Who are the enemies of our souls?

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” —Ephesians 2:1-3

The Setting

2 Samuel 11-12

The Structure of the Psalm

1-2: The Plea
3-4: The Pursuit
5-6: The Past
Selah
7-8: The Pit
9-10: The Path
11-12: The Preservation

The Past and the Pit

“Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” —Psalm 86:17

The Pursuit and the Path

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” —Psalm 91:4

The Plea and the Preservation

9“For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
11For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another. —Isaiah 48:9-11

As far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:12

Application

Know who our real enemies are.

Know that our Judge is also our Deliverer.

He is the One who practices hesed—lovingkindness.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust. —Psalm 103:10-14

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. —John 6:68