A Truth to Believe

   How Can We Summarize the Poetry and Wisdom Books of the OT?

Poetry and Wisdom Books don't advance the storyline of the Old Testament. Instead they reveal what wise and faithful living looked like within covenant with God in times of joy and sorrow.

These books reveal that God is faithful, dependable, and powerful even when life is filled with blessing, difficulty, or pain. Here is one way we could summarize each off these books:

Job tells the story of a man who learned to trust God’s wisdom and sovereignty through terrible suffering. 

Psalms is a collection of songs, prayers, and poems blessing the God of Israel through lament and praise. 

Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings for how to fear the Lord and live well within God’s world.  

Ecclesiastes is a book that teaches to fear the Lord and obey him because life is meaningless apart from God. 

Song of Solomon is a poetic and beautiful love song between a husband and wife.

Truths to Believe Archive

Something about Caregiving

We desperately need reminders of God's faithfulness. Life is full, challenging, and filled with unexpected circumstances. Sometimes life can be so full, so demanding, or take such an unexpected turn that it's difficult to keep a broad perspective of reality. This is why followers of Christ need the promises of God.

We have walked through numerous seasons where God uses a single promise--a reminder of his faithfulness--to sustain our faith and help us patiently endure. So memorize the promises of God. God will use them to keep you trusting in him. Here are some of God's promises that have greatly helped us:

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. (Jeremiah 32:40-41)

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:5-8)

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. (Psalm 68:19)

A Quote

"All the saints have their own measure of winter before their eternal summer. O! for the long day, and the high sun, and the fair garden, and the King's great city up above these visible heavens! What God layeth on, let us suffer, for some have one cross, some seven, some ten, some half a cross––yet all the saints have whole and full joy."

Samuel Rutherford - The Loveliness of Christ

A Booklist

Preaching is one of God's ordained means to feed his people, reveal himself, declare the gospel, and glorify his name.

Here are the books that we have been most helped by regarding preaching.