“For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, for behold, Your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; You have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Psalm 92:9-12
Devotional Thought For The Day
Have you ever heard the expression: “your enemies are my enemies”? This is what “alliance” is all about, the nature of having friends and allies. There is safety and security in numbers and mutual support. Now, perhaps we have second thoughts about these arrangements when an ally is attacked and we are called upon to support him in the fray, but surely we understand the goodness of having this kind of support when others rally to us in the face of “evil assailants.” This is much of what the life of the church is all about – people gathering together under the gracious forgiveness and mercy of God, supporting one another, praying for one another, encouraging one another, and assuring one another of God’s great and never-ending love for us in Christ Jesus. This we are willing to do in the face of Satan’s attacks on us personally [the name means “accuser”] and also the attacks he delivers against our fellow children of God. And in view of the many around us who would erode away our horn [seek to destroy our strength and protection] and wound us, it is always good to have brotherly allies.
It is even better for children of God. The psalmist first refers to his “evil assailants” as enemies of God. Later he refers to them as “my enemies.” For children of God, our enemies are God’s enemies – all “evildoers.” What is referred to is not simply “sinners.” If this were the case then we would all be enemies of God – and I suppose that there is some truth in this, as all sin opposes God’s will and blasphemes His Name. However, there is a distinction among the “all” who are sinners; children of God, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of their sin and rejoice in God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy. Such repentance and faith reorients them to the good and gracious will of God. As such they become “allies” of God and “allies” of all of God’s people, supporting one another in God’s love and against all evil assaults. Evil doers, on the other hand, do not repent of the evil they are committed to, do not live in the gracious forgiveness and mercy of God, and hence are not “allies” of God’s people but rather “evil assailants” of those who are children of God. This is quite disconcerting and disorienting – but we have the comfort of knowing that those who attack and assail us, our enemies, are also enemies of God.
As children of God we will also have the satisfaction of seeing our Ally deal with our enemies. The psalmist “saw” the downfall of his enemy, and heard of his doom, how God’s enemies perish and are scattered. Likewise, our Ally restores our strength and heals all our wounds: “But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; You have poured over me fresh oil.” The wounds are real and painful, but so also is the restoration of healing and strength. It may be sad that our enemies refuse to gather with us under the cross of Christ, in the gracious mercy of God, and instead are “scattered” from us – but as the apostle wrote: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” [1 John 2:19] On the other hand, despite evil assailants and all manner of trouble from our enemies, “the righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” The “righteous” are not those who have their own righteousness, those who presume themselves to be holy, but rather humble and repentant believers who have been justified in Christ and who have His righteousness as their own. They love the children of God and extend the same gracious mercy to them. God will not allow the “saw” to cut us down as we rest ourselves in His gracious mercy and love, trusting in His salvation.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, many times You have comforted and assured us of Your gracious forgiveness and mercy, and protected us from those who assail us. Grant us continued healing and strength in Your love and protection. Help us also to stand with all of our fellow believers, Your dear children of faith, who are being plagued and afflicted by evil assailants. May your church be a haven and refuge for all who humbly repent and rejoice in Your salvation – as together we look for Your deliverance and judgment on our enemies. Amen.