Psalm 124 (Reflections)

I've been living with this psalm for a while now. As Eugene Peterson says in Eat This Book, I've had time to gnaw on it, like a dog lingering over a bone. I don't know that this equates to any great insight, but I've lived with the psalm for a while...had a chance to marinate in it.

I like this psalm. It's a psalm of remembrance, acknowledgment, thanksgiving, and praise.

I like how it begins, with a corporate admission of dependence.
I like how the psalmist breaks off in mid sentence to exhort the congregation.

"Hey. Come on, now. This applies to all of us. We have all been delivered from the same trouble. Let me hear you declare it!"

Let ALL Israel say...

Every Christian was in dire straits until the Lord, in His love, stepped in to deliver us. This applies to individual instances of God's intervention, too, but I'm thinking specifically of the salvation accomplished through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 124 spells out what would have happened if He were not on our side.

This is the good news--the Lord is FOR us!!!

If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

The first image is one of enemies attacking in their anger, devouring us whole.
This reminds me of the devil, prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

We've been delivered from the mouth of the lion.

Then the imagery shifts to water. Three different pictures of watery peril are repeated in rapid succession: Water rushing over someone and sweeping him away, like a flood of troubles. A river rising over one's mouth, drowning one in despair. "Raging" waters passing over the top of someone, overcoming any resistance. This is scary imagery. It's an inescapable fate, like the floodwaters that destroyed during the days of Noah or the Tolkienesque wall that washed over the Egyptians during the exodus escape.

This is what would have happened to us.
From this we were rescued.

We were not left as prey to the enemy's teeth, either. Though we were trapped in sin, trapped like a bird in a fowler's snare, the trap was broken. We are free as a bird! We are safe in the arms of Jesus! The devil has no hold on us.

Our help is in the Name of the Lord...who is for us.

For God so loved the world that He gave His Son that whosoever will believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

So, as we look on our present (& momentary) troubles, let us remember the fate from which we have been delivered. We were drowning in the quagmire of sin. There was no escape. We were caught in a trap. But then, because of His great love for us, the LORD stepped in. He is our help. He is for us. Let all Israel say...

No matter what is overwhelming you, no matter what enemy is assailing you, no matter how hopeless your situation seems, the Lord is for you. He has proven it. He whom you have never seen with your eyes, but whom you love, has delivered you from the whelming flood, freed you from the snare.

It lies broken.

He is still on your side. He loves you. He is still mighty to save.

Trust Him. Our help is in the Name of the LORD.

Psalm 103:3

Psalm 103:3 spoke to me this week. Here's my translation:
But you, Yahweh, are a Shield around me, my Glory, and the Lifter of my head.
The Psalm deals with enemy persecution, and the psalmist is in real danger. My devotional material this year is coming from Celtic Daily Prayer, and I've noticed that the Celtic saints place great emphasis on the need for protection. In their mission efforts, they were out confronting pagan religion, and their lives were often in real danger. Thus we have prayers like "The Breastplate of Saint Patrick," caim prayers, and the like.

This verse, however, just struck me as beautiful. In the midst of an oncoming threat, the psalmist is reminded of the Invisible One who never leaves his side.

• God is a shield around him--he provides protection and is worthy of trust.
• God is his glory--he does not have to worry about his earthly reputation. His identity is secure in God; he has the LORD Himself as his glory! (Why settle for earthly praise?)
• God is the Lifter of his Head. This is one of my favorite images...a loving father gently lifting his downcast child's head, as if to say, "I love you. Daddy's here now, and it's all gonna be OK. I'll never leave you. You can do this, because I am with you." He lifts our spirits, gives us confidence, and reassures us in our weakness.

What a great God, huh? Not only does He provide physical protection, but He provides for our self-image and our feelings, too. He's awesome. Later on in this short psalm is where we get the words for the song you may have sung in a youth group: "I am not afraid of 10,000s of people who have set themselves against me. Arise, arise, deliver me, O my God!" I remember singing this song many times while walking alone through the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria late at night. I was praying for physical protection, but I didn't know about verse 3. Now, I can say this prayer, knowing that He really is my "all in all."

Thank You, Lord.