Here’s a strange thought. Imagine if Solomon could see just a few minutes’ worth of television commercials. Okay, it would blow his mind, but once he got past that, I wonder if he would key in on a theme that runs deeply through our consumer culture.

In today’s verses, he’s warning against envy and dissatisfaction.

It’s funny how things change over time. Growing up as a young child I was taught that it was a sin to ride my bicycle on Sunday. But now that I’m older and a bit wiser it strikes me that back then we spent so much time arguing about what was right or wrong that we actually overlooked the true devastating impact of genuine sin—deliberate disobedience to God.

The Bible is clear about what sin is.

This scene is filled with tension. Jesus has been brought to Pilate for sentencing since the Jewish leaders could not pronounce the death penalty. Pilate is curious because this message from his wife that she has had a dream and urges him to absolve himself from this case because the prisoner is an innocent men (19).Pilate has come to this conclusion himself and has tried to substitute another prisoner Barabbas but the leaders will have none of this.

When I see someone wearing a cross, I occasionally ask them what it means. Some respond that it is a nice piece of jewellery while for others it is a good luck charm that will protect them from harm and danger. Others are closer to the truth when they explain that it means Christ died for their sins. In this passage Jesus is nailed to the cross and subjected to humiliation and ridicule.

In verse 46, Jesus cries out that he has been abandoned by God. He is giving voice to more than his feelings. He is expressing an actual fact. A child made feel abandoned by his or her parents in a mall when the parent is actually close at hand. The abandonment that Jesus expresses is real because he bears the sins of the world and is forsaken by the Father. He is forsaken so that we never have to be forsaken (Heb 13:5).

The death and burial of Princess Diana caused great controversy among the British people and members of the royal family. Although she was in some disfavour in the royal family she was in the end given a funeral and burial that were worthy of any royalty. Jesus was looked upon by Jewish leaders and Roman officials as a heretic and a common criminal but in the providence of God, he was given a burial that was worthy of his status as the Son of God.

Where are you living? Please note, I did not ask, “What is your address?”

For the Old Testament believer, God had an address. He lived in the Tent of Meeting on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Later this was the location of the great temple built by Solomon.

This entire psalm is based on the premise that we can live in the presence of God.