Have you overcome the World?

Psalms 5:7-12

“But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence, I bow down toward your holy temple.  Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—make your way straight before me.  Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues, they tell lies.  Declare them guilty, O God!  Let their intrigues be their downfall.  Banish them for their many sins for they have rebelled against you.  But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”

I know your first thought is that the Psalmist is writing about lawyers or the Congress of the United States of America, you would be wrong.  Yes, they had lawyers very religious ones, but I believe the king is referring to his enemies that want to destroy the nations of Israel and some of the turncoats in his military that refuse to trust in God to be a shield of protection and victory.  Do you recall what the apostle John said in 1John 5:4, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”  Now if you stop reading you have missed the point, it was not faith in the King, or the military, no it was in Jesus Christ, as the only Son of God.  It was the object of their faith, both then and now.

It has been more than two thousand years, and the enemies of Israel still want to destroy them.   And until the end, the last battle after Jesus has established his throne on the earth and a thousand year reign, the one Jesus calls the thief, the devil, or Satan is released, then the final battle and Judgment.  You will find that in Revelation 20:1-3, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while.”

If you like the end of the story, keep reading in Revelation 20-22, and yes it is faith in Jesus Christ that overcomes this sinful world.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice