The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-05-11

verse "they be many that fight against
me- and this Is echoed by every Chris
tian's heart. The world with its in
finite variety of subtle temptations,
adding huge stores of fuel to the pride
of life, appealing in such crafty ways
of the Christians natural self; the
flesh with its never-ending tug and
pull drawing one in multitudinous
ways to its desires and the devil with
his unnumbered wiles and devices
leading into the avenues which appear
so good and even religious, which yet
are the paths toward death. Numer-
GUS indeed are the hosts of enemies.
Malignant too these enemies are offer
ing no quarter, showing no mercy but
as this psalm says they would daily
swallow me up" They are as persist
ent as they are numerous and malig-
nant. There is no respite from their
attacks; they are fighting daily" con-
tinualy. Surely there is need of safety
for the Christian in the midst of these
foes.
The Time of Safety.
Our text says when cry unto thee,
then Shall mine enemies turn back"
In his desire to teach us the Lord
seems to permit us to go on fighting
with Our own strength, struggling with
our weakness, striving to win in the
unequal strife until we come one Of old
to the end OF self and self's power and
cry 70 wretched man that am" But
while he permits this, 1t Is only that he
may fiift as uprin victory and makes
us superior to all the attacks however
bitter and hard pressed they may be.
1t has been well said that "the end
of self is Gods beginning" for when
am weak then am strong" Strong
no longer in the power of my own res
olutions and the force Of my will, but
strengthened with the might of the
God who is omnipotents When the
Christian comes to the end of self,
with his back to the wall and with
realization of his insufficiency, then
he cries to the almighty one and finds
swift deliverance from all his foes.
The Certainty of Safety.
The psalmist has had sufficient ex-
perience to be assured that this is no
mere pious and beautiful thought but
out of the furnace of personal history
comes the glad confidant ringing cry
"this j know" The Christian need
not merely hope for safety with the
uncertainty of human hope, but with
the Divine assurance founded on the
immutability Of the eternal power of
God. IF God be for us who can be
against u.s. is the Apostles word in
Romans 1881. Beyond peradventure,
without the shadow of doubt the Chris
tian may know that when he cries
unto the Lord, then will his enemies
turn back. Not merely because he is
a good man, not because he is spe.
cial favorite with high heaven, not
because he has some special influence
with God but because God has said,
II will never leave thee, I will never
fail thee" Relying therefore on the
UiuHipoASul pUNcf anu Tie uHDIcdh-
able promise of the Almighty God he
can say II know"
The Cause of Safety.
The cause or reason of the believers
safety does not depend on the believ-
er's own strength nor ability, but in
the simple fact that God is for him.
God was for him when Christ died for
him upon the cross. The less is al
ways included in the greater and ''He
that spared not his own son, but de-
livered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him freely give us ali
things?n Rom. 1872.
God was for the believer when
Christ died, he was for the believer
when salvation was bestowed, he was
for him when he was brought into the
family of God and being now one of
the fathers children in Christ, God
will be for him in the time of danger
TO provide safety from all his enemies.
Oh, that the children Of God might
learn to believe 'when I cry unto thee
then will mine enemies turn back,
this I know for God is for me-"