Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2022 23:28:39 GMT -5
'Do not keep Your silence, O God; do not hold Your peace or be still, O God. For, look, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have lifted up their heads. They have given crafty counsel against Your people, and have consulted against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more remembered.” For they have conspired together; they make a covenant against You— the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, even Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also is joined with them, they are the strength of the descendants of Lot. Selah Do to them as You did to the Midianites, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon, who perished at Endor; they became as dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; yes, all their princes as Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God as a possession.” O my God, make them like a tumbleweed, as stubble before the wind. As fire burns a forest, and as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with Your storm, and make them afraid with Your hurricane. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord . Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord , are the Most High over all the earth.' Psalms 83:1-18
When I first read this Psalm today, I thought of a few things. First, I thought of the enemies of God becoming as "dung" 
. You know...the Ukrainians are saying the same about the dead Russian soldiers who are becoming as "fertilizer" on the Ukrainian land. It's a sad truth. I don't mean to disrespect the dead there but if David is praying for God to punish his (Israel's enemies) then I think it's right to pray the same. And I do. I hope God punishes all of God's enemies in the sense of invaders trying to take over a nation (i.e. Putin's "special military operation" to de-nazify and de-militarize Ukraine). Ok, enough of that.
. You know...the Ukrainians are saying the same about the dead Russian soldiers who are becoming as "fertilizer" on the Ukrainian land. It's a sad truth. I don't mean to disrespect the dead there but if David is praying for God to punish his (Israel's enemies) then I think it's right to pray the same. And I do. I hope God punishes all of God's enemies in the sense of invaders trying to take over a nation (i.e. Putin's "special military operation" to de-nazify and de-militarize Ukraine). Ok, enough of that. Today, I saw someone make a comment that "religion is about control" and to me, I knew that they had been taught wrong about everything about God the way of Jesus and the Bible. This fulfills
Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have lifted up their heads. They have given crafty counsel against Your people, and have consulted against Your treasured ones
On a good note, the part that the scriptures say "Your treasured ones" really hits home for me. Now, I have always doubted my salvation due to my sinful past, and frequent adulteries (lusting after a women in my heart)...so when I hear that God is able to forgive, love, accept (like the Prodigal Son and also Prodigal daughters), and call me "treasured one"......
now, there is something interesting here. Look at this scripture.
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name,
Look, he is praying that they would be filled with shame (the good kind, the good shame, godly sorry, i.e. repentance), why? that they may seek your name... Bam!!! Is all shame bad? No. But the world wants to call it so, but doesn't know how to correctly classify it from the shame that God wants (think the prodigal how he was in the dumps with pigs) and compare that to the evil/false/lying shame (i.e. worldly sorrow and worldly shame) which only is from Satan with intrusive thoughts, of condemnation, of worthlessness, and give-up mentality, and suicide....
there is a difference. May we, with the help of God, know which thoughts are from God and help us identify the thoughts from the evil one, and world and self (sinful flesh self)
