"Noli Me Tangere" ("Touch Me Not")
(No. 2561)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, MARCH 20, 1898.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
FEBRUARY 4, 1888.
"Jesus said unto her, Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My
Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My
Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God." John 20:17.
I COMMENCE my discourse by remarking that it was very amazing that our
Lord Jesus Christ, after His Resurrection, should give so early and so
clear a manifestation of Himself to Mary Magdalene. Out of her He had
cast seven devils. I suppose it was literally so and that there had
been in her a great deal of spiritual as well as moral defilement. It
may not really be so, but it certainly was the current notion of the
early Church that Mary Magdalene was not only a great sufferer who had
been relieved, but a great sinner who had been purified. Yet she is the
first to hear a word from the risen Christ and to behold Him face to
face! I may be addressing some great sinner at this moment. Dear
Friend, the greatness of your sin may not prevent you from yet
occupying a first place among the saints! If you seem to be sorely
beset by Satan, as though seven devils were in you, there is no reason
why you should not be filled with the seven spirits of God and become
even a leader in the Church of Christ! There are first that shall be
last, but there are also last that shall be first. Such a case as that
of Mary Magdalene should give great encouragement to those of you who
seem to be far away from Christ–if He calls you to humble penitence
and childlike confidence in Himself, you may yet be one of the nearest
and dearest of His disciples–and His manifestation of Himself to you
may be even clearer and sweeter than to some of the more publicly known
among His people.
The special thing to be noted about Mary Magdalene is that she had gone
to the grave to find Christ. She had made a mistake about the condition
in which she would find Him, but she had made no mistake about this
point, that she must somehow find Him–and when the other disciples,
having repaired to the sepulcher and not seen Him, had gone their
way–she still remained. There she stands, to weep if she cannot find
her Lord, for she feels that nothing else will content her. She must
wait at the sepulcher until she finds Him. And, my dear Friends, if
there is anyone here who will find Christ, it is the one who mustfind
Him! When you are at such an extremity that you say, "Give me Christ,
or else I die," you shall have Christ! And when, as a child of God,
your heart and your flesh cry out for Him. When you have a hungering
and a thirsting after Him that cannot be stopped, then He will manifest
Himself to you as He does not to the world. It will be a happy thing
for you, if, having come into this place seeking the Lord, you should,
all of a sudden, discover Him to be here and would even hear Him speak
your name as he said, "Mary," and she responded at once, "Rabboni, my
dear Master." Oh, that your eyes might be opened, my Brother, if they
are shut! My Sister, may you have given to you the spiritual perception
which will discern the Presence of the spiritual Christ who is in the
midst of His people even now! May you, on the seat where you are
sitting, feel as you have not felt of late–ravished, carried away into
a holy ecstasy with this thought, "My Lord has come to me! He has
spoken to me! He has revealed Himself to me! I perceive Him and I
rejoice in Him!"
Well then, if you are in that happy state, my text is addressed to you,
for no Scripture is of any private interpretation. If true to Mary
Magdalene, it is also true to all who are in the same condition as Mary
Magdalene was. Right down these 18 or 19 centuries, the voice of Christ
comes sounding to persons who are like her to whom that message was
first uttered! He who said to Mary, "Touch Me not, but go to My
brethren," says the same thing to every Mary and every John who has
suddenly discovered Him to be present with them! As far as the language
of Christ on that occasion is capable of adaptation to anyone's case,
so far does the Spirit of God speak it to that person now.
I. The first thing that I see in my text deserving of notice is THE
CAUTION. There stands the Lord Jesus Christ and Mary perceives that it
is the Lord. And the first impulse of her being is to grasp Him and
hold Him lest He should vanish. Yet the Master keeps her from too near
an approach, saying, "Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended." What
does this caution teach us?
Well, first, it teaches that we may make mistakes even when we are
nearest to our Lord and enjoying the most rapturous fellowship with
Him. There are things which we may try to do which we are not allowed
to do. O Brothers and Sisters, where will not sin follow us? If we lay
our hands upon the horns of the altar, sin will follow us even there!
We cannot shut our door so fast as to shut out Satan–neither can we be
so engrossed in prayer as to be sinless even then. Our very prayers
need to be prayed over! Our tears need to be wept over! Our repentance
has something in it that needs to be repented of! Our faith is mixed
with unbelief and our spiritual life, itself, often has much of death
about it. Sin penetrates our holy things and however near we may get to
Christ, we may still make blunders and mistakes–and the Master may
have to say to us, as He said to Mary, "Touch Me not."
The kind of mistake into which we may fall is indicated by the text,
for we are very apt to carnalize spiritual things. When our Lord gave
to His disciples the ordinance of bread and wine to be an emblem of His
body and His blood, very soon even good men began to talk as if there
were some kind of witchcraft or black magic about it, so that the bread
did actually become His flesh and the cup did literally become His
blood. That was carnalizing a great spiritual Truth of God. The most of
us are so unspiritual–we are so affected by our senses–that we soon
bring down pure spiritual Truth into the groveling regions of flesh and
sense. It is very possible for you to do this even when you are in
communion with Christ. You may get to think of Christ according to some
picture you have seen–you may even have before your mind's eye some
image of Him, though you would abhor with all your heart all image
worship and picture worship! Yet it is easily done by the mind and so
you may be carnalizing–making into flesh, as it were–materializing
what should be pure spiritual worship!
It is easy to make your love of Christ to be no longer spiritual, but
sensuous, until even your enjoyment of Christ's Presence may come to be
no true devotion at all. I have no doubt that many a man feels very
pious in the dim religious light of some old cathedral when the organ
peals forth and tender tones are heard–when the choir, or, if you
will, the whole body of the people sing, there is a feeling all over
the audience which is mistaken for true religion–yet it is often
precisely the same feeling which is produced by an orchestra and by
good music anywhere! It would be produced if the song was in Italian
and if not a word of it was understood! And to imagine that this is
true worship is a mistake, indeed! It is simply that the ear is
pleased, the taste is gratified–there is a mysterious influence in the
solemn aisle and vaulted roof–but that is all. Never make that
blunder, dear Friends, for if you do, the Savior will have to say to
you, "Do not give Me material things in the place of spiritual
communion." It is not to be a matter of the body of Christ grasped by
the hands–soul must commune with soul and spirit with spirit, and our
fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ must be
through the Holy Spirit–and not after any carnal method.
We may blunder, again, when we are very near to Christ, by seeking
after that which we really do not need. Was it wrong for Mary to try to
touch the Lord? Certainly not, for He permitted Thomas to put his
finger into the print of the nails and to thrust his hand into His
side. He also said to all His disciples, "Handle Me, and see, for a
spirit has not flesh and bones as you see I have." It would have been
wrong if Thomas and the other Apostles had not touched the Master, yet
the Lord refused that touch to Mary. She did not need it–she knew that
He was the Christ and that He was risen from the dead! Thomas doubted
it and the other disciples had some lingering questions, hence they
were allowed to have certain signs which Mary did not need and which
the Savior did not let her have.
I have known some very feeble-minded Christians who have been cheered
by a dream. It seems to me the most absurd thing in the world is to be
encouraged by a dream, yet it encouraged them. Why have not I had such
a dream? Because I do not need it and it would be of no use to me. I
believe there are some minds so feeble that they would scarcely get any
faith at all if there were not some touch of the supernatural about
them. And the Lord may permit it to them, but do not you ordinary
Christians begin to crave anything of that kind, for you do not need it
and you will not have it! You should rise to the far loftier dignity of
those of whom Christ said, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and
yet have believed." Cast yourself on Christ! Spiritually believe in Him
and so realize Him–do not ask for what you really do not need–for
these signs and tokens are not meant for you.
Once more, in our Lord's Presence, we may sometimes make a mistake by
asking to have, now, what it will be better for us to have, by-and-by.
See how Jesus puts it to Mary, "Touch Me not"–that is, not now–"for I
am not yet ascended." There will be opportunity for all that in good
time. Did you go up into your little room, the other night, and pray,
"Lord, if I am, indeed, Your child, give me now such raptures as I have
heard your servant Rutherford had"? Yet you have not had them. Well, do
not worry about that–you are not yet fit for them. "Touch Me not,"
says Christ. "Ask not this of Me just yet–another day this experience
will be more appropriate, less dangerous and more useful." Do you not
see that you may make a mistake, even when you are with your Master, by
asking what is not good for you, or at least what is not good for you
just then?
I think also that the Lord said to Mary, "Touch Me not," because He
meant to add, "but go to My brethren." This teaches us that it is very
easy for spiritually-minded people to get to be selfish in their
enjoyments. I have known some who spent a great part of their lives in
a meditative, contemplative enjoyment of Christ. And God forbid that we
should altogether blame them! But there is a more excellent way–it is
sometimes better to go and tell our Brethren good news from Christ than
it is for us to have fellowship with Him. I have often known what it is
to be enjoying my Master's Presence when the time has come for
preaching–and I have been inclined to wish that I might stay with
Him–but it is wrong to think so. There is an old Romish story which
has a good lesson in it. A monk was in his cell and he thought he saw a
vision of Christ, but just as he was looking with rapture upon his
Lord, the bell rang and he knew that it was his turn to take his place
at the monastery gate to feed the poor that were standing there. As he
left his cell, he heaved a deep sigh, and said, "Ah, me, that I should
have this work to do and lose the company of my Lord!" He took his turn
of an hour or two at waiting on the poor and when he went back to his
cell, with a heavy heart, thinking that he should never see that
blissful sight again, there was his Master waiting for him and a voice
said to him, "If you had stayed, I would have gone. But as you went, I
have stayed to manifest Myself to you."
Take the meaning out of that legend and you will learn that if you shut
yourself up in your room rather than go down to the Sunday school, you
will make a great mistake. I am persuaded that there are some good
Christian people who have two spiritual meals every Sabbath–and do not
get very fat, even then–who would be much stronger in soul if, after
they have had their one meal, they went out among the poor and needy,
seeking the lost ones for Christ and telling them of His love. If this
hint shall reach some living, loving heart and make it a little wiser
in its course of action, it will bring great glory to God.
II. I have taken up so much time with the caution, that I must be very
brief upon the second head which is THE MISSION–"Go to My brethren."
Mary Magdalene, instead of remaining in solitary communion with Christ,
was sent upon a mission and that was for two reasons.
First, it was better for herself. Hear this, dear Friends, it is better
for you to do good to others than to have all the enjoyment of Christ
to yourself–better for you to be turned out into the cold to go and
comfort the distressed, than for you to stay in the warmth of your
Master's Countenance and notdo good to others!
Secondly, it was better for the disciples. However bright and happy
Mary might be with Christ, that would not help Peter and James and John
and the other disciples. They were all sorrowing, for they were all
doubting. They thought their Master dead. They did not yet understand
the saying that He had risen from the grave. Surely Mary must not be
selfish–she has seen the Lord, so she must remember that others have
not seen Him–and she is therefore bid to go and deliver to them a
message from Christ.
It is very interesting to notice that Mary did not stay a minute after
the Master said to her, "Go." As soon as the Lord commissioned her,
away she went! The next verse says, "Mary Magdalene went"–with swift
feet she hastened to the place where the disciples were–"Mary
Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and
that He had spoken these things to her." Come, my Brothers, come, my
Sisters–leave, for a while, the happy quiet nook where you met with
Jesus! Come out and tell others what you have seen. Who knows but that
they, also, will be led to see Jesus? And when you have told what you
have seen, do what is still better–tell what He has said What you have
seen is good, but there may be a mistake in it. What Christ has spoken
is perfection and there is no error in that. Relate your own experience
and tell the Gospel, too, to all with whom you come into contact–and
cease not to do so. To see Christ is blessed, but unless we tell what
we have seen, the blessing may be like a talent in a napkin, or a
candle under a bushel. I would like to come round to each one of you
and to say, "Dear Brother, dear Sister, do you live in the light of
God's Countenance? Has Jesus Christ shone upon you? Is He your Beloved
and are you His beloved? Then come and let Him have the use of your
tongue! Let Him have the use of those bright eyes of yours to tell with
beaming countenance what the Lord has done for you and what He has said
that He will do for others!
III. Now, thirdly, we have to consider THE TITLE–"Go to My brethren"
Do you hear that? "Go to My brethren." I do not remember that the Lord
Jesus ever called His disciples His brethren till that time. He called
them "servants." He called them, "friends." But now that He has risen
from the dead, He says, "My brethren."
Notice then, first, they were His brethren, though He was about to
ascend to His Throne. The fact that Christ had risen from the dead did
not take Him further away from His people–it brought Him nearer, for
He goes on–"and say to them, I ascend unto My Father, and your
Father." It is clear that there is no greater distance between us and
Christ, now that He has ascended, than there was when He had not
ascended–no, that inasmuch as He did not call them brethren while He
was yet among them before His death and did call them brethren when He
said, "I ascend unto My Father, and your Father"–if there is any
difference, Christ ascended is nearer to us than Christ on the earth!–
"Now though He reigns exalted high, His love is still as great! Well He
remembers Calvary, Nor let His saints forget."
This is a very blessed Truth of God, but it is a great mystery. I can
understand that Christ is my Brother when I see Him weary, sitting on
the well at Sychar. When I see Him in the garden, agonizing even unto
sweat of blood, I know that He is my Brother. But if my eyes could see
Him as John saw Him, when, "His head and His hairs were white like
wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His
Countenance was as the sun shines in its strength," I think I would
need great help to call Him, "Brother," then! And I might not need to
do so, for it is not said that the disciples called Christ, "Brother,"
but that He called them, "brethren." Oh, for Grace to believe that the
crowned, reigning, exalted Christ is the Brother of our soul! His
Nature in Heaven is our nature! He has a sympathy in Glory with His
people still in tribulation. He is pleading our cause in Heaven as much
as ever He did on earth and He is as truly our Covenant Head–as really
one with us–now, as ever He was when He was here. And hence, when He
had risen and was about to ascend, He said, "Go to My brethren."
There is another side of this Truth of God that is worth noticing–they
were His brethren, though they had forsaken Him in His shame. I was
reading, in the life of the famous Thomas Boston, the author of The
Fourfold State, that one day he was very burdened and depressed in
spirit, and was walking up and down his room in great trouble about his
own standing before God, for, mark you, they who lead others to Christ
and help others to confidence in Him, often have trembling in their own
soul–as Boston had at that time. It happened that his little daughter
was in the room and she said to him, "Father, Jesus said, 'Go to My
brethren.' They were His brethren, still, though they had forsaken
Him." Boston said, "In a moment, I caught at that." They were still His
brethren, although there was one of them who had denied Him with oaths
and curses! Yet that very one was especially mentioned by the angel who
said, "Tell His disciples and Peter." All the rest forsook Him and fled
yet Jesus said, "Go to My brethren. "This is a tie which you cannot
break!
If you had a brother who had misbehaved himself. And if you had been
obliged to advise him to flee the country and he had gone far away–and
you knew that he was living an evil life–yet he would still be your
brother. Born of the same parents, the bond between you two must last
on. I believe in the final perseverance of the saints and I cannot make
out how those get on who do not believe it. If Christ was my Brother
yesterday, He will be my Brother to all eternity. I do not believe in
these relationships coming to an end–they seem to me to be fixed. My
child is my child forever, let him be what he may. And if I am Christ's
brother, and Christ is my Brother, we are joined together by a bond
which cannot be broken. "Quis separabit?" "Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ?"
Come, Brothers and Sisters, listen to me! Have you been getting cold in
heart? Still, Christ is your Brother and He acknowledges it. As I have
reminded you, the Master did not call His disciples, "brethren," till
after they had all forsaken Him. What? Does His Grace seem to grow as
our sin grows? It seems so–"Where sin abounded, Grace did much more
abound." This wondrous love ought to break your hearts. If any of you
have been false to Christ. If you have been ungrateful, cold,
unspiritual–will not this bring you back? He still acknowledges you as
His! He still calls you brethren. Come along back to Him–let there be
no time lost! Come weeping to His feet and say, "My Brother, I confess
my transgressions and ask pardon of You because You change not and You
still call me Your brother." I will not enlarge upon this theme, though
it is a very sweet one. It is a sort of cluster of Eshcol. I should
have liked to press and squeeze it till it filled the cup with its
generous juice, but I hand it over to you. Take it home and rejoice
that your Lord still says, "Go to My brethren."
IV. Lastly, we have to consider the message, THE TIDINGS. "Go to My
brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father;
and to My God, and your God."
Notice that this message was far above their fears. They thought that
He was dead. "Oh, no," He says, "I ascend." They thought His body had
been taken away and they should never have the mournful pleasure of
knowing where it was. Surely the guards or somebody had broken the seal
and stolen away that blessed form! But He shows how vain were their
fears, for He says, "I ascend." Now, child of God, whatever your fears
are, throw them all out! You have no need of any of them! If Christ is
yours and you are trusting in Him, fear not! The Lord says to you,
"Fear not," and will you keep on fearing when He bids you not to fear?
I pray you, do not! What you dread will never come to pass. There is
something infinitely better than that in store for you!
In the next place, this message was above their hopes, for all that
they hoped for was that they might find the dead body of Christ. But He
talks about ascending, so He is alive and their hopes are far exceeded!
What are your hopes, dear Brothers and Sisters? Are you hoping to have
some good thing from the Lord? There is something better than that laid
up for you! "He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think."
Further, this message was beyond their wishes, for I am sure that when
they knew that Christ was alive, they wanted Him to stay with them. It
would have cheered them very much if Christ had said, "Go tell My
brethren that I am going to stay with them for the next hundred years."
No, no, no! They were to have more than they wished for–it was
expedient for them that Christ should not stay with them. It was to
their advantage that He should go to be with the Father–it would bring
them greater blessings to have Him gone than to have Him tarry–so that
the message sent to them was above their wishes. And the Lord will do
for you more than you wish for. He will be better to you than your
highest desire–therefore be of good cheer!
But what Mary had to say to them was also beyond their knowledge, their
comprehension, beyond the grasp of their understanding. As yet they
knew not that Christ must rise from the dead, so I am sure that they
did not know what He meant by ascending. But it was true, though they
did not understand it. Blessed be God, there are thousands of blessings
true to you although you cannot yet get a grip of them! God will do
more for you than you can understand. Your imagination may enlarge
itself, yet He will go beyond that. I quoted, just now, Paul's words,
"He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think."
Now think some great thought, like one who lay dying and said, "Oh, for
big thoughts!" We shall not need big thoughts, then, for we shall come
into the region of great realities. But however great your thoughts,
Christ can exceed them. He said to His disciples, "I am going up into
Glory to plead for you." They did not know what He meant, yet His words
brought them incalculable blessings.
I think I hear somebody say, "Well, I am so glad I can get as far as
that, I can feel comfort in Christ's ascending to my Father." Yes, but
I want you to go further than that, for I am to tell you that He is
coming again! There is always to be something yet beyond–whatever you
attain to, there is something more to be reached. That same Jesus who
went up from us into Heaven, will so come in like manner as they saw
Him go up into Heaven. With the trumpet of the archangel and with the
voice of God, He shall descend a second time upon the earth, no more to
suffer, no more to invite disobedient and rebellious men who shall
reject Him–but He shall come to rule the nations with a rod of iron
and to gather together His own people that He may be "admired in them
that believe." This is the great hope of the Church! Reach forward to
it and be not satisfied with anything that as yet you have received, or
that as yet you understand. O heirs of immortality, infinite bliss
opens before you! Unspeakable glory awaits you! Be of good courage and
if, for the present, you may not have all the fellowship with Christ
you really wish for, because He says, "Touch Me not," yet wait till you
shall be taken up, or He shall come again to receive you unto Himself,
for then, where He is, you shall also be, with all the godly company
that has gone before!
As for you who have no part nor lot in this matter, I am very sorry for
you. I would God that you had. Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus
Christ shall have all this and much more than tongue can tell. Oh, that
you would believe in Him, now, and live forever! God grant it, for
Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALMS20AND21.
The 20th Psalm is a prayer for the king going forth to the conflict–a
prayer for David. Better still, a prayer for great David's greater Son.
The 21st Psalm is a song of victory for the returning conqueror, it is
a Te Deum, as the King has triumphed and has returned from the conflict
to enjoy the congratulations of His loyal subjects.
Psalm 20:1. The LORD hear you in the day of trouble; the name of the
God of Jacob defend you. This is a prayer for David, a prayer for Jesus
and a prayer for every child of God. "Jehovah hear you in the day of
trouble." What do you need? Remember that the Lord gives you this
promise, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and
you shall glorify Me." "The name of the God of Jacob defend you." The
God that took care of Jacob when he slept with a stone for his pillow.
The God that guarded him when he was a stranger in a strange land and
brought him home again. The God that wrestled with him at Jabbok, the
God that made all things work for him, instead of against him, as he
feared "the name"–the Character, the Attributes, the Glory–"of the
God of Jacob defend you."
2. Send you help from the sanctuary. ' 'Help from the holy place, help
from the sprinkled blood, help from the Mercy Seat, help from the
golden pot that had the manna, help from Aaron's rod that budded, help
from Him that shone between the cherubim–send you help from the Holy
of Holies.
2. And strengthen you out of Zion. That is to say, with His own power,
His own Glory, which He manifests in the midst of His people.
3. Remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah.
This God did to His dear Son and this He is prepared to do to all His
people. Whenever we give anything to the cause of God, we ought to do
it with all that solemnity and all that willingness which was seen in
God's own people in the olden time, remembering that it is to Him we
bring it, and the chief point for our consideration is, "Will He accept
it?"
4. Grant you according to your own heart, and fulfill all your counsel
We cannot pray this for everybody. We pray it for Christ and we pray it
for the Lord's sanctified people, that He may grant them the desire of
their heart and fulfill their counsel.
5. We will rejoice in Your salvation, and in the name of our God we
will set up our banners: the LORD fulfill all your petitions. What a
wonderful prayer this is! May it be granted to each of you!–
"The Lord fulfill all your petitions."
6-9. Nowknow that the LORD saves His anointed; He willhear him from His
holy Heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in
chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD
our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand
upright Save, LORD. Or, "Hosanna."
9. Let the King hear us when we call Now turn to the Psalm of victory.
It corresponds very beautifully with the litany which we have just been
reading.
Psalm 21:1. The King shall joy in Your strength, O LORD; and in Your
salvation how greatly shallHe rejoice! See how greatly Christ rejoices,
how full His heart is of gladness as He sees God's power put forth, and
God's salvation accomplished among men.
2. 3. You have given Him His heart's desire, and have not withheld the
request of His lips. Selah. For You present Him with the blessings of
goodness. That is to say, "You go before Him," as you have seen, in
pictures, some great conqueror preceded by those who strewn his path
with roses, so has God strewn the pathway of Christ with innumerable
blessings.
3. You set a crown of pure gold on His head. Is He not of royal race?
Has He not achieved a mighty conquest? Is He not King of kings and Lord
of lords?
4. He askedlife ofYou and You gave it to Him, even length ofdays
forever and ever. "You gave Him a resurrection from the dead as our
Mediator, and as such He lives."
5. His Glory is great in Your salvation. It is the distinguishing mark
of God's salvation that Christ's Glory is great in it. In the
beginning, in the middle and the end of it, everywhere you see the name
of Jesus written in large letters of light. In His salvation, the
Father has glorified His Son.
5-8. Honor and majesty have You laid upon Him. For you have made Him
most blessed forever: You have made Him exceedingly glad with Your
countenance. For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the mercy of
the Most High He shall not be moved. Your hand shall find out all your
enemies. That very hand that was nailed to the tree shall find out all
the adversaries of the Cross.
8. Your right hand shall find out those that hate You. ''Hide wherever
they may, You will find them. They may stand in the high places and
defy You; but You will hurl them down."
9. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger. "Not
only shall they be cast into the fire, but they shall, themselves, be
as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger. They shall torment
themselves and shall be their own destruction."
9-11. The LORD shallswallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall
devour them. Their fruit shall You destroy from the earth, and their
seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against
You: they imagined a mischievous device which they are not able to
perform. But that did not diminish their sin. When a man has devised an
evil tiring, even if he cannot carry it out, he is guilty of it!
12. Therefore shall You make them turn their back, when You shall make
ready Your arrows upon Your strings against the face of them. As if God
would single out the enemies of Christ to be targets for His arrows and
fill them with the darts of His displeasure. Who would wish to be in
such a plight as this?
13. Be You exalted, LORD, in Your own strength: so wiil we sing
andpraise Your power.