angela hormberg

Tag: Introduction

  • Proverbs 11

    Proverbs 11

    Proverbs 11: An Introduction

    Proverbs Chapter 11 contains a total of 31 verses and contains commentary on diverse subjects, including: fair dealing, pride, integrity, wealth, righteousness, hope, speech, wise counsel, lending, right living, children, desires of the heart, giving, leadership, bearing fruit, and more. As with the preceding chapters, the purpose of Proverbs 11 is to aid the reader in “acquiring wisdom and guiding them in a way of life that yields rewarding ends” (955).

    Works Cited

    Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Zondervan. 2002.

    © 2026 Angela Hormberg

  • Proverbs: An Introduction

    Proverbs: An Introduction

    Commonplace –

    “But let us all learn not to think the worse of good instructions though we have them from those who do not themselves altogether live up to them” (Henry 647).

    After finishing the book of Psalms, I considered where to go next in my reading and writing. My daughter recommended the book of Proverbs, which she is currently reading through, as a follow up to the Psalms, which I just finished. I thought her suggestion good and relished the idea of walking through the book alongside of her.

    In his introduction to the book of Proverbs, Matthew Henry notes that this particular book contains “[a] new way of writing, in which divine wisdom is taught us by the Proverbs, or short sentences, which contain their whole design within themselves and are not connected with another” (647).

    In regard to the order of the book of Proverbs, Henry notes the following:

    “The first nine chapters of this book are reckoned as a preface, by way of exhortation to the study and practice of wisdom’s rules, and caution against those things that would hinder therein. We have then the first volume of Solomon’s proverbs (ch. 10-24); after that a second volume (ch. 25-29); and then Agur’s prophecy (ch. 30), and Lemuel’s (ch. 31)” (648).

    As to the object of the book of Proverbs,

    “The scope of all is one and the same, to direct us so to order our conversation aright as that in the end we may see the salvation of the Lord. The best comment on these rules is to be ruled by them” (Henry 648; emphasis added).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119

    Psalm 119

    Introduction

    Psalm 119 is very different than all the other songs in the Psalm book. Matthew Henry provided some helpful insight into this unique psalm in his summary of it.

    “This is a psalm by itself, like none of the rest; it excels them all, and shines brightest in this constellation. It is much longer than any of them, more than twice as long as any of them. It is not making long prayers that Christ censurers, but making them for a pretence, which intimates that they are in themselves good and commendable.

    Further on, Henry notes the technical aspects of the psalm.

    The composition of [Psalm 119] is singular and very exact. It is divided into twenty-two parts, according to the number of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and each part consists of eight verses, all the verses of the first part beginning with Aleph, all the verses of the second with Beth, and so on, without any flaw throughout the whole psalm.

    Henry has much more to say on Psalm 119, but I won’t overburden you. What is given is more than enough to ponder at present. My goal is to take the psalm in small bites and savour it.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119:Introduction.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg