VERSES DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND

I've found that there's a lot of truth in saying that the Bible is generally easy to understand. Most of it is pretty straightforward, you know? But, yeah, every now and then you stumble across a passage that really makes you scratch your head. Figuring out what those tricky parts mean can be a real challenge.

Thankfully, I'd say 99% of Scripture is clear as a bell. And that's the stuff we really need to focus on living out. The Bible itself talks about how God's word is meant to be understandable, accessible to everyone.

But let's be real, sometimes we run into those verses that feel a bit murky. Even with all the great commentaries and resources we have available today, including stuff online, even theologians will tell you some passages are just tough nuts to crack.

But I believe that with God's help, and by digging a little deeper with the tools available to us, we can gain a better understanding of even those difficult verses. He'll give us the wisdom we need if we seek it.

He has stationed peace at your borders, and he has satisfied you with the fat of the grain.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more. And neither mourning, nor crying out, nor grief shall be anymore. For the first things have passed away."

Lord, when will you look down upon me? Restore my soul from before their malice, my only one from before the lions.

I will confess to you in a great Church. I will praise you among a weighty people.

And the Lord, who is your commander, will himself be with you. He will neither renounce nor abandon you. Do not be afraid, and do not dread."

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.

The praises of David, the son of Jesse, have reached an end.

I will confess to you in a great Church. I will praise you among a weighty people.

Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Weep with those who are weeping.

Therefore, the Lord will console Zion, and he will console all its ruins. And he will turn her desert into a place of delights, and her wilderness into a garden of the Lord. Gladness and rejoicing will be found in her, thanksgiving and a voice of praise.

Cast all your cares upon him, for he takes care of you.

You will lead me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me. For you are my protector.

Unto the end. A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

Give praise, O heavens! And exult, O earth! Let the mountains give praise with jubilation! For the Lord has consoled his people, and he will take pity on his poor ones.

The innocent of hands and the clean of heart, who has not received his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor.

Therefore, let us go forth with confidence toward the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy, and find grace, in a helpful time.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation.

He consoles us in all our tribulation, so that we too may be able to console those who are in any kind of distress, through the exhortation by which we also are being exhorted by God.

And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And you will say in that day: "I will confess to you, O Lord, because you have been angry with me; but your fury has been turned away, and you have consoled me.

These things I have spoken to you, so that you may have peace in me. In the world, you will have difficulties. But have confidence: I have overcome the world."

Because of this, men, be courageous in soul. For I trust God that this will happen in the same way that it has been told to me.

COPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, from the furthest pit.

COPH. You have heard my voice. Do not turn away your ear from my sobbing and my cries.

COPH. You drew near in the daytime, when I called upon you. You said, "Fear not."

Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.

"Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. And behold, I have healed you. On the third day, you shall ascend to the temple of the Lord.

O Lord, do not take your tender mercies far from me. Your mercy and your truth ever sustain me.

HETH. By the mercies of the Lord, we are not consumed. For his compassion has not passed away.

HETH. I know it at first light; great is your faithfulness.

He covers heaven with clouds, and he prepares rain for the earth. He produces grass on the mountains and herbs for the service of men.

For the sorrow that is according to God accomplishes a repentance which is steadfast unto salvation. But the sorrow that is of the world accomplishes death.

And, when hope has been set before you, you will have faith, and, when buried, you will sleep secure.

No one will be able to resist you during all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so will I be with you. I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you.

So will I bless you in my life, and I will lift up my hands in your name.

Woe to me, for my sojourning has been prolonged. I have lived with the inhabitants of Kedar.

in hope, rejoicing; in tribulation, enduring; in prayer, ever-willing;

So may the God of hope fill you with every joy and with peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope and in the virtue of the Holy Spirit.

Be anxious about nothing. But in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.

And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Come to me, all you who labor and have been burdened, and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.

"Are you he who is to come, or should we expect another?"

For my yoke is sweet and my burden is light."

CAPH. For the Lord will not rebuke forever.

CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.

CAPH. For he has not humiliated from his heart, nor has he thrown aside the sons of men,

Unto the end. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

So, truly, the sons of men are untrustworthy. The sons of men are liars in the scales, so that, by emptiness, they may deceive among themselves.

Do not trust in iniquity, and do not desire plunder. If riches flow toward you, do not be willing to set your heart on them.

God has spoken once. I have heard two things: that power belongs to God,

and that mercy belongs to you, O Lord. For you will repay each one according to his works.

Will my soul not be subject to God? For from him is my salvation.

Yes, he himself is my God and my salvation. He is my supporter; I will be moved no more.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to have compassion on our infirmities, but rather one who was tempted in all things, just as we are, yet without sin.

Therefore, let us go forth with confidence toward the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy, and find grace, in a helpful time.

Peace I leave for you; my Peace I give to you. Not in the way that the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and let it not fear.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not cover you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not scorch you.

Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, "I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you."

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of virtue, and of love, and of self-restraint.

Unto the end. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

So, truly, the sons of men are untrustworthy. The sons of men are liars in the scales, so that, by emptiness, they may deceive among themselves.

Do not trust in iniquity, and do not desire plunder. If riches flow toward you, do not be willing to set your heart on them.

God has spoken once. I have heard two things: that power belongs to God,

and that mercy belongs to you, O Lord. For you will repay each one according to his works.

Will my soul not be subject to God? For from him is my salvation.

And we know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto good, for those who, in accordance with his purpose, are called to be saints.

A Canticle in steps. I rejoiced in the things that were said to me: "We shall go into the house of the Lord."

Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem.

The old error has gone away. You will serve peace: peace, for we have hoped in you.

You have trusted in the Lord for all eternity, in the Lord God almighty forever.

For this reason, we are not insufficient. But it is as though our outer man is corrupted, while our inner man is renewed from day to day.

For though our tribulation is, at the present time, brief and light, it accomplishes in us the weight of a sublime eternal glory, beyond measure.

And we are contemplating, not the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporal, whereas the things that are not seen are eternal.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

The name of the Lord is very strong tower. The just one rushes to it, and he shall be exalted.

But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity, and even unto eternity, upon those who fear him. And his justice is with the sons of the sons,

You have understood my thoughts from afar. My path and my fate, you have investigated.

Unto the end. A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

The leaders of the peoples have been gathered together by the God of Abraham. For the strong gods of the earth have been exceedingly exalted.

All nations, clap your hands. Shout joyfully to God with a voice of exultation.

For the Lord is exalted and terrible: a great King over all the earth.

And let us be considerate of one another, so as to prompt ourselves to charity and to good works,

not deserting our assembly, as some are accustomed to do, but consoling one another, and even more so as you see that the day is approaching.

Consider the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.

Because of this, console one another and build up one another, just as you are doing.

Carry one another's burdens, and so shall you fulfill the law of Christ.

And he will judge the whole world in equity. He will judge the people in justice.

Will not Zion say that this man and that man were born in her? And the Most High himself has founded her.

It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.

The voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.

Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

to take up the mourners of Zion and to give them a crown in place of ashes, an oil of joy in place of mourning, a cloak of praise in place of a spirit of grief. And there, they shall be called the strong ones of justice, the planting of the Lord, unto glorification.

I am confident of this very thing: that he who has begun this good work in you will perfect it, unto the day of Christ Jesus.

Now to him who is able to do all things, more abundantly than we could ever ask or understand, by means of the virtue which is at work in us:

Prayer