Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
To him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
And brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
To him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and killed mighty kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
And gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
a heritage to Israel his servant,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 136
Thursday, January 28, 2010
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Understanding How Greek Verbs Work
Introduction When accessing information about verbs throughout our New Testament concordance, you'll find numerous references to Greek verb tenses, their voice, and their mood. The following list identifies each verb tense and its part in speech via a comparative example in English using the the verb "to loose." To access the verb's tense, voice, and mood, press the tense button in the concordance tool.  Before discussing tense, voice, and mood, it is first necessary to have an understanding of person and number. Person: This is what determines whether the subject is the speaker (first person), is being spoken to (second person) or being spoken about (third person). Number: This is what determines whether a verb is singular or plural.
Tense plays a very crucial role in the study of New Testament exegesis. Dana and Mantey understood its significance in saying that "no element of the Greek language is of more importance to the student of the New Testament than the matter of tense". [1] Tense deals both with time and kind of action. Ancient Greek focused more on the latter of these aspects (that is, kind of action); however, time does play a role in verb tense when the mood is indicative (the four moods are explained below). The aspect of a verb correlates with the kind of action. It determines whether the verb's action is punctiliar, linear or perfected. These are described in the following table.
The Present Tense The present tense can either be continuous/ongoing or undefined. The continuous present is usually translated as "I am loosing" while the undefined is best translated as "I loosen." When the present is used with the indicative mood it denotes present time. The Imperfect Tense
The action of the imperfect tense is very similar to that of the present tense. It represents continuous or reoccuring action in the past time (when used with the indicative). This is best translated as "I was loosing." The Aorist Tense
This tense is hardly a tense at all. It describes indefinite or undefined action. The word aoristos derives from an alpha privative (ie. negation) and the verb horizô (meaning "to bound") thus meaning "without boundaries". [2] With the indicative mood it is often best translated as a simple past: "I loosed." The Future Tense
This tense generally denotes action that will occur in the future. This is best translated as "I will loose." The Perfect Tense
Action that has been completed in the past yet has results occurring in the present are expressed by the perfect tense. The perfect is often translated as "I have loosened." The Pluperfect Tense
The pluperfect has the same aspect as the perfect, yet it's time is farther removed into the past than that of the perfect. Both the completed action and the results of that action occur in the past. It also represents action that is complete and viewed from a point in the past time. [3] The usual translation for the pluperfect is "I had loosened."
Biblical Greek has three voices, active, middle, and passive: The Active Voice: This occurs when the action of the verb is being performed by the subject. The Middle Voice: When the subject of the verb does action unto itself, or for its own benefit, the middle voice is used. The Passive Voice: The passive represents the action of the verb being done unto the subject but not by the subject. There are four moods in Greek. They demonstrate the relationship between the action of the verb and reality. They denote whether the action is factual, potential, wishful, or a command. The Indicative Mood: This is the mood of assertion or presentation of certainty. [4] The indicative mood is the only one to give designation concerning time (past, present, and future). The majority of all verbs used in the New Testament occur in the indicative mood. The Subjunctive Mood: This is the mood of probability or desirability. It, however, has many usages and this is only a general definition. The Optative Mood: The optative has relatively few appearences in the New Testament because—by the time the New Testament was written—the subjunctive has taken over some of the classical usages of it. Some of its usages include, a wish/prayer or a potential statement. Mounce states that the optative is two steps away from reality whereas the subjunctive is only one step away. [5] The Imperative Mood: This mood is reserved for the indication of commands. An infinitive is a verbal noun. Neither person nor number are found in the infinitive and it does not have mood designation. It is best translated, "to loose." For additional information regarding Greek verbs and other grammatical issues the following books should be of great value: Beginning Students
[1] H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey. A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1927. p. 176 [2] Stephen W. Paine. Beginning Greek: A Functional Approach. New York: Oxford UP, 1961. p. 41 [3] H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey. A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1927. p. 178 [4] See Daniel B. Wallace. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. p. 448 [5] William D. Mounce. Basics of Biblical Greek. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993. p. 325 The Blue Letter Bible now has over 4,000,000 links onsite to over 165,000 pages of concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, commentaries, images, and Bible versions! Our prayer is that you will enjoy the site, in Jesus' name! http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.cfm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday, January 15, 2010
Ultimately it is impossible for another person to offend you.
When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, ultimately it is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.
As children of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.
In many instances, choosing to be offended is a symptom of a much deeper and more serious spiritual malady. One allows himself to be acted upon, and the eventual results are apostasy and misery. Another is an agent who exercises his agency and acts in accordance with correct principles, and he becomes a mighty instrument in the hands of the Lord.
The Savior is the greatest example of how we should respond to potentially offensive events or situations. . . .
Interestingly, the admonition, “be ye therefore perfect”, is immediately preceded by counsel about how we should act in response to wrongdoing and offense. Clearly, the rigorous requirements that lead to the perfecting of the Saints include assignments that test and challenge us. If a person says or does something that we consider offensive, our first obligation is to refuse to take offense and then communicate privately, honestly, and directly with that individual. Such an approach invites inspiration from the Holy Ghost and permits misperceptions to be clarified and true intent to be understood.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."