Dear Nicola
What an interesting sutta! Great question and how good it is to read everyoneās wonderful responses. 
So my take is as follows:
Who knows what context this sutta was given inā¦ I find the mention of āenemiesā intriguing; it makes me think that this sutta was in response to somebodyās specific and problematic situation that involved āenemiesā.
I think the first two stanzas are pointing towards both the Path, and the realisation of the Path. I mean to be so unshaken, is to have achieved some stage of Awakening - āthe realisation of the Pathā. But the Path is also to be cultivatedā¦thus itās for those many of us who are still at this stage. So for me, it feels like frequent investigation in to what is stopping me from the ideal (of the Awakened) and what i should be doing about these obstaclesā¦and I keep coming back to the Path, to my Practice.
I really appreciate how Robert has used the Arahant as inspiration. A beautiful way of using Sanghanussati or Recollection of the Sanghaā¦or it could even be Dhammanussati cos youāre reflecting on the growth of the Dhamma in a human being? Itās a wonderful technique to cultivate.
While this is a marvellous and meaningful and useful technique - reminding me of the brief list of other skillful means in the the 3rd stanza - I think, speaking from my pesonal experience, one of the traps us Buddhists fall into, speaking for myself at any rate, is to aim for the ideal by trying to ābeā the ideal. Often, this doesnāt work very well because it bypasses the present moment and in bypassing the present moment, we are bypassing the truth of how things are for us, and in bypassing that, we bypass all chance for genuine peace, truth and understanding to grow within our own minds. We essentially stop the Dhamma becoming our Dhamma; it remains the Dhamma of the Buddha, but it never grows within usā¦because instead of looking for it within, we are reaching hopelessly for it out there, in the ideal.
I find, personally, itās not easy to be deeply presentā¦I find a strong resistance in my mind and a strong tendency to go āout thereā rather than remain āin hereā. Sometimes, I feel that all that can be done is to be present to that too!! Actually, remembering Ajahn Brahmās teachings on retreatā¦ YouTube ā¦this is probably not a bad technique to use and it links in with the idea of being āpatientā because this kind of patience can bear fruit; I mean, I canāt make myself stop resisting the moment, but I can put the causes in place for it to happen naturally.
Apologiesā¦Iām rambling a bitā¦but perhaps, if I may say soā¦a nice little ramble and so Iāve not deleted it 
Regarding the 3rd stanza, iām reminded of Ajahn Brahm saying, āif you can do something, do it; if you canāt, then do nothing.ā I think when appropriate, the kamma of doing nothing, particularly whilst meditating, is the kamma that ends all kamma. I think this is why one often hears the quote, āpatient endurance is the highest virtueā. However, getting back to the stanza, I think this stanza is focusing on those times when you can do something and is giving a few examples that perhaps might have been useful to those who mayāve been present when this sutta was first spoken. I mean, I was just listening to the Friday night talk and a lady in the audience said she finds bringing metta into chanting, whilst remember anger inducing situations, really helps her to respond better in future. And Ajahn Brahmali responded and part of what he said was that yes, you can use things like chanting in a meaningful way, as opposed to a purely ritualised way.
With regard to the last stanza, Iām reminded of the story Ajahn Brahm relates about the fellow running through the jungle, chased by his kamma (a tiger) who falls into a well and thereās a dangerous snake in it and as heās falling he grabs a branch, just out of reach of both animals. As he hangs there he notices a white mouse and a black mouse (the days and nights that are relentlessly passing) slowly biting through the branch. Looking up he
sees a beehive dripping honey. The honey drops on to his tongueā¦he enjoys this taste.
Regarding your very good questions:
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āOneās gaināā¦ hmm, I wonder if you are using this phrase in a different way to the sutta?
Thereās āgainā as the opposite of renunciation - which is how I think youāre using it.
Thereās āgainā as the succesful action taken to alleviate immediate and long term suffering - which is how I think itās been used in this sutta.
The question about anticipationā¦etcā¦ Itās a tricky oneā¦perhaps itās more to do with getting to know ourselves and our own unique Practices? Then perhaps one knows when one has tipped over into a lack of usefulness and over-thinking? Iām not sureā¦
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Iām wondering if perhaps this is something we canāt know and thus in some sense have a lack of control overā¦in the sense that to know something is to have some control over itā¦The whole āknowledge is powerā thing. I mean sometimes, when Iām weeping and wailing, it might not be kamma thatās strongā¦rather my hindrances and kilesas are strong!! So perhaps, in attempting some answer, Iād say, just keep gently doing the best you canā¦
Also Iām noting the comments of others here, who are pointing out that it is with rebirth knowledge, that knowledge of kamma really becomes powerfulā¦and then perhaps, genuiniely usefulā¦because it wonāt be something intellectual and āout thereāā¦but unique to you, deeply present, and āin hereā.
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Hmmmā¦āright patienceāā¦ reminds me of Ajahn Brahm talking about āwaiting in the momentā versus āwaiting on the momentā. The former being the one recommended as itās more deeply present to whatever is going on. Perhaps thatās the key? The more we practice, the more we cultivate being present, the more likely we will be to know for ourselves, that now is the time to wait and now is the time to act.
Alsoā¦just to addā¦though I donāt think youāve explicitly asked about this, and I think someone else has mentioned how in EBT kamma isnāt fatalismā¦ Anywayā¦just to add that it shouldnāt matter whether a situation is kammic or notā¦What matters is how we deal with it now and what we do about it now. You know, personally, Iāve really appreciated having this spelled out. It really gives one a sense of power over oneās lifeā¦in a sense, our two good Ajahns are conditioning us to realise that we can, either mentally, verbally or physically, do something about whatever situation weāre in, regardless of whether it was caused by kamma or some other causeā¦such as bad weather! Lolā¦if only it were as easy to do as it is to sayā¦
As an important aside, I donāt think anyone should ever allow themselves to suffer abuse by thinking that they deserve it (itās my kamma cos I did this in the past to someone)ā¦though having said this, I think self-view, ill will and other factors cause us to do just this! Whilst kamma may be involved, I think the kilesas of delusion and hatred are in operation hereā¦theyāve created some kind of deep, destructive, guilt complexā¦which is only going to be a type of kamma that makes the situation worse and encourages this person to become enmeshed in further situations like this in the future. Perhaps, the reflection that this is only going to perpetuate the cycle and thus draw others in too, is motivation to pull ourselves out of this kind of self-destructive thinkingā¦cos self-destruction doesnāt happen in a vacuum, others get hurt tooā¦
Buddhismās about getting out of suffering. We take the panadol so we can meditate. We love ourselves so we can meditate. We donāt allow ourselves to be harmed, so we can meditateā¦ And the meditation itself is for peace, for love, for growth in wisdomā¦anytime taking action grows those thingsā¦itās gotta be a good actionā¦anytime being patient in the moment grows those things, then perhaps then, thatās the way to go tooā¦
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Having said all this, may I also say, just the act of asking this question, in this forum, has created a cause, a condition, which will now most probably encourage yourself and those of us whoāve read your post, to question more deeply, in the moment: is there something I can do skillfully in this situation? Personally, Iām hoping this conditioning, which youāve skillfully put into place Nicola, will come up when next Iām feeling squeezed by kilesas! Actually, perhaps even my writing this will reitierate to me, next time it happens, the importance of not getting sucked into these particular ways in which the kilesas manifest to torture me!!
Which leads me rather nicelyā¦to sayā¦thank youā¦to yourself for your questions and for pointing out this sutta and also to the others respondents for their unique and useful contributions.
Much Metta and thanks and I hope Iāve not just gone and confused things further!! 
- Just in case you were getting ideas! 
) but I might see myself sacrificing my life for my nieces or nephews. And I think if I should ever get myself into a war situation where I was one-on-one with the enemy, I would rather let myself be killed than kill another human. If thereās rebirth, great; if thereās no rebirth, even better (problem solved 
).
Everyone has given great answers to your questions so Iām just gonna make my addition short 