Off the fence

In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant. Psalm 143.12

The bellicose spirit in which this Psalm concludes is tempered by the pledge of humble allegiance in the final line. In submitting to God as "servant", David identifies with God so closely that he assumes they even share the same adversaries! That may come across as stretching a point but, just as Satan is more than a myth, so the enemies of God really do exist.

David's prayer and his own declaration of commitment find further expression in the acts of God in the world and the response we make in our lives. God ultimately paid the price for David's sin and restored his righteousness through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And, when we are baptised, we promise to relinquish control of our lives in favour of the same Saviour and Lord, Jesus.

God pledges himself to us unconditionally in his covenant of love, which is explained in the New Testament. Our proper response is to submit our whole selves to him completely. There is no room for compromise in this exchange. It is all or nothing!