Jim Gallagher

Psalms 62:11

“God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.”

A number of years ago, I came home from a long day of work, at the end of an even longer week. I was worn out and hungry. Since I was the only one home at the time, I was facing a battle within. My stomach insisted on being fed, but the rest of me demanded rest. Too broke to order out, and too tired to fix a meal, I laid down on the couch and began flipping the channels. I stopped on a show called, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” This a series that displayed the possessions of extremely wealthy individuals. If memory serves me, this was the only time I had ever seen the show. The episode followed the life of a the king of a small Middle Eastern country, whose…

Psalm 59:13

“And let them know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth.”
In the early eighties, a well-known Christian band wrote a song called “God Rules.” In some ways, it became the anthem of many young Christians. I remember having a “God Rules” bumper sticker on my car, and proudly writing it on my school notebook. To me, that phrase was a slang term meaning little more than the fact God was best. I believe the Psalmist is saying much more than that, he is speaking of the sovereignty of God. The word sovereign means ‘to possess supreme power’. David is declaring that God has supreme power over His people.

Throughout Scripture, we see evidence of God’s supreme power. We see nature bow to His authority when seas part, storms cease, and the sun stands still. Sickness, demons, and death are also at His…

1 Kings 6:11-13

“Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: ‘Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.’”

Four hundred and eighty years after entering the promised land the Tabernacle was replaced with the Temple. The Temple was an elaborate structure, sitting above the city of David, on what had been the threshing floor of Ornan. This forty five foot tall building was the prize of Israel, and could be seen from miles away. The inside of the Temple was even more glorious than its exterior. The floor, walls, and ceiling, were made of intricately carved cedar and overlaid in…

1 Kings 5:13

“Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men.”

Building the Temple was a massive undertaking. It was to be a structure like no other. Unlike the pagan temples that were built in an attempt to reach up to the gods, this temple was built so God could reach down to man. The entirety of this structure pointed to the fact that God made a way for sinful man to have relationship with a holy God. As soon as a person approached the temple, they would smell the sacrifices, and be reminded of their need for a substitute to die in their place; removing the guilt and penalty of sin. These sacrifices provided a temporary covering, and pointed forward to Christ, who would die once, for the sins of all. Without question, this was the most…

Psalm 57:1

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by.”

No matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life. Growing up in California, I was constantly reminded of the great earthquake that was looming on the horizon. We were told that because of the fault lines, one day California would fall into the sea. Upon moving to Florida, the new fear was the hurricane. A few years back, a particularly large hurricane had developed in the warm waters of the South Atlantic. The atmospheric conditions were such to allow this storm to grow larger and larger as it traveled north. All of the models had it making landfall just outside of my home town. Having never experienced a hurricane before…

1 Kings 4:30

“Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.”

Solomon was known for his great wisdom. We are told that his understanding of psychology, botany and biology surpassed the great teachers of his day. We find people from all over the Middle East would travel to hear him speak, and when they left they declared that the rumors of his intellect did not do justice to how brilliant he really was. The most remarkable thing about his abilities is where they came from. As we read his Biblical biography, we find these gifts were God-given and purchased through prayer.

The early years of Solomon’s life gave no evidence of a truly gifted young man. His father doubted his ability,and when he was told by God to pass the kingdom to Solomon he all but refused. It was…

1 Kings 3:3

“And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.”

Throughout his life Solomon showed evidence of his love for the Lord. He wrote three thousand proverbs to instruct young men how to walk pleasing to the Lord. Although only a few remain, we are told he also wrote over one thousand songs. Because of the influence of his father, it is safe to say most of these would have been songs of worship. Solomon also spent the early years of his reign building the Temple so Israel would have a permanent structure in which to worship he Lord. All of this attests to the statement that, “Solomon loved The Lord”. The problem arises when we continue reading the verse and find, along with his love, he had what the text calls “an…

Psalm 56:8

“You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?”

David refers to God’s book. This is not a reference to the Word of God; for he tells us that the content of this book is David’s tears. He is not the only writer to refer to a book that God possesses. The Apostle John wrote,

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:27

The Old Testament prophet Malachi also refers to this book, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.” Malachi 3:16

These…