As waters break out — God comes like a flood, like a mighty river bursting the walls of a dam.  There is no time for the enemies to react. He has acted swiftly, decisively, and justly. The waters cover them. This is not the antithesis of love. Rather, it is the epitome of it.

Love is not always concerned with mercy, but it is always concerned with relationship. Relationship cannot improve unless suffering occurs and we forcibly abandon that which obstructs us from intimacy with each other. Therefore, God sometimes breaks out against us so that we (like the Philistines) will abandon our gods, leaving them to be burned in the fire. O that God would break out against us continually so that we may never lose our dependency on Him.

By my hand — God chooses to involve us as His servants. Sometimes He chooses to break out through us so that others may abandon their gods and return to Him. This does not give us permission to be sadistic, but it is a reminder that He can work through us for another’s good. To be involved in the holy work of God is, at times, a terrifying blessing.