Scripture

They swarmed around me like bees;
    they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
    But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

~Psalm 118:12, NLT

Quote

The greater the darkness, the more people appreciate and are drawn to the light of a good countenance and a joyful spirit.

~Charles R. Erdman

Most people attribute Psalm 118 to David. David’s enemies swarmed around him like bees and came against him like a crackling fire of thorns. I imagine David is referring to the honey bee. The honey bee can sting only one time. When a honey bee stings a human or other mammal, its barbed stinger gets stuck in the skin of its victim. As the bee pulls away, the stinger, venom sac, and parts of its abdomen tear away from its body, killing the bee shortly after. The bee is a sort of kamikaze, its suicidal sacrifice is to protect the hive. There is a great moral here for humans, don’t be a stinger or hater. In your effort to destroy others, you will destroy yourself.

The second metaphor David uses is also interesting: In ancient times, thorns were used to start fires. Thorns dry quickly and burn quickly but thorns are not good fuel to cook over. They are good for starting the fire but you must have wood to put on the thorns because the Thorns burn so quickly and they have little to no wood quality. They lack the substance to keep a fire burning. David’s enemies had flared up like a fire of thorns but he knew it would not last because they had no substance. David said, “The LORD is my strength and song; He will give me the victory.” {118:14}

Psalm 118 is one of the Hallel Psalms that Jesus sang after the Last Supper. It was Martin Luther’s favorite.

Extra

Perry Smith has been in HH for a couple of day; they are treating an old bullet wound from his Viet Nam days. He tells me he is being released this morning. We will see. It has gotten infected and they are giving him an antibiotic intravenously. I think I am more worried about it than he is. Jan Fields is still in Birmingham but I do not have the latest. I sure I will know more tomorrow.

I love the weather. It is almost cool enough for some stew. It was very pleasant coming to the office this am. I have no problems with an early fall. Have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.