They Surround Us

Psalm 17:10-12 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“10They have closed their callous hearts;
their mouths speak with arrogance.
11They have tracked us down, and now surround us;
their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,
12like a lion greedy for prey,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.”

I just finished posting a poem titled, “When We’re Not Looking,” and then I read this passage of Scripture from Psalm 17, and immediately I could see how the two fit together. For the poem speaks of tragedy striking, lies being cooked up, and leaders armed with new vices. In order to confuse us they create many distractions, while they look to see our reactions. They stir up this group, and then that, and they trick and confuse, for they are testing us to see how we will react. All this is leading us into a New World Order.

So they have to first create the problem so that they can come into the situation to solve it with their preplanned solution. For order comes out of the chaos that they first create. And they have been doing this a very long time in nation after nation after nation. So we need to be wise and NOT trust everything we hear coming from the mouths of our leaders. Do not assume they have our best interest in mind. We must pray through it all, trusting the Lord to give us answers, and then rest in the Lord, and believe in His Word.

Deliverance From the Wicked

Psalm 17:13-14 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“13Arise, O LORD, confront them!
Bring them to their knees;
deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,
14from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life…

In the New Testament Scriptures we are taught that by faith in Jesus Christ we must deny self, die to sin, and obey God and His commands in life practice as part of faith which saves, the faith which comes from God and is not of our own doing, not of the will of the flesh. And we are also taught that faith in Jesus Christ is going to involve suffering for the sake of righteousness. We are promised that we will be hated and persecuted as Jesus was if we are now following Him in obedience to His commands.

Certainly we can pray for deliverance, and sometimes the Lord will deliver us. Other times He will just say, “Trust me.” “Follow me.” “Do what I say.” And He will be with us. And He will give us the strength we need to endure unjust suffering at the hands of our enemies. And we are not promised things will get better in this life, but that they will get worse the closer we get to the return of our Lord. So we need to be on our guard against the attacks of the enemy so that we do not crumble, but we stand strong.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

I Will Be Satisfied

Psalm 17:15 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“15As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.”

No matter what the Lord allows us to go through, we must keep trusting Him, keep believing in His sovereignty over all things, and keep following His leading in our lives, even if that results in us being hated and persecuted for the sake of righteousness. For He has a plan and a purpose for our lives, and He wants to use us to spread the good news of the gospel of our salvation to the people of the world. And not everyone is going to love us for telling them the truth that many do not want to hear. Yet, we must persevere in the Lord.

But we must be those who are teaching or sharing or spreading the truth that Jesus and His New Testament taught as the gospel of our salvation:

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to Him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) Him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in His power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in Him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven (see Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1-3).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Wicked Who Assail
An Original Work / November 14, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You

[A Prayer of Devotion to God Alone]