Judith 16:13-17. A beautiful part of Judith's song of praise to God after her victory for her people. Judith had put herself in a very dangerous situation, going alone into the enemy camp in order to deceive and kill their leader. This is her song of praise after she has achieved that victory. She says she will sing a new song to the Lord, who is great and glorious and invincible. All creatures shall serve him for he did but speak and they were made. Nothing can resist his voice, the very mountains and rocks tremble and melt at his command, but he has tender mercy on those who fear him. All of our sacrifices to him are small things, but if we fear the Lord, it is a great thing. Woe to the nations and peoples who rise up against God's people - the Lord will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment, and they shall weep in pain forever.

Although I am not nearly as brave nor as eloquent as Judith, I have felt a similar sense of awe at God's goodness when he has led me through some very difficult times. While in the midst of them, I am trusting him and acting as I believe he wants me to act, but I am still fearful and I still feel the pain and the dread. If I was perfectly trusting, perhaps I would not feel those things, but I do. I wonder if Judith felt fear as she went alone into the enemy camp, or as she sat alone with Holofernes watching him get drunk, being at his mercy, and knowing that she intended to kill him. I think she must have felt some degree of trepidation. I know I would have been terrified! But still she prayed, trusted, and acted. And because she did these things, and did what she knew God wanted her to do, she saved her people.

That is where this song springs from - from that overwhelming sense of joy and relief that God has saved the day using us, his faithful servants to accomplish his will. The pain and the fear are gone, completely relieved - we were successful, we are vindicated! When we trust him even though we feel the fear and anxiety, he will protect us, he will accomplish his great things through us. Then we will feel the this overwhelming joy and amazement at his power!

My only quibble with this passage is at the end, were Judith states that their enemies will be weeping in pain forever. I do not want that for anyone, I do not want anyone to be weeping in pain forever. But we have to remember that this is the Old Testament, before the world knew that God intended to save everyone, and not just the Jews. It wasn't until Jesus came, and showed us that he came for everyone, that we learned that everyone had the possibility of salvation. So Judith's enemies may not be weeping in pain forever, let's hope that they are not. They may have accepted salvation when it was offered to them.