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Psalm 124
A song of ascents. Of David.

1 If the LORD had not been on our side—
let Israel say—

2 if the LORD had not been on our side
when people attacked us,

3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;

4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,

5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.

6 Praise be to the LORD,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler's snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

The psalmist, and not only the psalmist but all God’s people, had been under vicious attack. What words depict the strength of the attack they had to endure?

Swallowed alive
Violent anger
Flood of rage
Drowned by the torrent
Wild, raging water
Torn by their teeth
Fowler’s snare


What would have been their destiny if God had not rescued them (vv.3-6)?

They would have been swallowed alive, engulfed by the torrent, swept away by the raging waters, and torn by the enemy’s teeth.


Gnashing teeth, raging floods and treacherous snares were part of the psalmist’s reality. How are they part of the reality you are facing now? (They make take the form of persecutions, temptations, physical problems, conflicts or anything else that threatens your faith.)

The flood of regret that threatens to swallow me up, the skeletons in my closet, the monsters under by bed. Individually and collectively, they sometimes have the power to evoke enough fear and shame in me to make me hang my head low, not daring to stare into the gaze of our gracious and loving God.

These echoes are especially amplified within the hollow four walls of this monastery. And even from within and without, there is nothing I can do to stop tongues from wagging. Underneath the habit, I still feel like the harlot.


To what does the psalmist compare their escape (v.7)?

A snare, is a trap for catching birds or animals – typically one having a noose of wire or cord. The escape has been likened to a bird escaping the hunter/captor’s trap. But not just a lucky escape – “the snare has been broken”, said the psalmist. It was an escape that would have otherwise been impossible had it not been for help from the outside. Someone had broken the captor’s trap.


When and how has the Lord helped you persevere in dangerous times?

The times where I’ve been most in danger have been those times where I’ve wondered and wavered If God was big enough to save me from my weaknesses and shortfalls. If I had enough faith to hold my head up to the world and find my worth in Christ sans the shame, guilt, condemnation.

Yes, the Lord, the make of heaven and earth, has helped me persevere in dangerous times as He opened my eyes to His purpose and will for humanity, and all of creation. Of course we are in difficult times right now. Of course we are drowning in our messed up lives and trapped in the chaos and conflict of humanity. But He has never left us nor forsaken us. His plans to restore us into His full image can be seen clearly enough through what Jesus has accomplished through His crucifixion, death and resurrection. God, who is the alpha and the omega, will finish what He started.

These promises, the faith, hope and love animated by His Spirit within me, is what keeps my eyes bright even when my wings are tangled in the fowler’s snare.


How does your history with the Lord give you hope that he will deliver you safely through danger?

Much of my life has been littered with pain and agony. I’m well acquainted with brokenness. I have also, in times past (and still now) made many mistakes, stumbled many people and caused grievous injury despite my good intentions.

Yet, experience has taught me that God works in many curious and creative ways. As long as we hold fast to His vision for His world and adhere and cooperate with His purpose for humanity, and understand that I have been made in His image, His likeness. Then, I shall find all things working together for good, to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

His strength shall be made perfect in my weakness. To each he gives a portion of his talents – some more, some less, but that is no matter. For it is good stewards He is after, who will be faithful with what has been given them, to invest them the best that he can. God still uses me in my weaknesses, and I thank God for that.


The last verse of the psalm proclaims, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” How is your trust in God affected by the knowledge that he is the Creator of all?

As I work through the news of the day, the events of our day, big and small – the knowledge that Yahweh is the Lord, the Creator of all, helps to keep everything in perspective. The cries of the people, the chaos of our world, the destruction of civilisations and nature, come together as the groans of creation itself subject to the pains of childbirth.

When I am stuck in the mire of gruesome reality, and the temptation is great to strive for my own significance, to make my name great, so I may be justified and held in esteem according to the principalities and powers of this culture and society we live in, of the 21st century west – I can continually take the posture of surrender, of adoration, emptying our palms of trinkets and playthings and holding them open to Him, for His kingdom to come and His will to be done.


Prayer

Dear Lord, this season of monastery is all the more bearable because I know you are for me and not against me. When the echoes of the past are amplified as I cut through the corridors and amble through halls and empty rooms, I would not be swallowed alive and torn into shreds by shame and regret because you will not have allowed it. You have broken in, and broken through the fowler’s snare. You, offer me a way of escape. You, offer me fresh hope. You, offer me a new way of seeing my world, your world. Amen.