We do utterly deny ..... all outward wars, and strife, and fightings with
outward weapons, for any end .....and this is our testimony to the whole
world.


silence.....................................................................
............



Not a weighty Quaker, folk here who know more about Quakerism than I ever
will.

Not a biblical scholar, folk here who are theologically trained

But, I live with the bible, and the psalms in particular, reading the
latter (bits of) at least twice a day.

'There are lots of wonderful books I could read but there is only one that
reads me'.

Coincidence or Godincidence?  Answers to prayer may be coincidence but
coincidences seem to happen a lot more when I pray.  Sometimes bits jump
out at me.

Like a lot of people I have at least a twice daily quiet time.  Silence and
reading play a part, and in one way I am free to choose.  In another I made
that choice some while ago and committed myself to it, and the material at
the start of that is set, and used by lots of people.  It is biblically
based.

That means I get presented with material I find difficult and having freely
made that choice some 15 or 20 years ago, I am committed to facing it.
It's a bit like 'choosing' to start a ballet class with barre work, or
piano practice with scales.  It is part of a chosen discipline.

Psalm 58 is not in either of my cycles but many similar bits are, so ps 149
is used daily and that has some of those horrid bits.  As do lots of
others, 139 end, 63 end etc

Read Ps 149


silence.....................................................................
....



Open discussion



My own approaches:

Internalizing the enemy - sin

Asking God to do it, but leaving it at that, and he may not

Recognizing my feelings with honesty - thereby enabled to control them or
deal with them?

Simply being with God and let him take care of it

Have we, since the NT, grown out of it (wary, holier than thou, and anyway,
no!)