Shining a light on the weekly Bible Lessons published in the Christian Science Quarterly®
God the Preserver of Man
The Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. . . . Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. . . . The Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
In Hebrew Scripture, inheritance commonly denotes people or land. With this promise, it is God’s children who will not be forsaken. One source explains, “God will not forget His people any more than He will forget or deny Himself. . . .”
Dûmâ, the Hebrew term rendered silence, refers to death. In its only other biblical use, Psalms 115:17 asserts, “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence [dûmâ].”
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Resources cited in this issue
RR: The Amplified Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017.
Cit. 4: Black, Matthew, H. H. Rowley, and Arthur S. Peake. Peake’s Commentary on the Bible. Wokingham, England: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
Cit. 18: Keck, Leander E., et al., eds. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 8, Luke, John. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015.
Cit. 21: Keck, Leander E., et al., eds. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 3, Introduction to Hebrew Poetry, Job, Psalms, Introduction to Wisdom Literature, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015.
Cit. 25: Gill, John. Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. London, 1746–63. Also available at biblehub.com/commentaries.
COPYRIGHT
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 The Voice™ are taken from The Voice™. Copyright © 2012 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 Good News Translation are taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version—Second Edition, copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
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 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 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.
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© 2023 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.
