Shining a light on the weekly Bible Lessons published in the Christian Science Quarterly®
God the Preserver of Man
Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: . . . Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.
Apparently written out of a strong need for God’s deliverance, these verses employ legal and agricultural images. Pleading a cause evokes courtroom defenses; blowing chaff away recalls farming practices. Of the second figure, a scholar explains, “Chaff is the type of whatever is light, vain, futile, and worthless; chaff driven before the wind represents the confused rout of a beaten army flying without any resistance. . . .”
Five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
Resources cited in this issue
GT: Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice, Joseph S. Exell, and Edward Mark Deems, eds. The Pulpit Commentary. London, 1880–1909. Also available at biblehub.com/commentaries.
Cit. 5: Peterson, Eugene H. Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing up in Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2010.
Cit. 19: Burge, Gary M., Andrew E. Hill, ed. The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary. Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI, 2012.
COPYRIGHT
Scriptural quotations marked International Children’s Bible are taken from the International Children’s Bible®. Copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked Common English Bible are taken from the Common English Bible, copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.
Scriptural quotations marked GOD’S WORD Translation are taken from GOD’S WORD®. © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. Used by permission.
Scriptural quotations marked Amplified® Bible are taken from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.
Scriptural quotations marked Contemporary English Version are taken from the Contemporary English Version, copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scriptural quotations marked New Century Version are taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked New Living Translation are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked New International Reader’s Version are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version™, NIrV™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
© 2022 The Christian Science Publishing Society. The design of the Cross and Crown is a trademark owned by the Christian Science Board of Directors and is used by permission. Bible Lens and Christian Science Quarterly are trademarks owned by The Christian Science Publishing Society. Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptural quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
