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Craig L's Blog

Commonplace Holiness

Tag: enemies

  • On Having Enemies – Psalm 57:3

    On Having Enemies – Psalm 57:3

    יִשְׁלַ֤ח מִשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ וְֽיוֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי חֵרֵ֣ף שֹׁאֲפִ֣י סֶ֑לָה יִשְׁלַ֥ח אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים חַסְדּ֥וֹ וַאֲמִתּֽוֹ׃

    “He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah. God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.” (NRSV.)

    Recently I posted some thoughts about the first phrase in Psalm 57:3: “[God] will send from heaven and save me….”

    The next phrase (“he will put to shame those who trample on me”) points up one of my long-standing problems with the Psalms. When I first began to read the Psalms, as a young man, I was put off by the recurrent theme of “enemies.” Praying to God in the midst of confusion and need I could understand. Praying to God in times of distress and suffering I could understand. But, the frequent and recurrent theme of persecution by enemies was something with which I could not connect. Or, maybe I just didn’t want to connect with it.

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  • On Loving Enemies – Luke 6:27-38

    On Loving Enemies – Luke 6:27-38

    This passage is from a section of the Gospel of Luke often called “The Sermon on the Plain.” This begins at Luke 6:17 and extends to the end of the chapter. There are many similarities to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. This passage in Luke, in particular, has several parallels to passages in the Gospel of Matthew and a parallel to the Gospel of Mark.

    Here is what I mean:

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