THE INFINITE AND THE FINITE
THOU GREAT I AM, Fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being
with whom one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,
A mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of worlds, and the revolutions of empires, feels no variableness, but is glorious in immortality.
May I rejoice that, while men die, the Lord lives; that, while all creatures are broken reeds, empty cisterns, fading flowers, withering grass, he is the Rock of Ages, the Fountain of living waters.
Turn my heart from vanity, from dissatisfactions, from uncertainties of the present state, to an eternal interest in Christ.
Let me remember that life is short and unforeseen, and is only an opportunity for usefulness;
Give me a holy avarice to redeem the time, to awake at every call to charity and piety, so that I may feed the hungry, clothe the naked, instruct the ignorant, reclaim the vicious, forgive the offender, diffuse the gospel, show neighbourly love to all.
Let me live a life of self-distrust, dependence on thyself, mortification, crucifixion, prayer.
Edited by Arthur Bennett. The Valley of Vision (Kindle Locations 2100-2119). The Banner of Truth Trust.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God. Exodus 20: 4– 5
I read these lines this morning in Joe Thorn's Little book, Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God. I was encouraged and hope you are too.
Jealousy is a word that evokes pictures of a controlling, oppressive husband who doesn’t trust his spouse and denies her freedom. But the jealousy of God for his people doesn’t stem from a lack of trust in his people . It comes from his desire to have an intimate and exclusive relationship with them. He calls them to maintain the fellowship they have with him above everything else. To say that God is jealous for you is to say that he loves you, desires you, and does not want to share you with other gods. His jealousy protects you from the false gods of the world that seek to use and exploit you. His jealousy is your good. Yes, his jealous love for you calls you to faithfulness. Does this limit your freedom? In some ways, of course it does. But why would you want to be free to dishonor the Lord? Where is the joy in finding temporal pleasure in idols that do not love you, cannot care for you, and will always hurt you? Here is what is beautiful in God’s jealousy: His love for you is fervent. His fidelity to you is unbreakable. And by his jealous love he swears to defend you and keep you. The jealousy of God for you should lift your countenance, not cast it down. You should feel safe, treasured, and compelled by his love to stay close to him. And though you fail him, he will not fail you. His love, unlike your own, is immovable.
(Kindle Locations 428-440).

A Commentary on Exodus (Kregal Exegetical Library)
Duane A. Garrett
This commentary by Duane Garrett is theologically conservative and is another excellent additional to Kregal’s lineup. Besides it’s high view of scripture, there are several other aspects about this commentary I greatly appreciated.

• The Theological Summary of Key Points at the end of each passage section.
• The way he broke down the structure of each section along with his translation. For me, getting the big picture before diving into the details of the text is very important. This commentary accomplishes this very well.
• The 145 page introductory background information was very helpful and detailed.
• As other reviewers have pointed out, he helpful directs readers to the poetic sections of the book and explains them very clearly.

I had just a few minor quibbles with the commentary. I felt he tried to look for natural causes surrounding the ten plagues rather than seek to attribute them miraculous workings of an omnipotent God (even though the section is titled The Twelve Miracles of the Exodus).
I would have also like to see him deal with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, but could not find it discussed at any length in the book.
A commentary’s layout is also very important to me and book is laid out very well. His outline of each chapter, the room in the margin for notes, and the use of footnotes (as opposed to endnotes) are small considerations that are important to me as I read along.
This is a fantastic commentary on Exodus. Scholarly but very readable. Detailed but not daunting.
Note: This book was provided free to me in exchange for an unbiased review.