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If only...




If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies. (Psalm 139:19-22)
     From yesterday's crescendo, it seems to me this section begins with a sigh. If only these terrible people didn't exist. If only they would leave me and mine alone. If only those who oppose God would just die. If only things could be the way they should be, whatever that may mean to you.  If only a knight in shining armor would come along and make everything right. If only we could be the knight who goes out against the dragon, Wrong.  If only everything worked the way it should. We sigh with David.

       These adversaries weren't just people who hated David or wanted his kingdom. They were people who spoke of God with an evil intent. They misused God's name. They hated God. They rose up against God. David does not ask God to consider David's enemies God's enemies.  These are the people David considered his enemies: people who were enemies of God. Some of these enemies might have been like Goliath, who effectively spat in God's face. They could also have been like Eli's two sons, who served as priests and used the positions to their own advantage. They could have been people who spoke of God in order to manipulate - wolves in sheep's clothing who brought death into the land in God's name.

      Those people still exist. Four particular groups come to mind. The first is those who say that it doesn't matter what you believe. All that matters is your behavior. This one goes around as a meme on a regular basis. The second is those who say it doesn't matter how you behave. All that matters is what you believe. They are the reason the meme about behavior goes around on a regular basis. The third is those who say that you don't need the Church to be a Christian. The fourth is that group that uses Christianity and/or God for their own profit; who use Christianity or God as a means to an end. These are greater enemies than the "Goliaths" out there, the Daesh and other terror organizations  around the world because they attack from within and often without our even realizing it.

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