Giveth Power

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
— Job 20:5

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
— Judges 3:10

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
— 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
— Psalm 22:14-15

And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
— 1 Samuel 30:12

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
— Isaiah 40:26

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
— Judges 13:5

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
— Isaiah 40:29-31

He Giveth Power, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. The following contains an excerpt from his work, “Daily Devotionals, Morning and Evening.”

Samson’s marriage led to a complicated quarrel, during which he burned the standing corn of the Philistines by means of firebrands tied to the tails of foxes, and also slaughtered a great number of his enemies. He then went and dwelt at the top of the rock Etam, but God meant him to do far more for the overthrow of Israel’s enemies, and therefore gave him but little respite.

Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
— Judges 15:9-20

Verse 9, Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah and spread themselves in Lehi. Spurgeon says this was probably the valley at the foot of Samson’s stronghold, afterwards called Lehi or the place of the jawbone.

Verse 10, And the men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up to do to him as he hath done to us. Spurgeon says, the men of Judah had sunk to the condition of vassals. were forced to be obsequious to their tyrant masters. Sin makes men cowards.

Verse 11, Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that thou hast done unto us? Spurgeon says, O miserable sight, these cowards are friends to their oppressors, and upbraid their best friend. How low they were rather to sunk to talk in this fashion.

Verse 12, Scripture continues, and he said unto them, as they did unto me, so have I done unto them. And they said unto him, we are come down to bind thee, we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. Spurgeon says, false brethren are our worst enemies. They will ruin us when our enemies cannot. Beware of hypocrites.

Verse 13, Scripture continues, and Samson said unto them, Swear unto me that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. And they spake unto him, saying, No, but we will bind thee fast and deliver thee into their hand, but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords and brought him up from the rock. Spurgeon says, Does it not remind us of our Lord, bound by those whom he came to deliver, and betrayed into the hands of his enemies?

Verse 14, And when he had come to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him. Spurgeon says, this shout came a little too soon. It was soon turned into a shriek of dismay, and then into the silence of death.

Verse 15, Scripture continues, And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. Spurgeon says, matters little, the force lies in the arm. The Lord can use the weakest to overcome the strongest.

Verse 16, and Samson said, with the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass, have I slain a thousand men. Spurgeon says, like our greater champion, who exclaimed, I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me.

Verse 17, And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand and called that place Ramathlehi. Spurgeon says, or the casting away of the jawbone.

Verse 18, and he was sore of thirst and called on the Lord and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant, and now shall I die for thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised. Spurgeon says, Sampson knew how to pray, and to pray in faith too. This was all along the saving point in his character.

Verse 19, but God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, Spurgeon says, or in the place called Lehi or Jawbone. Scripture continues, and there came water there out, and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore. Spurgeon says, the fountain of him who prayed. The Scripture says, which is in Lehi or the place called, Jawbone, unto this day. Spurgeon comments, God who helps his servants in great matters sometimes allows them to be greatly tried by comparatively smaller trials for an exercise of their faith, but he will not leave them in the minor difficulty. Where fell the jawbone from the hero’s hand? There rose a refreshing fountain to quench his thirst. God is never at a loss for supplies. We have but to trust him and we shall do great things and receive great things.

Verse 20, And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. Spurgeon says, by his personal prowess he turned aside Israel’s enemies and established a settled government. God intending in his person to show Israel how he could make one man chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight.

A hymn says,

He subdued the powers of hell,
In the fight He stood alone;
All His foes before Him fell,
By his single arm o’erthrown.

His the battle, his the toil,
His the honors of the day;

His, the glory, His, the spoil —
Jesus bears them all away!
Now proclaim his deeds afar;
Fill the world with His renown;
He, alone the Victor’s car;
His, the everlasting crown.

— Crowns of Glory Hymn

Amen

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