This is an exploration of the Book of Psalms, with an added section devoted to some of the principles of Christian worship. Have you ever wondered about the strangeness of the poetic structure of the Psalms? And what about those terrible cursing Psalms? Why is this collection of ancient songs so popular? How should they be understood, and what meaning can they have for us who live some 3000 years after their original composition? Those questions and others like them are answered in these pages. Here too you will find an exploration of one of the most fascinating features of the Psalms - those many places where the voice of a prophetic suddenly interrupts the prophetic flow, sometimes changing the direction of the Psalm entirely. Another section is devoted to discovering the wonderfully different poetic structure used by the psalmist, which makes Hebrew poetry alone in the world translatable into any language and culture. The book climaxes with a section on the prophetic and inspired quality that should characterize true Christian worship, lifting it from the mundane to the heavenly, bringing each worshiper to the very throne of God. Anyone who mines the treasures that lie buried, some shallow, some deep, in the Psalms will indeed find in these ancient songs something to enrich every part of life.

Perhaps the most neglected idea in the New Testament is the declaration that every Christian is a member of the Royal Priesthood that God has created in Christ. Indeed, scripture calls us both "kings" and "priests." As kings, we can and should speak with royal authority both in opposition to everything that belongs to the powers of darkness, and in support of everything that lies in the Father's purpose. And as priests we have unfettered access to the throne of God, a constant right to approach the Lord freely and openly, to speak boldly, and to expect miracles of answered prayer. These two things - our royal authority, and our right to approach the throne of God - are constantly being attacked by powerful forces both from within the church and without. There is always someone saying either that you are unworthy to draw near to God or that you have no right to speak against sin, sickness, poverty, fear, or any satanic work. There is always someone trying to deny your access or to stifle your authority. But, if you are a Christian, then you should scorn all those false voices, and assert bravely that you are God's royal priest, and that no one in heaven, earth, or hell, can close the door nor silence your voice. This book is a call to Christians everywhere to a new understanding of their status as a royal priest, to understand what that means, and to apply it to daily life. Anyone who does so, will enter a remarkable dimension of spiritual liberty and of effective service for Christ and the church.

The single greatest covenant that Yahweh made with ancient Israel embraced a promise to remove from them all sickness and every kind of disease, to pardon all their wickedness, to make them victorious over all their foes, to grant them abounding prosperity in every way, to give them a permanent home, and to send them an eternal King and Redeemer. Some of those promises were conditional, some were not. This book takes up in particular the promise to grant the people physical wellness. The promise included healing every sickness, freedom from disease, and the gift of general health, happiness, and prosperity. How literally was that promise fulfilled? Did the promise ever fail, and if so, why? Was the use of natural means of healing excluded? What place did medicine and physicians have in the national life? How much of the promise belongs to the church today? The pages within try to answer those questions, and many others as well. Readers of this volume should also read its companion, Healing in the Whole Bible - the New Testament. Together, these two books are an attempt to present an accurate picture of the healing covenant that God from the beginning has established with his people, and that the promise of good health is indeed threaded throughout the entire Bible