September 3, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – Anointest My Head

“Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” KJV Psalm 23:5b

1 Samuel 16:4-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

¹² So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

What did Samuel do (verse 4)?

Who ask Samuel “do you come in peace” (verse 4)?

Who did Samuel consecrate and invite to the sacrifice (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why would Samuel think that Elian was the Lord’s anointed (verse 6)?

What did the Lord tell Samuel not to consider (verse 7)?

What does the Lord look at (verse 7)?

How did Samuel react to Abinadab (verse 8)?

Who had Shammah pass by (verse 9)?

How many of Jesse’s sons passed in front of Samuel (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why was David “tending the sheep” (verse 11)?

How was David described (verse 12)?

What did the Lord tell Samuel to do (verse 12)?

When did “the Spirit of the Lord” come powerfully upon David (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 1:29-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

What does John say that Jesus “takes away” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what does John mean when he says that Jesus “was before me” (verse 30)?

Why did John come “baptizing with water” (verse 31)?

What did John see (verse 32)?

What will the one “on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain” do (verse 33)?

Who does John testify that Jesus is (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do the anointing of David in 1 Samuel 16:4-13 and the baptism of Jesus in John 1:29-34 have in common?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. ³ Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Who does Paul not want to be uninformed about the “gifts of the Spirit” (verse 1)?

When were they “influenced and led astray to mute idols” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is it that “no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed”” (verse 3)?

What do the “different kinds of gifts” have in common (verse 4)?

Who is in all the different kinds of working and in everyone (verse 6)?

Why does each person receive “the manifestation of the Spirit” (verse 7)?

What are the different gifts the Spirit gives (verses 8, 9 and 10)?

How does the Spirit distribute each gift (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 help us understand about the Holy Spirit that John the Baptist says that Jesus will baptize with in John 1:29-34?

In your opinion, how is the “Spirit of the Lord” who came powerfully on David in 1 Samuel 16:4-13 similar to the Spirit who manifests gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11?

1 John 3:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

What is the result of the great love has the Father “lavished on us” (verse 1)?

Why does the world not know us (verse 1)?

What are we (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is what we will be not yet known (verse 4)?

Who will we be like (verse 2)?

What do “all who have the hope” do (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does it make you feel to know that the “brothers and sisters” who receive manifestations of the Spirit for the common good in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 are called “children of God” who will be like Christ He appears in 1 John 3:1-3?

In your opinion, what does it mean to you that the “Lamb of God who takes away” our sins and baptizes with the Spirit in John 1:29-34 has a Father who lavishes great love on us and calls us His children in 1 John 3:1-13?

In your opinion, how does the “Spirit of the Lord” coming powerfully on David after he was anointed in 1 Samuel 16:4-13 help us begin to understand how we will be like Christ when He appears according to 1 John 3:1-3?

In your opinion, how do these passages from 1 Samuel, John, 1 Corinthians, and 1 John help us understand the blessing of today’s passage “Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over”?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us grow more comfortable with the anointing that we receive from the Holy Spirit as Christians, and the “great love the Father has lavished on us” following that anointing?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 27, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – A Table Before Me

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies” KJV Psalm 23:5a

2 Samuel 9:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

³ The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

⁴ “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

⁵ So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

⁶ When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

⁸ Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.

Why did David ask if there was anyone still “left of the house of Saul” (verse 1)?

What was Ziba (verse 2)?

How is Jonathan’s son described (verse 3)?

Where is Jonathan’s son (verse 4)?

What did King David do (verse 5)?

Why did Mephiboseth bow down when he came to David (verse 6)?

What did David do “for the sake of your father Jonathan” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Mephibosheth say “what is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me” (verse 8)?

What did David give to Mephibosheth (verse 9)?

Where will Mephibosheth eat (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is there the comment about Ziba having 15 sons and 20 servants (verse 10)?

How did Mephibosheth eat at the king’s table (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 6:32-40 - New International Version (NIV)

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Who did not give the “bread from heaven” (verse 32)?

Who gives the “true bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (verse 32)?

What is the “bread of God” (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why did the listeners say “always give us this bread” (verse 34)?

What does Jesus declare (verse 35)?

Who will never “go hungry” (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “you have seen me and still you do not believe” (verse 36)?

Who will Jesus “never drive away” (verse 37)?

What did Jesus come to do (verse 38)?

What is the will of “him who sent me” (verse 39)?

Who will have eternal life (verse 40)?

What will Jesus do for those who have eternal life (verse 40)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is David taking care of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9:1-11 similar to Jesus giving the “bread of life” to all who come to Him in John 6:32-40?

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

What did Paul pass on (verse 23)?

What did Jesus take “on the night he was betrayed” (verse 23)?

What did Jesus do before He broke the bread (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “do this in remembrance of me” (verse 25)?

What will “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, reveal to us about the “bread of life” that Jesus promises to those who believe in Him in John 6:32-40?

In your opinion, how is a Christian participating in the Lord’s Supper as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 similar to Mephibosheth eating at David’s table in 2 Samuel 9:1-11?

Revelation 3:14-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Whose words are sent to the “angel of the church of Laodicea” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus wish the Laodicean Christians were either hot or cold (verse 15)?

What will Jesus do because they are lukewarm (verse 16)?

What do the Laodiceans, who think they are rich, not realize (verse 17)?

Why does Jesus counsel them to purchase “gold refined in the fire” (verse 18)?

Who does Jesus “rebuke and discipline” (verse 19)?

Where is Jesus (verse 20)?

What will Jesus do if “anyone hears my voice and opens the door” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the image of Jesus standing at the door and knocking before coming in and eating from Revelation 3:14-22 add a rich and wonderful dimension to the eating of the bread and drinking of the cup that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26?

In your opinion, how are those from John 6:32-40 who saw Jesus and “still do not believe” similar to the people from Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what do Mephibosheth, who calls himself a “dead dog” in 2 Samuel 9:1-11 and the Laodiceans of Revelation 3:14-22 have in common?

In your opinion, how do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation help us understand today’s passage from Psalm 23 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us to have a greater appreciation of the Lord’s Supper?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 20, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – Thy Rod and Thy Staff

“for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” KJV Psalm 23:4b

2 Samuel 7:4-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁷ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

What came to Nathan in the night (verse 4)?

Who was Nathan to tell “this is what the Lord says” (verse 5)?

What has the Lord been dwelling in as He moved from place to place (verse 6)?

Who did the Lord move with (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord tell Nathan to tell David “I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel” (verse 8)?

What will the Lord do with David’s name (verse 9)?

What has the Lord provided for “my people Israel” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the Lord promising with this statement “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you” (verse 11)?

Who will succeed David (verse 12)?

How long will the “throne of his kingdom” last (verse 13)?

How will David’s successor be punished (verse 14)?

What will never be taken away from David’s successor (verse 15)?

How long will David’s throne be established (verse 16)?

What did Nathan report to David (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 11:30-44 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵ Jesus wept.

³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Where was Jesus (verse 30)?

What were the Jews with Mary doing (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why does Mary think that if Jesus had been there her brother would not have died (verse 32)?

Why was Jesus “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (verse 33)?

How did they answer Jesus question “where have you laid him” (verse 34)?

What did Jesus do (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why did some of the Jews say “could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying” (verse 37)?

What was the tomb (verse 38)?

Why did Martha not want the stone to be taken away (verse 39)?

What was Martha to see if she believed (verse 40)?

Who did Jesus thank (verse 41)?

What did Jesus want the “people standing here” to believe (verse 42)?

What did Jesus call “in a loud voice” (verse 43)?

Who came out with “his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face” (verse 44)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is Jesus calling Lazarus back from the dead in John 11:30-44 a powerful beginning in the establishment of His kingdom as the Lord promised David’s descendant in 2 Samuel 7:4-17?

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 - New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

What is the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” the Father of (verse 3)?

What is the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” the God of (verse 3)?

Why does the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” comfort “us in all our troubles” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that we “share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ” (verse 5)?

What does Paul’s distress and comfort, which are both for the comfort of the Corinthians, to produce in the Corinthians (verse 6)?

Why is Paul’s hope for the Corinthians firm (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the suffering that Jesus shared with Mary and Martha in John 11:30-44 help us understand how we can “share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ” but also expect our comfort to abound through Christ as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7?

In your opinion, how is the Lord’s promise to David through Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:4-17 demonstrate that the Lord is the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7?

1 Peter 1:3-9 – New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Who has given us “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is the “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” kept for us (verse 4)?

How are we “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how can we “greatly rejoice” even though “for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trails” (verse 6)?

Why have the trials come (verse 7)?

Who do we love, even though we have not seen Him (verse 8)?

Why are we “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (verses 8 and 9)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the comfort in suffering that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 become the great rejoicing even though there may be grief as Peter describes in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, how is Jesus calling Lazarus from the grave in John 11:30-44 a wonderful foreshadowing of the “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” that Peter proclaims in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, how would David’s understanding of the house “that the Lord himself will establish . . . for you” in Nathan’s message to of 2 Samuel 7:4-17 be different from what is revealed in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, 2 Corinthians and 1 Peter teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”?

In your opinion, how do these passages guide us to understand how the same Jesus who wept at Lazarus’s tomb and endured floggings from human hands can comfort us in our griefs and trials?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)