Psalms
17:13-14 KJV
Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from
the wicked, which is thy sword:
From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which
have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid
treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to
their babes.
Some have suggested that the
rendering here doesn't work, that to imply that the enemy is God's sword
doesn't jive with the context. There are, however, other pieces of Scripture
that support the doctrine that the oppression of our enemies is in fact a work
of God[1],
not against us but a means of chastening and correcting us.
So I will not question the
text. What I am interested in is that David prays to be delivered from these
enemies even knowing they are from God.
Who better to withdraw the enemy than the one who sent them?
What confidence David must have
had in asking the Lord to remove his own sword. There is no need to ask the
Lord to be a middle man, no heart that has to be softened before God can have
His way. David dealt directly with the source.
What a blessing to realize that our enemies are in fact the sword of
God.
- There is mercy in that sword
- There is precision in that sword
- There is meaning in that sword
- I am glad to consider that He will
use His sword on my behalf
- I am glad to think that I am able
to ask Him to withdraw His sword in mercy
[1] Isaiah 10:5-7 KJV
O
Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine
indignation.
I
will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my
wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to
tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Howbeit he
meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to
destroy and cut off nations not a few.
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