"Protection From Whom?"

"From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about." (Psalms 17:9) As we plan for our souls, it is very important to know who our enemies are, and what it is that they are after; remembering, that what we are talking about is the protection of our soul. Take into account the title of this Psalm, and how it is that "An Innocent Man's Prayer" might have something to do with how much our souls are dependent upon protection; far more protection than that of our bodies, or even our mortal lives! I honestly do not know whether or not our souls can be scared, or even it they can be maimed, or to what degree that any harm might come to them; however, when it comes to the description of hell, it sounds like it will be hot, and according to what I have read, there will be suffering there from those flames; so it sounds to me like our souls can feel pain. Besides; what really matters most is that our soul makes it into heaven and that we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ when we get there; taking the whole notion of hell and suffering out of the equation! These enemies that David is speaking about are those that can influence his life, making his soul's journey take a turn down the wrong path; which takes into consideration the ways of this world, such as being and doing those things which make us walk in the counsel of this world, instead of the counsel of God. When we are truly honest with ourselves, we know that we don't just fall into sin, but that it is the result of a series of wrong choices and actions on our part, that end up with sin waiting at the door. The first key ingredient to causing this to happen is that of failing to stay in fellowship with God, such as keeping in prayer and reading His word on a daily basis; which we could look upon as staying under the shadow of His wings. Failing to do this critical action is what actually creates the door of opportunity for sin to happen, and makes way for the enemy to gain access into our rational way of thinking. This is not something that happens over night, but is a slow fade from the light into the darkness; something that requires us to not pay attention to the change taking place, which can only happen when we are out of fellowship with God. When we are talking about "deadly enemies", we are talking about those enemies that are after our soul; for our life is but a vapor, and compared to eternity, this life is but a dot...