THRU THE BIBLE
EXPOSITION
Psalms: Living By
Faith In God
CXIX. The Vast
Value Of God’s Word
L. Handling Enemy Ambushes
(Psalm 119:89-96 [Lamed])
Introduction: (To show the need . . .)
One of the most demanding trials a
person can face is an ambush, a challenge we face today:
(1) We face it from Islamist
terrorists: James Carfano, a defense and national security expert, in his
piece, “We are woefully unprepared for Islamist terrorism” (Republican-American,
January 8, 2025, p. 6A) reported, “(T)here is cause to believe we have set
ourselves up for the next Islamist campaign against America . . . First . . .
President Joe Biden’s humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan reignited the
hope” in Islamist terrorists “that America really was the paper tiger that
Osama bin Laden claimed we were . . . Next, open borders are a death sentence”
as an “unprecedented number of individuals on the terrorist watch list have
entered the U. S. under the Biden presidency . . . Third, we have demobilized
our counterterrorism efforts . . . under Biden . . . Finally, Russia, China,
and Iran are not our friends. Every
round of global terrorism has had some measure of state sponsorship or support
. . .”
(2) We face the threat of the ambush
of free speech from progressive elitists: “For generations, and especially in
the past decade, so-called expertise has creeped in as a substitute for the
standard public inquiry and debate that has typically characterized democratic
society. This ‘expertise’ . . . is
primarily used not to inform discussions, but to shut them down” as many “in
power seek out ‘experts’ specifically to provide the veneer of science to
conclusions that have already been reached ideologically.” (“Fact-checking the
‘experts,’” Ibid., January 10, 2025, p. 6A)
(3) We face the threat of financial
ambush from Congress: Selim G. Noujaim, who represented the 74th
District in the state House of Representatives from 2002-2017, wrote in a
letter to the Republican-American (Ibid., January 1, 2025, p. 7A) that he
was told by a wealth-management speaker to convert traditional Individual
Retirement Accounts to Roth IRAs, for if “you pay taxes on a Roth IRA you would
not have to pay taxes years later when you withdraw.” Mr. Noujaim replied that he was then a
politician, and that he didn’t trust politicians, for “Washington politicians”
could “change the law, thus resurrecting taxes and fees.” The speaker replied that even if that
occurred, the politicians would grandfather in his past conversions to Roth
IRAs. Mr. Noujaim replied, repeating the
same statement: “I am a politician and still don’t trust Washington politicians,”
what ended the discussion. (Ibid.)
(4) Many believers have faced ambush
in personal relationships: Proverbs 26:28 NIV says, “A lying tongue hates those
it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin,” that deceptive and manipulative
people tend to gain the trust of unwary victims to set such victims up for their
own gain at the cost of their victims. We
have seen this occur not only to professing Christians, but even by professing Christians to other professing Christians!
Need: So, we
ask, “How does God expect us to handle enemy ambushes?”
I.
The psalmist in Psalm 119:95a identified the
trial of an enemy ambush he faced:
A. The verb “waited” (KJV) translates the Hebrew intensive Piel imperfect verb qawah, meaning “lie in wait for” (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 875), and the verb “destroy” renders the intensive Piel infinitive construct form of the Hebrew verb ‘abad, meaning “cause to destroy, kill” (Ibid., p. 1-2).
B. Accordingly, the psalmist faced enemies who were lying in wait, looking for an opportunity to destroy him. This involved a prolonged trial, and the temptation to become delusionally suspicious or paranoid.
II.
To counter this difficult trial, the psalmist
made himself diligently consider God’s Word, Psalm 119:95b:
A. The verb “consider” (KJV) is the intensive reflexive Hithpael stem of the Hebrew verb bin, meaning consider diligently, show oneself attentive” (Ibid., p. 106-107).
B. Thus, driven by the formidable threat of enemies who were lying in wait to ambush him, the psalmist directed his attention diligently to consider God’s Word that dealt with this threat.
III.
In carefully considering God’s Word, the
psalmist was edified by noting how God’s promises in Scripture outmaneuvered
the efforts by his enemy ambushers (Psalm 119:89-94, 96:
A. The psalmist considered how God’s Word is eternal, that it stands from time immemorial in the past before his enemies existed, and that it will continue to stand after the threat of the ambush has passed, Psalm 119:89a.
B. The psalmist also considered how God’s Word is unaffected by the ambush effort he faced because it stood firmly established in heaven beyond the reach of his foes to affect its promised blessings, Psalm 119:89b.
C. He also considered how God is so sovereign that even his foes served the interests of God in his life, v. 91.
D. The psalmist noted how generations of man would come and go, but that God remained faithful throughout time in keeping His promises on Scripture to each generation and in keeping the earth standing, Psalm 119:90.
E. The psalmist also realized that both he and his foes were limited in their strengths and ways where God’s Word was boundless in contrast to their limitations, Psalm 119:96.
F. He realized that his delight in God’s Word had sustained his trust in it and thus his survival in his trial, v. 92.
G. The psalmist then pledged never to forget God’s Word, for it had caused him to thrive amid his trial, v. 93.
H. The psalmist asked for deliverance from his trial based on his commitment of believing God’s Word, v. 94.
Lesson: When facing evil ambushers who greatly
threatened him, the psalmist diligently considered the contrast between his
immutable, unchanging, eternal, sovereign Lord and His Word’s promises of help versus
both the psalmist’s and his enemies’ weaknesses. In doing so, the psalmist avoided futile,
fearful reliance on himself to trust in God Who was greater than all, realizing
that his battle was truly a battle between his enemies and the Lord.
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who
died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of
eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
(2) In facing strong, evil ambushers in some realm, may we not rely on
ourselves to battle against them, but instead rely on our Almighty, eternal,
righteous God for victory.
Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance
. . .)
We consider Scripture
passages that address the threat of ambushes noted in our introduction (as
follows):
(1) On the threat of a
terrorist attack, though such a threat is sadly becoming common in today’s
world, it is countered (a) by God’s 2 Thessalonians 2:6-17 directives that we
stay faithful in our callings from the Lord in view of the fact that the
Tribulation Period’s terrible time will not be experienced by us Christian believers
in Christ. God wants us to be comforted
and settled in every good word and work for Him, so as we focus on our
assignments from Him, He will provide what protection we need so that we can fulfill
His callings for us. (b) Nevertheless,
God wants us to take precautions in the event that we become aware of specific
terrorist plots against us, for in Acts 14:4-7 at Iconium, upon learning of a
planned ambush against them to mistreat and to kill them, Paul and Barnabas
fled to Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country to continue their
ministry there.
(2) On the threat of an ambush to free speech
by progressives, (a) the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:14-15 ESV directed Christians
who lived in a hostile pagan society in the Early Church era that if they
suffered for righteousness’ sake, they should be happy, and not fear or be
troubled at the threats of pagan foes, but regard the Lord God in their hearts
as holy and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asked them a
reason for the hope in Christ that was in them, giving that answer with
humility and respect. (b) In Colossians
4:5-6, the Apostle Paul added that believers should live wisely before
unbelievers, letting their speech always be gracious and righteous that they
might know how to answer everyone. “Free
speech” may be an American’s right according to the U. S. Constitution, but it is
not the believer’s divine calling – only wise, careful controlled speech before a godless world!
(3) On the possible threat of an ambush by
Congress to make a law that taxes Roth IRAs, (a) Matthew 6:19 calls us not to
lay up treasures on earth where thieves like politicians can break through and
steal, but to lay up treasures in heaven that cannot be stolen! We should not fret over losing treasures in
this life. (b) However, to meet our living
needs in view of the threat of fickle politicians to deplete our needed savings,
Proverbs 6:6-11 calls us to shun laziness to meet our living needs, and like
the ant, use every opportunity to keep earning, keep saving and keep investing
for the future. (c) For example, as “70%
of Americans” struggle “to afford groceries,” and the “average American family”
throws out “roughly $1,500 of food annually,” Michelle Goth (“Hacks to save on
groceries,” Ibid., Republican-American, January 15, 2025, p. B1)
suggests planning meals around ingredients already on hand, buying in bulk,
buying store-brand over name-brand items, cooking at home versus dining out,
cooking in bulk and storing leftovers for later,
less-time-consuming-preparation meals, buying in-season fruits and veggies and
growing a garden.
(4) On the threat of ambush in personal
relationships, 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 states that “carnal” unsaved people, or
even “carnal” believers (1 Corinthians 3:1) who live by their sin natures, do not
receive the truths of God, nor are they able to do so, for such
truths are spiritually “discerned” (anakrino, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of
the N. T., 1967, p. 56). However,
the believer who relies on the Holy Spirit “discerns” (anakrino,
Ibid.)
all things, but he is not “discerned” (anakrino, Ibid.) by anyone
who is carnal, giving him the advantage of discerning carnality in others free
of the awareness of that fact by carnal people!
If we then rely on the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16), we will discern carnality in others and so
be forewarned of their potential ambush tendencies to avoid being ambushed!
May we trust in Christ Who
died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of
eternal life. May we not rely on
ourselves to do battle against strong, evil ambushers, but rely on the Lord.