Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 41

"Psalm 41:

At the heart of this psalm is the sad reality of being forsaken by one’s friend.
The words of this psalm are general and apply to anyone who might be considered “down”.
While the form and structure of Psalm 41 are quite complex, “blessed” serves as bookends (in verses 1, 13).
Within these, other elements include:
(1) Confidence (verses 1b-3, 11-12);
(2) Prayers (verses 4, 10); and
(3) Lament (verses 5-9), with moments of wisdom and praise.

David’s message in Psalm 41 speaks of God’s tender, loving care in the critical care unit of life.
I. Recognizes Human Compassion (41:1a);
II. Revels in God’s Care for the Compassionate (41:1b-3);
III. Requests Grace, Health, and Forgiveness (41:4);
IV. Rehearses the Meanness that He Has Experienced (41:5-9);
V. Requests Grace, Health, and Retribution (41:10); 

VI. Revels in God’s Care for Him Personally 41:11-12); 

VII. Recognizes Divine Compassion (41:13).

Psalm 41:1 Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
Blessed is he that considereth the poor. Not the poor of the world in common, nor poor saints in particular, but some single poor man; for the word is in the singular number, and designs our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in the last verse of the preceding Psalm, is said to be poor and needy.

Psalm 41:3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

This pictures God as a Physician dispensing 

His tender, loving care.

Psalm 41:4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against Thee.
God is the strength of a Christian's heart, by healing and restoring him when the infused habits of grace fail, and sin grows strong and vigorous.

Psalm 41:5 Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?
Psalm 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up [his] heel against me.
We are indeed, wretched when our quondam friend becomes our

relentless foe, when confidence is betrayed, when all the rites of hospitality are perverted, and ingratitude is the only return for kindness; yet in so deplorable a case we may cast ourselves upon the faithfulness of God.
Psalm 41:12 And as for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before Thy face for ever.
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon

Creation Moment 3/20/2026 - Darwinian circular reasoning on the Appendix

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Romans 1:22

"What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organ (The Conversation, 9 March 2026). In this story (NOT scientific article), Phil Starks and Lilia Goncharova use the adjective evolutionary a dozen times. Try “dormitive” for “evolutionary” in the following examples without falling asleep:

The evolutionary story of the appendix
…is supported by evolutionary analyses
A broader evolutionary survey found that the appendix evolved

Scientist entering trance to meditate on his idol
and on 747s emerging from tornadoes in junkyards.

separately at least 32 times across 361 mammalian species.
Evolutionary importance and modern life
the evolutionary pressures that once favored the appendix have largely disappeared.
A structure that was once a global evolutionary advantage is now more of a medical liability.

This mismatch between past adaptations and present environments illustrates a core principle in evolutionary medicine

If evolutionists didn’t have circular reasoning, they wouldn’t have any reasoning at all.

These phrases are all vacuous, empty, deceptive: pretending to explain something, they merely reinforce the evolutionary bias of the authors. (Evolutionary bias, you notice, is real. Never would they consider anything other than evolution to explain something.)

When a trait evolves repeatedly and independently, biologists call this convergent evolution. Convergence does not mean a structure is indispensable. But it does suggest that, under certain environmental conditions, having that structure provided a consistent enough advantage for evolution to favor it again and again.

In other words, the appendix is unlikely to be a useless evolutionary accident.

It is still an evolutionary accident, they are saying, but it is a “useful” accident. It has a dormitive virtue that helps put their readers to sleep, where dreams of emergence dance like sugar plums in their heads." 

CEH

Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 40

"Psalm 40:
The poles of thanksgiving and lament are so distinct in this psalm that some divide it into two separate psalms.
Two situations constitute the framework for the psalmist’s publicized expressions of worship in Psalm 40.
I. Precedent from a Past Situation (40:1-10).
A. The Merciful Rescue by God (40:1-3);
B. The Multiple Resources in God (40:4-5);
C. The Motivational Responses to God (40:6-10).
II. Prayers for a Present Situation (40:11-17).

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined

unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings.
First, resurrection as the act of God, He brought me up, etc.

Secondly, the justification of the name and title of the Sufferer, and set my feet upon a rock. Jesus is set up, as alive from the dead, upon the basis of accomplished truth. 

Thirdly, there is his ascension, He establisheth my goings. The Son of God having trodden, in gracious and self renouncing obedience the passage to the grave, now enters finally as Man the path of life.

Psalm 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [it is] written of me, Psalm 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law [is] within my heart.

If Christ liveth in us, then the Law of God is in our heart.

It is a pleasure, not a chore, to do the will of the Lord.

What a privilege to find our names written in the book of life, and what an honor, since the name of Jesus heads the page!

Psalm 40:9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, Thou knowest.
Psalm 40:10 I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation: I have not

concealed Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.
Psalm 40:11 Withhold not Thou Thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth continually preserve me.
Psalm 40:12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
Psalm 40:17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: Thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God."
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon

Creation Moment 3/19/2026 - Grasping at Clarke's 3rd Law to Reject clear cut visible DESIGN

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? 2 Peter 3:3,4

"Dawkins believes that complicated things, such as DNA, only appear to be designed. 

Q: Why does it only appear designed? 

A: Well, because if it is designed then the obvious question is, who designed it? 

--The reality of the matter is that the double-helix structure of DNA could not form by chance as we know that it carries complex coded information that can only be generated by intelligence sources (not mindless natural processes). Since Dawkins sees design as an allusion, the possibility of a designer is also seen as delusional (i.e. the title of his 2006 book The God Delusion).

Peter Boghossian: Given that the hosts of arguments [for the existence of God] don’t work, what would it take for you to believe in God?
Richard Dawkins: "I use to say, it would be very simple, it would be the second coming of Jesus or a great big, deep, booming, base voice saying: “I am God and I created.” But I was persuaded mostly by

Steve Zaro . . . he more or less persuaded me, even if there was this booming voice or the second coming in clouds of glory, the more probable explanation is that it is a hallucination or a conjuring trick by David Copperfield or something. He made the point that a supernatural explanation for anything is incoherent, that it just doesn’t add up to an explanation for anything . . . Clarke’s third law “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” magic being supernatural. If you were to fly a Boeing 747 back to the middle ages, you would be greeted as god, and similarly an alien visitation would be so far beyond us in their technology that they probably could manipulate the stars to spell out words or geometric forms or something of that sort." AIG

Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 39

"Psalm 39:
“Jeduthun” (superscription), was probably Ethan, the well-known director of the temple choir (see the notes on 1 Chron. 6:31-48).

The psalm is composed of three key parts.

First, the psalmist suppresses his complaint to God until he can contain it no longer (verses 1-3).
Second, when he can contain himself no more, he utters his cry of distress, centering in the innate frailty of man which he feels at present so acutely (verses 4-11).
Finally, he presents his petition to God, who will certainly regard his tears and spare him (see verses 12-13).

Psalm 39 is an exceptionally heavy lament which compares with Job 7 and a lot of Ecclesiastes.
It also carries on the here-today-gone-tomorrow with a new twist, an application to all men, especially the psalmist.
In this intense lament, David will break his initial silence with two rounds of requests and reflections about the brevity and burdens of life.
I. Introduction: David’s Silence (39:1-3).
II. Round One: The Brevity and Burdens of Life (39:4-6).
A. His Request for Perspective (39:4);
B. His Reflections on Perspective (39:5-6).
III. Round Two: The Brevity and Burdens of Life (39:7-13).
A. His Reflection on Hope (39:7);
B. His Requests and Reflections on Providence (39:8-11);
C. His Requests for Relief (39:12-13).

Psalm 39:1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
James 3:6 And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
No, man cannot tame his tongue.
Both of these Scriptures above tell us why it is important for Christians to turn their tongue over to God.

Psalm 39:2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, [even] from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
I was dumb with silence. He was as strictly speechless as if he had been tongueless—not a word escaped him. He was as silent as the dumb. 

I held my peace, even from good. Neither bad nor good escaped his lips. Perhaps he feared that if he began to talk at all, he would be sure to speak amiss, and, therefore, he totally abstained. It was an easy, safe, and effectual way of avoiding sin, if it did not involve a neglect of the duty which he owed to God to speak well of his name. Our divine Lord was silent before the wicked, but not altogether so, for before Pontius Pilate he witnessed a good confession, and asserted his kingdom. A sound course of action may be pushed to the extreme, and become a fault.

And my sorrow was stirred. Inward grief was made to work and ferment by want of vent. The pent up floods are swollen and agitated. Utterance is the natural outlet for the heart's anguish, and silence is, therefore, both an aggravation of the evil and a barrier against its cure.

Psalm 39:3 My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: [then] spake I with my tongue, Psalm 39:4 LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it [is; that] I may know how frail I [am].

Psalm 39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days [as] a handbreadth; and mine age [is] as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state [is] altogether vanity. Selah.
Psalm 39:10 Remove Thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand.
Psalm 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I [am] a stranger with Thee, [and] a sojourner, as all my fathers [were]."
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon

Creation Moment 3/18/2026 - Morality: Defined by a CREATOR

"The Bible tells us that God is the Creator of all things, and therefore, all things belong to Him (The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, Psalm 24:1). Thus, God as the Creator has the right to define absolute standards of behavior.

Dr. Greg Bahnsen (1948–95) states, “What does the unbeliever

[person who rejects the Biblical God] mean by ‘good,’ or by what standard does the unbeliever determine what counts as ‘good’ (so that ‘evil’ is accordingly defined or identified)? What are the presuppositions in terms of which the unbeliever makes any moral judgments whatsoever?”

Although unbelievers may classify actions as good or evil, they do not have an ultimate foundation for defining what is good and evil." AIG

Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 38

"Psalm 38:
In many ways David’s laments parallel those of Job.

David’s perspective is that his painful plight is due, at least in part, to his personal sin.

The Psalm opens with a prayer, Psalms 38:1; continues in a long complaint, Psalms 38:2-8; pauses to dart an eye to heaven, Psalms 38:9; proceeds with a second tale of sorrow, Psalms 38:10-14; interjects another word of hopeful address to God, Psalms 38:15; a third time pours out a flood of griefs, Psalms 38:16-20; and then closes as it opened, with renewed petitioning, Psalms 38:21-22.

David’s opening and closing prayers relate to two onslaughts by enemies.
(I) Introductory Prayer (38:1-2).
(II) First Onslaught: The Enemy Within (38:3-10).
(III) Second Onslaught: Enemies Without (38:11-20). 

(IV) Concluding Prayers (38:21-22).

Title:

“To bring to remembrance”:

Literally “To cause to remember”

Psalm 38:1 O LORD, rebuke me not in Thy wrath: neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure.
Psalm 38:2 For Thine arrows stick fast in me, and Thy hand presseth me sore.
“Thine arrows”:
The language relates to the Divine Warrior motif; on God as Archer (compare Deut. 32:23; Job 6:4; 16:13; Psalm 7:12; Lam. 3:12-13).
The arrow that is bothering David is the one sticking in his heart.
*Of course, it is not a literal arrow, it is his conscience.
God's law applied by the Spirit to the conviction of the soul of sin, wounds deeply and rankles long; it is an arrow not lightly to be brushed out by careless mirthfulness, or to be extracted by the flattering hand of self righteousness. The Lord knows how to shoot so that his bolts not only strike but stick. He can make convictions sink into the innermost spirit like arrows driven in up to the head. It seems strange that the Lord should shoot at His own beloved ones, but in truth he shoots at their sins rather than them, and those who feel his sin killing shafts in this life.

Psalm 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Psalm 38:5 My wounds stink [and] are corrupt because of my foolishness.
Psalm 38:6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
Psalm 38:7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome [disease]: and [there is] no soundness in my flesh.

Psalm 38:9 Lord, all my desire [is] before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from Thee.
Psalm 38:13 But I, as a deaf [man], heard not; and [I was] as a dumb man [that] openeth not his mouth.
Psalm 38:15 For in Thee, O LORD, do I hope: Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
Psalm 38:18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
Psalm 38:22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation."
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon

IN the NEWS - Crucifixion 21st century style

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. John 8:44

"An Arizona man accused of crucifying a pastor and placing a crown of thorns on the victim's head has requested the death penalty so everyone "can move on with our lives."
Adam Sheafe, who is representing himself, asked the judge last week to allow him to enter a guilty plea, so the case can wrap up quickly,

saying the legal system was "dragging this out," according to Fox 10.
Sheafe, 51, is accused of murdering William Schonemann, the pastor of New River Bible Chapel, in April 2025 before mutilating the man's body. Schonemann was found dead with his arms spread out in his bed and his hands pinned to a wall, authorities said.
The suspect previously confessed to the crime and has never claimed to be innocent.
His request for the death penalty on Thursday echoes comments he made a year ago, when he said he wanted to be executed immediately.
"Put me on death row, set the execution date for right now," Sheafe told 12News at the time. "The victims want it. The victim's families want it. I want it, and the taxpayers want it."
Sheafe told Fox 10 last year that the murder of Schonemann, 76, was part of a plot targeting more than a dozen Christian leaders across the country in a mission he called "Operation First Commandment.
Sheafe said that he intended to “crucify” more than a dozen victims, all pastors and priests, in Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. e was apprehended breaking into a home in Sedona, Arizona, where he said he was planning another murder."

msn

Creation Moment 3/17/2026 - Our solar system is different

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Hebrews 1:2

"Many of the stars reported to have extrasolar planets range from spectral class K2 to F7 (typically red to white) and luminosity class

IV–V (subgiants to main sequence stars). A few spectral class M stars are listed as well as Gliese types. Our sun plots on the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) color-brightness star diagram as spectral class G2V. The distances from Earth of parent stars range from 3 to 60 pc (10–200 light-years) with spectral class G stars common and 25–35 pc (80–115 light-years) distance common. Almost 1/3 of the exoplanets listed have orbits less than 0.4 AU from their parent stars—inside Mercury’s orbit if placed in our solar system.

Our solar system is different

A simple statistical analysis of some of the data for the exoplanets listed to date yields the following averages: 

Mean semimajor axis, a = 1.24 AU

Mean eccentricity, e = 0.274 (larger than Pluto’s e = 0.244, the most eccentric of our solar system)

Mean mass = 3.295 M_Jupiter

If this average gas-giant planet were orbiting in our solar system it would have a perihelion, (q) of 0.90 AU and aphelion, (Q) of 1.58 AU and continually cut across Earth’s orbit. We need to keep in mind that the masses reported are a minimum estimate, not a maximum.

In our solar system, the average values of the nine planets for the same three properties are:

Mean semimajor axis, a = 11.902 AU

Mean eccentricity, e = 0.081

Mean mass = 0.156 M_Jupiter

The ‘average’ perihelion, q is 10.938 AU and the aphelion, Q is 12.866 AU, which is well removed from the Earth’s orbit.
This makes an interesting comparison. 

First, the extrasolar planets have much larger masses than our gas-giant planets. The 4.05 M_Jupiter gas giant at 55 Cancri is an

example. 

Then, the extrasolar planets orbit much closer to their host stars and have a greater orbital eccentricity than the planets in our solar system. In fact, the exoplanets seem to be more similar to double stars, visual binary systems, and spectroscopic binary systems, than to the planets in our solar system. For binary stars the mean eccentricity, e is 0.28 and the orbital period ranges from 1.0 to 10,000 days. It is worth remembering that, for the extrasolar planets reported so far, the method of detection may favor large gas-giant planets orbiting close to their parent stars.

It is surprising that the characteristics of the extrasolar planets are so different from the gas-giant planets of our solar system. Surprising because it has been claimed for decades that the naturalistic evolution model thoroughly explains our solar system. According to evolution, the rocky, terrestrial planets formed because the inner solar nebula was hot, while the outer regions of the solar nebula were cold, forming the gas giants. 

The same characteristics were expected for the planetary systems of other stars since they supposedly formed the same way. However, gas-giant planets orbiting less than 0.4 AU from their parent stars explode this belief. Somehow, evolutionists have avoided publicizing this issue.

The extrasolar-planet data suggests our solar system is special, which is difficult to explain from a naturalistic evolutionary perspective. 

--For some reason, when our solar system formed, the sun managed to avoid the more common ‘fate’ of other star systems. Specifically, we do not have gas-giant planets orbiting from 0.1 to 3.0 AU from the sun, like 75% of the stars with planets so far listed. The other planets in our solar system are well clear of the Earth’s orbit.

Nearby stars of spectral class G, similar to the sun, are expected to be of a similar age (as determined from the H-R diagram). In fact, 55 Cancri is a spectral class G8 star and considered to be 4–7 billion years old on the H-R diagram. Stars of similar age would have completed a similar number of galactic rotations since their origin. So, although our sun would have completed some 20 galactic rotations (assuming the astronomical age of the galaxy is correct), it has somehow managed to avoid interactions which produced gas-giant planet configurations with orbits near 1.0 AU, the Earth’s location. That’s pretty significant for the survival of life on earth.

The data is easy to understand from a young-earth creation model. Since Creation Week ended (Genesis 2:1–3) some 6,000 years ago as measured on earth, the sun and nearby spectral class G stars have

completed much less than one galactic rotation. Certainly, since Creation Week, these nearby star systems have experienced little stellar evolution. The creation interpretation affects our understanding of the origin of our solar system and of extrasolar planets.

I wonder if evolutionists thank their lucky stars and random particle collisions for the unique configuration of our solar system and our habitable earth." CMI

Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 37

"Psalm 37: The psalm is written in the form of an acrostic, although our numbering is out of step with the Hebrew.

There is no logical outline to the psalm, so it is best studied according to its topics.
The major point of the psalm seems to be that the wicked's prosperity is short-lived.

The psalm also contains a simple formula for achieving peace of mind in the face of the wicked’s prosperity: “fret not … neither be thou envious” (verse 1), “trust … do good” (verse 3), “delight thyself also in the LORD” (verse 4), “commit thy way … trust” (verse 5), “rest … wait patiently … fret not” (verse 7), “cease from anger … forsake wrath … fret not” (verse 8).

All of these exhortations urge the believer to confidently trust the LORD concerning the many of life’s problems.

The psalm concludes appropriately with an undying affirmation of faith and trust in the unchanging character of God.
David mixes and matches 6 thoughts in order to advance his major message on the eventual arrival of divine justice.
1. An Introductory Overview (37:1-2).
2. An Initial Expansion (37:3-11).
3. Some Proverbial Perspectives (37:12-24).
4. An Initial Testimony (37:25-26).
5. A Final Expansion (compare verses 3-11 with 37:27-34).
6. A Final Testimony (compare verses 25-26 with 37:35-40).

Psalm 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psalm 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
John 15:7 If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
The key to this is abide.
If we are hid in Christ and He is uppermost in our thoughts and deeds, then He will give us the desires of our heart.

Psalm 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
The Hebrew word translated “fret” is charah, which speaks of “growing warm and blazing up;”.
To fret or worry is to be concerned with things over which one has no control or ability to change.

Psalm 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked [shall] not [be]: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it [shall] not [be].
Psalm 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD [shall be] as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psalm 37:25 I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
The social condition of the Israelites....Though there were rich and poor among them, there could scarcely be any that were very poor.
Where there was a general obligation upon all well-disposed persons to lend to such as were in need, and no interest could be asked upon loans.
And in the year of jubilee all debts were remitted, and mortgaged lands returned to their original owners or their families.
Actual begging was scarcely possible, and at any rate could only be brought about by extreme and reckless misconduct (see Prov. 20:4).

Psalm 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

Psalm 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Psalm 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [He is] their strength in the time of trouble.
Psalm 37:40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.
But if we would be thus delivered, observe: 

1. That we must not unthankfully fret at God's providence Ps 37:1.

2. We must "trust in the Lord and do good" Ps 37:3.

3. We must "delight ourselves in the Lord," and not place our contentment on earthly things Ps 37:4. 

4. We must "commit our ways to God" Ps 37:5. 

5. We must get patience and humble affections Ps 37:7-11. 

6. We must be of upright conversation Ps 37:14.

7. We must be merciful Ps 37:25-26.

8. We must "speak righteous things," and get "the law into our hearts" Ps 37:30-31. 

9. We must "keep our way," and "wait on God".

This Psalm very much reminds one in its construction of the sententious and pithy conciseness of the Book of Proverbs."
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon

Creation Moment 3/16/2026 - Planets have purpose

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:3

"Evidence throughout the galaxy points to other stellar systems (the planets orbiting other stars) being very chaotic. Those planets have highly elliptical orbits, and are generally much closer to the star than those in our own solar system, i.e. well inside the ‘Goldilocks zone’

where life is possible. 

Medium-sized planets are common in other systems, but there are no medium-sized planets in our solar system; instead, we have gas giants and ice giants on one hand, and small rocky planets like our Earth on the other. 

Using the Nice model, scientists previously found that the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn regulate the orbits of the small inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars), and have prevented them from becoming unstable and falling closer to the Sun." CMI

Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 36

"Psalm 36:
The theme of this psalm is certainly the loving-kindness of God

(verses 5, 7, 10).
David first describes the rebellious sinner (verses 1-4), then the blessedness of the righteous man (verses 5-9) and concludes with a prayer that the righteous man may be protected from the wicked (verses 10-12).
Verses 1-12:
At least 3 themes may be detected in this psalm:
(1)Wisdom (verses 1-4);
(2) Praise (verses 5-9); and
(3) Prayer (verses 10-12).

Paul used (Psalm 36:1), to summarize his list of 14 indictments against the whole race in (Romans 3:10-18).

As to its overall structure, David’s two different moods in Psalm 36 exemplify his continuing quest for balance concerning the realities of human wickedness and divine benevolence.
I. Mood of Deliberation (36:1-9).
A. His Deliberations on Human Infidelity (36:1-4);
B. His Deliberations on Divine Fidelity (36:5-9).
II. Mood of Dependence (36:10-12).
A. Implemented through Prayer (36:10-11);
B. Intimated through Perspective (36:12).

Psalm 36:1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, [that there is] no fear of God before his eyes.
Psalm 36:2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
Until his iniquity be found to be hateful; that is, until he finds by experience that it is a more dreadful thing to sin against God, and break his holy commands, than he imagined.

Psalm 36:3 The words of his mouth [are] iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, [and] to do good.
Not only sinful, but sin itself. Of corrupt communication, lying, deceit, and flattery.

Psalm 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way [that is] not good; he abhorreth not evil.
He deviseth mischief upon his bed":
Rather, he deviseth iniquity, the same word as in the preceding verse.

In the night, when he should be in innocent slumber, he lies awake, devising wicked schemes against others

Psalm 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, [is] in the heavens; [and] Thy faithfulness [reacheth] unto the clouds.
Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, Thou [art] my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful [things; Thy] counsels of old [are] faithfulness [and] truth.

Psalm 36:7 How excellent [is] Thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.
Psalm 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.

Psalm 36:9 For with Thee [is] the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light.
Revelation 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

THE life of Christ is the light of the world. So when the Psalmist says, 9...in Your light shall we see light,–it is equivalent to saying that in the life of Christ we shall see light. How many people are groping in darkness for light. Professed Christians stumble over hard things in the Bible, because they do not use the light that would make everything plain."

.BooksOfTheBible/Jonathon Edwards/E.J. Waggoner

Creation Moment 3/15/2026 - The Brain and Language Undermine Evolution

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

Psalm 139:14 NLT

"Irreducible complexity (IC) is the observation that living systems require a minimum set of coordinated parts in order to function. When AI was asked whether this principle is valid, it replied: “Yes, all life requires a certain minimum number of parts to function, with the cell being the fundamental unit of life. Below this level of complexity, life cannot exist.”

The fact and reality of irreducible complexity has also been verified experimentally by scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Their scientists assembled a self-replicating synthetic bacterial cell with a stripped-down genome containing a whopping 531,000 base pairs organized into 473 genes. This represented the minimal genetic complement required to sustain a “simple” living cell capable of growth and reproduction in a nutrient-rich laboratory environment.

Specifically, they removed the original genome from an already functioning cell—leaving all components other than the genome itself in place—and replaced it with a synthetic genome, which was built in the lab (with some modification) from Mycoplasma mycoides.

Now Greatly More Irreducible and Functionally Complex
Another example can be added to the many known examples of IC: the human brain. The problem was “For decades, scientists have mapped attention, memory, language, and reasoning to separate brain networks — yet one big mystery remained: why does the mind feel like a single, unified system?”

Another difficulty for evolutionary explanations is the existence of human language. Only humans possess true language, creating a

vast cognitive gap between humans and all other forms of life, including the primates most closely related to us. For more than a century, the prevailing evolutionary assumption was that the brain is essentially a collection of specialized systems. Functions such as attention, perception, memory, reasoning, and language, were believed to be specifically controlled by designated brain areas. As a result, these systems were typically studied in isolation.

A report from the University of Notre Dame presents compelling evidence that the long held belief that “specific function is located in one specific area of the brain” is wrong.
The network architecture of general intelligence in the human connectome (Wilcox et al., Nature Communications, 26 Jan 2026). The report concluded that “intelligence doesn’t live in one ‘smart’ region of the brain at all. Instead, it emerges from how efficiently and flexibly the brain’s many networks communicate and coordinate with each other.”
A summary of this paper was published by ScienceDaily (3 March 2026) under the title, “Intelligence emerges when the whole brain works as one.” It was based on a press release from the University of Notre Dame (28 Jan 2026).

Why Darwinians Need a Theory of Language Evolution
The importance to Darwinians of explaining language was described by W. Tecumseh Fitch in his 2010 book, The Evolution of Language:

"Language, more than anything else, is what makes us human. … no communication system of equivalent power exists elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Any normal human child will learn a language

based on rather sparse data in the surrounding world, while even the brightest chimpanzee, exposed to the same environment, will not. … Since Darwin’s theory of evolution, questions about the origin of language have generated a rapidly-growing scientific literature, stretched across a number of disciplines, … Fitch cuts through this vast literature, bringing together its most important insights to explore one of the biggest unsolved puzzles of human history."

Furthermore, the relationship between language and general intelligence is considered one of the most important and “fundamental and enduring questions in modern science.” 

For decades, scientists believed that language was produced primarily by a single region of the brain, the Broca’s area, located in the posterior inferior frontal gyrus of the brain’s left hemisphere. The new research by Wilcox et al., however, has produced experimental evidence that language does not arise from one isolated area. Rather, it emerges from the coordinated activity of networks distributed throughout the entire brain.

This discovery has the potential to transform our understanding of how the brain functions. Consequently, to claim that the brain and its many functions evolved as a unit, as the Notre Dame research implies, results in the probability that the “biggest unsolved puzzles of human history” is now many times greater than once believed.

If language and intelligence arise from the integrated operation of many interconnected systems—as research reported by the University of Notre Dame supports—then explaining how such a highly coordinated complex system could evolve step by step becomes an even greater challenge to evolution. The problem may, therefore, extend far beyond the origin of language itself, touching on some of the largest unsolved questions about the origin and nature of human cognition.

The Scientific Evidence for This Conclusion
Data from the Human Connectome Project map of the neural pathways in the healthy adult human brain. This map identifies both structural and functional connections using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). This technique includes both resting-state (rfMRI) and task-based (tfMRI) to map the human brain’s functional and structural connectivity to study how different brain regions interact.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging works by detecting changes in blood flow and blood oxygen level which map brain activity. When neurons become active, they consume more oxygen, prompting increased blood flow to that region of the brain. The scanner detects these changes by detecting strong magnetic force fields, allowing researchers to identify patterns of brain activity.
Using this method, scientists can map distinct brain subdivisions and the neural systems involved in functions such as language. The project analyzes data from approximately 1,200 subjects to chart the brain’s “wiring” (white matter tracts) and patterns of activity (functional networks). This map helps researchers better understand brain organization, behavior, and genetics. The results from these fMRI scans are shown in the accompanying picture.

Summary
The result of the University of Notre Dame project is a clearer understanding of how “efficiently and flexibly the brain’s many networks communicate and coordinate with each other.” The fMRI analysis produces clear evidence that language processing and

production do not reside in a single region of the brain. Instead, it involves widely distributed networks across the brain. This finding is a game changer and has major implications, not only for theories about the evolution of language but also for our understanding of brain function as a whole. If language and intelligence arise from the integrated and coordinated activity of many interconnected brain systems, this presents a much greater challenge for evolutionary explanations because it suggests that the brain operates as an integrated, irreducible functional unit. In order for an organism to survive, the brain would need to remain functional throughout the entire evolutionary process." CEH

Meditation Upon the PSALMS Series: Psalm 35

"Psalm 35, as to its form, is an individual lament.
Its context of literal and legal warfare is suggesting a scenario of the

theocratic king being accused, and about to be attacked, by a foreign power with whom he had previously entered into a covenant.
David presents his “case” before the Divine Judge, moving from a complaint about the situation, to prayer about the situation, and finally, when the LORD would justly respond to the situation, praise for His righteous intervention.

So, 3 cycles of exasperation and expectation in Psalm 35 convey the psalmist’s prayers about his opponents to God.
I. First Cycle: The Attacks He Was Experiencing (35:1-10).
II. Second Cycle: The Perjury He Was Experiencing (35:11-18).
A. He Prays that God Would Examine the Evidence (35:11-16);
B. He Prays that God Would Act without Delay (35:17);
C. He Pledges Praise (35:18).
III. Third Cycle: The Mockery He Was Anticipating (35:19-28).
A. He Prays for Judgment concerning Them (35:19-21);
B. He Prays for Justice concerning Himself (35:22-26);
C. He Pledges Praise (35:27-28).

Psalm 35:1 Plead [my cause], O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
“Plead … fight”:
The first bold prayer solicits the legal advocacy of God, while the second asks the Divine Warrior to fight his battles for him.

Psalm 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Psalm 35:5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase [them].
Chaff is the type of whatever is light, vain, futile, and worthless.
Chaff driven before the wind represents the confused rout of a beaten army fleeing without any resistance before an enemy.
"And let the angel of the LORD chase them":
Rather, smite them.

Psalm 35:11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge

[things] that I knew not.
Psalm 35:12 They rewarded me evil for good [to] the spoiling of my soul.
Psalm 35:21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, [and] said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen [it].

Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.
That is, Let me be delivered.
Let my friends see that God is on my side, and that they have occasion to rejoice in his merciful interposition in my behalf." BooksOfTheBible