Heat
20. AFL
21. Aussies/Bogans
22. Scientology
pffft, yer and I'm a descendant of the Easter Bunny
23. Substitute teachers that give homework
24. Techno
I'd rather listen to a police siren...oh wait, thats pretty much the same thing
25. People who think rap is "just talking fast"
I'd like to see YOU talk fast and make millions
26. People who think Christian rap is just Biblical characters repeated (eg. "Jesus, Jesus, Mary, Jesus" or "Jesus is my Saviour!")
Try actually listening to it
27. Aborigines who aren't over the "Stolen Generation"
My family wasn't even in Australia yet!
28. ANZACs (get over it too)
29. Having to pay for food at Gold class cinemas
You'd think the $40 ticket would cover it -_-
30. Grumpy bus drivers
It's not my fault you have a crappy job
31. Environmentalists/Hippies
32. Gay Pride
33. Jews still looking for a Messiah
34. John Howard
Only cos no one else seems to like him
35.Japanese Rock/Pop/Music
And the white boys who listen to it....
36. Bimbos
37. Macintosh Computers
Props to iMovie though
38. iTunes
39. Indians
40. The Japanese killing whales for their "scientific purposes"
41. Advirtisements
They freaking EVERYWHERE!
42. Anime
43. Food at cinemas that cost so much that you gotta put a mortgage on your house
44. Roman numerals
45. Mitre 10
...they didn't hire me, ok?!
46. Sri Lankans
yer its true, sometimes
47. Muslims who say that the Koran says terrorism is bad
48. French/France
49. Wannabes
50. News readers that get paid heaps to read