Thursday, October 11, 2012

O God ... Thine Enemies # 8

(9) The inhabitants of Tyre: We explained the city of Trye in detail when we discussed Gebal (enemy # 5); an we found that the city of Tyre represents one of the most wicked and most effective forces that the enemy uses against the people of God: - the coveting of wealth, riches, prosperity, world-power, and influence - and these always produce pride, natural wisdom and ability, and self-deification; in other words, self is preeminent in all things. Also, the ruler in this evil realm, the actual king of Tyre who is behind the "prince of Tyre", is satan himself.

However, we want to note the way in which the Holy Spirit words his statement about the inhabitants of Tyre: "The Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre ..." (Psalm 83:7). The word "with" means  "in conjunction with"; it means "conjoined with." Therefore, the Holy Spirit warns us that the Philistines are conjoined with the inhabitants of Tyre in purpose and in action against God and His people. In other words, the Philistines, which represent the full strength of the natural man, are conjoined in purpose and in action with the inhabitants of Tyre, who represent the coveting of wealth, riches, prosperity, world-power, and influence.

These two unholy evils, the full strength of the natural man and the coveting of wealth, riches, prosperity, world-power, and influence, which are sourced out of the very nature of satan himself, are joined together in purpose and in action in order to erase "the remembrance" of God's people. In Psalm 83:4 the word "remembrance" denotes the eternal results brought forth by God in Christ through His people. Hence, these two unholy evils are conjoined together to wipe out anything that has eternal results in God's purpose; and God's purpose is that Christ be ALL, and in all. Brethren, it is evident that today, now in our time, these two unholy evils have gained a great stronghold among God's people! Our only answer is the Cross and Its principle of self-denial!

O God ... for, lo, Thine enemies make a tumult: - They are confederate against Thee" (Psalm 83)

(10) Assur )Assyria)" And so we come to the last one, number 10, on this list of God's enemies, which is "Assyria." Throughout the Word of God, Assyria has come to mean that which satan brings forth to oppose Christ, and it has come to mean that which satan brings forth to unsurp Christ's place in the hearts of God's people. So Assyria represents the culmination, throughout the ages, of that which is antichrist, of that which is against Christ.

Psalm 83:8 says that Assyria has joined with them (all the other nine) and has helped, has been an arm (strength and power), to the children of Lot. We believe this means that Assyria, the antichrist spirit and what it represents in the Word of God, has united with the other nine enemies. As it is used here, the meaning of the word "join" is "to intertwine," and it implies the twisting and intertwining of the many different strands of a rope in order to make one large stout rope, a rope which is very difficult to break. This is why at the end of an age the spiritual warfare is so "exceeding fierce"; the forces of the enemies of God have joined together in one heart and one mind in their attempt to destroy that which is of Christ.

So we arrive at the end of this infamous list of ten, ten enemies of God, ten enemies who are determined to wipe out the remembrance of God's people and destroy the eternal results of God's purpose in Christ - but this is not the end. This is not God's end, for in Psalm 83 at the end of this evil list of ten, the Holy Spirit has placed His "Selah." And the Holy Spirit is saying, "Now pause, take some time and think of this, meditate and consider what God means by this." And because "Selah" is a word that connects what has been said with what follows, the Holy Spirit is also saying: "Do not stop here, for God wants you to remember how He destroyed His enemies in the past, and to remember that He is bringing the same destruction upon this confederation of the enemy forces. So as the psalmist continued to pray in the Spirit, he is reminded by the Spirit, how God destroyed His enemies in the past. Thus, the psalmist by the power of the Spirit begins to pray a sevenfold destruction upon the enemies of God.

Oh God ...
Do unto them as unto the (1.)Midianites
[God used only Gideon and his three hundred - Judges 7]
(Do unto them as to (2.) Siera
[God used only one woman, Jael - Judges 4:21]
(Do unto them as to (3.) Jabin
[God subdued Jabin and avenged Israel when the people
willingly offered themselves - Judges 4: 5]
Make their nobles like (4.) Oreb
and like (5.) Zeeb
[and the three hundred ... cried, "The sword of
the Lord, and of Gideon," and they stood every
man in his place ... and all the (evil) host ran
... The sword of the Lord - which was the 
sword of Gideon and his men as they stood upon
God's Word, slew Oreb and Zeeb - Judges 7]
And (make) all their princes as (6.) Zebah
and as (7.) Zalmunna
[Gideon pursued Zebah and Zalmunna, the two 
kings of Midian ... and he took them ... and he
slew them ... The sword of the Lord, which was
the sword of Gideon and his men, defeated the
kings of Midian.]
Oh My God,
[cries the psalmist]
Make them (Thine enemies) like a wheel;
as the stubble before the wind ...
that they may know that Thou alone,
Whose name is the Lord,
art the most High over all the earth.

What a mighty prayer! What a battle cry! The psalmist entered the Battle of the ages when he prayed this prayer, and the enemies of God could not stop his prayer, for his prayer was a prayer of the Spirit; his prayer had eternal results because the children of God are still benefiting from this mighty Psalm. If we are to overcome "him" (that old serpent, called the devil and satan), we too must pray such prayers, prayers that produce eternal results in God's purpose.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 9)

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