Psalms 118:13

"They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the LORD’s name I cut them off."

Key Reflection

In this passage, the psalmist describes his enemies as relentless and troublesome, likening them to bees that attack fiercely but can be extinguished like burning thorns. Through divine strength, he asserts his ability to overcome these adversaries, symbolizing the power of faith in facing opposition.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall -literally, “Thrusting thou hast thrust at me.” This is the Hebrew mode of expressing intensity, repetition, or emphasis. The meaning is, that they had made a deadly thrust at him; that they had repeated the blows; that they had come with a fierce determination to crush and destroy him. The psalmist, as it were, sees the enemy again before him, and addresses him as if he were present. Everything is vivid to the mind; the whole scene appears again to pass before him.

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