Psa 118:12 | KingComments | STEP | In the time of distress, the remnant is surrounded by “all nations” ( ; ; ). In , the remnant has said that the LORD is for them and is their refuge. Therefore, they can say that “in the name of the LORD” they “will surely cut them off” (cf. ; ). They say this three times in . In , they once again pronounce that the nations had surrounded them. They even say it twice, preceding the second time by an empowering “yes”. Being surrounded by their enemies felt to them like a suffocating stranglehold. But they freed themselves from it by invoking “the name of the LORD”, the God Who is for them by virtue of the covenant with them. The nations had “surrounded” them “like bees” ( ; cf. ; ). A cloud of bees coming at people causes them to flee in panic. In the case of the remnant, the danger of the bees is “extinguished as a fire of thorns”. The remnant has taken refuge “in the name of the LORD”. The fire of His judgment has burned the nations like a fire of thorns, that is, very quickly, as quickly as thorns burn (cf. ). As a result, the danger of the nations disappeared. We are also surrounded by nations, by people who do not know God and do not want to know God. They want to impose their will on us and that we submit to them. We see this in anti-godly legislation. Only the Name of the Lord Jesus, fellowship with Him, can deliver us from the stranglehold by which we are otherwise stifled in our witnessing for Him. To avoid being strangled, we must put on the armor that God has made available to us ( ). Thereby we must remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. The psalmist says: “You pushed me violently so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me” ( ). This is about the Assyrian, the discipling rod of God, who did everything possible to wipe out the faithful remnant. He failed, because the remnant fought in the name of the LORD. They give credit to the LORD for the victory when they say, “The LORD is my strength and my song” ( ). This is what Moses sang after the people were delivered from the pursuing Egyptians who perished in the Red Sea ( ). Here the final deliverance of the people in the end time from the great tribulation is connected to the first deliverance of the people, the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. We also see this connection between the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb ( ).

‏ Psalms 118:12

The Enemies Cut Off

In the time of distress, the remnant is surrounded by “all nations” (Psa 118:10; Psa 83:3-8; Zec 12:2-3 ; Zec 14:2). In Psa 118:5-9, the remnant has said that the LORD is for them and is their refuge. Therefore, they can say that “in the name of the LORD” they “will surely cut them off” (cf. 1Sam 17:45; Mic 5:4-5). They say this three times in Psa 118:10-12.

In Psa 118:11, they once again pronounce that the nations had surrounded them. They even say it twice, preceding the second time by an empowering “yes”. Being surrounded by their enemies felt to them like a suffocating stranglehold. But they freed themselves from it by invoking “the name of the LORD”, the God Who is for them by virtue of the covenant with them.

The nations had “surrounded” them “like bees” (Psa 118:12; cf. Deu 1:44; Isa 7:18). A cloud of bees coming at people causes them to flee in panic. In the case of the remnant, the danger of the bees is “extinguished as a fire of thorns”. The remnant has taken refuge “in the name of the LORD”. The fire of His judgment has burned the nations like a fire of thorns, that is, very quickly, as quickly as thorns burn (cf. Isa 33:12). As a result, the danger of the nations disappeared.

We are also surrounded by nations, by people who do not know God and do not want to know God. They want to impose their will on us and that we submit to them. We see this in anti-godly legislation. Only the Name of the Lord Jesus, fellowship with Him, can deliver us from the stranglehold by which we are otherwise stifled in our witnessing for Him. To avoid being strangled, we must put on the armor that God has made available to us (Eph 6:10-18). Thereby we must remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

The psalmist says: “You pushed me violently so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me” (Psa 118:13). This is about the Assyrian, the discipling rod of God, who did everything possible to wipe out the faithful remnant. He failed, because the remnant fought in the name of the LORD.

They give credit to the LORD for the victory when they say, “The LORD is my strength and my song” (Psa 118:14). This is what Moses sang after the people were delivered from the pursuing Egyptians who perished in the Red Sea (Exo 15:2). Here the final deliverance of the people in the end time from the great tribulation is connected to the first deliverance of the people, the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. We also see this connection between the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (Rev 15:3).