Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Throughout the book of Judges
we read of time after time that the nation of Israel left off
from waiting upon the Lord to turn aside to the worship of
the gods of their own imagination. There are numerous gods mentioned
in the scriptures which men have worshipped and brought gifts
of devotion to. Yet none of these gods actually have any place
of existence nor any existential power. We read of the prophets
of Baal crying, shouting, and cutting themselves in a vain
attempt to get him, that is Baal, to answer with fire. David aptly
describes these imaginary gods in Psalm 115. Their idols are
silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths,
but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but
they smell not. They have hands, but they handle
not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they
through their throat. They that make them are likened
to them. So is everyone that trusteth in them. The scripture
says that the Lord will have men in derision, and will laugh
at them for such foolishness. He that sitteth in the heaven
shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall
he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them, thou shalt have all
the heathen in derision. But ye have said it not, all
my counsel, and would none of mine reproof. I also will laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh
as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress
and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me,
but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of the Lord. When men do not fear
the Lord, that is a state in which all men dwell by nature,
there is no fear of God before their eyes, they will go about
to establish their own righteousness and will rejoice in their own
power and might. We see that the Lord raised up
Pharaoh and made him to be a mighty man in the earth in order to
manifest his own righteous judgment and power and to demonstrate
that his mercy is sovereignly dispensed. So then it is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. In much the same fashion as the
Lord raised up Pharaoh, we see him give Sisera a place of great
power and might among the nations of the earth. No doubt Sisera
was quite impressed with himself, being the captain of the Canaanite
king Jabin's army, and going to war with nine hundred chariots
of iron. He commanded quite a formidable
force for the time and oppressed Israel for over 20 years. Yet
in his own time, the Lord laid Sisera low and demonstrated quite
clearly that the might and power of men, regardless of how formidable
it may be, is as nothing before him. To such mighty men of war
there could be no lower state than to die at the hand of a
woman. We see this illustrated in the death of Abimelech. And
a certain woman cast a piece of millstone upon Abimelech's
head, and all to break his skull. Then he hastily called unto the
young man, his armor-bearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword
and slay me, that men may not say of me a woman slew him. And
his young man thrust him through, and he died. Thus the Lord added
insult to injury and showed his utter disdain for the strength
of men as he ordained Sisera to be slain by Jael, the wife
of Heber the Canaanite. She lured him to his death and
drove a tent stake through his temple as he slept and then cut
off his head. The scripture says the Lord discomfited
Sisera. This is a word which is hardly
if ever used in modern language and means put into chaos. This
is exactly what happened as every one of Cicero's men were slain
by Barak's army. In the heat of this battle, Cicero,
the mighty, abandoned his chariot of iron and fled like a dog running
away from the fight. If you had been able to ask Cicero
about his power and might at that time, he would no doubt
have confessed his own weakness. I am reminded of another great
man of power who went into battle with a great religious zeal,
breathing out threatenings and slaughter to the household of
God. Yet he too abandoned his chariot of iron and fell upon
his face before the Lord on the road to Damascus as the Lord
discomfited Saul of Tarsus and brought him to repentance in
a moment. Such is the mercy of God to those he loves. Those
for whom Christ has shed his precious blood shall all in his
time be brought down to his feet confessing their sins and calling
upon his name. He is the Savior of sinners and
will lose none of those for whom He has obtained eternal redemption.
Have you been discomfited by the Lord?