Leslie Allen calls Psalm 124 ‘the broken trap’ after the
imagery of a bird managing to escape from a snare or net set for it in verse 5.
Managing to fly away free, that wonderful picture of freedom that is evoked by
a bird in flight.
It’s an interesting
Psalm, a rare psalm in that it is a communal psalm of thanks, everyone giving
thanks to God for his help and presence in the past for the whole of God’s
people and declaring confidence in the LORD to be our help in present
predicaments and future uncertainties.
In its title its ascribed to David but like so many of the
Psalms we don’t have any situation in his life to connect it too. In some
manuscripts, it does not have that accreditation to David and Scholars say in terms of its language it
fits in well in a later period, a song of triumph for the exiles returning from
Babylon, even thought they’d been through the hardship od defeat, exile and
living as strangers in a strange and often hostile land, God had kept his word
and was restoring them to Jerusalem.
There is something about that not knowing, not having specifics to tie
it down to, and its own use of so many different metaphors and a vivid array of
different images of danger and trouble that make it so accessible to us. It’s a
psalm of ascent and groups of pilgrims from all over the world coming to
Jerusalem could fit their own experiences of God's help in times of trouble and suffering and
difficulty to this communal psalm. It’s a psalm that can be easily become
our Psalm, our song of thanksgiving for God’s presence. Our Psalm as we add our
stories of God’s help, rescue and salvation to those of God’s people down
through the ages, and give thanks and affirm our trust in God .
It’s an honest Psalm that says that (to use the words of
John 16:33) in this life there will be trouble, we face difficulties,
temptations, suffering and disasters, on a national scale a communal scale and
a in our individual lives, but we are not to be afraid in those things we can
also know and experience God’s presence and aid.
It’s open enough to speak of God’s saving presence on the
grand scale; freeing us from sin. Delivering
us from going down to the pit, which is one of the uses of the idea of being
swallowed alive. It has the idea of
being spared judgement, as it evokes the Korah rebellion in Numbers 16, where
Korah and some other Levites rebelled against Moses and Aaron and they were swallowed by a fissure opening
up, the rest of the Israelites were pleased that God was with them. As we
approach Easter we remember Jesus coming as one of us to our side and through his
living and dying and being raised to life again, breaking the trap of sin that
would bind and hold us captive in its cruel clutches, freeing us to new life in
Christ. It invokes Psalm 40 finding Jesus that solid place to stand amidst the
mire clay or a torrent and flood.
It’s open enough that we can identify it with the things
that we each face in our lives. I grew up in West Auckland and When I read this
psalm I couldn’t help but think of the big wet we’ve just had where people out
west found themselves in flash floods and a big sink hole opened up under New
Lynn… We lived in Titirangi and it was easy to look down on new lynn and think
it was a bit of hole anyway…(sorry Westie humour) You may
identify with troubles and situations that you have experienced where its felt
like it was going to swallow you whole, or you were going down under the weight
of it all, or trapped and unable to break free… or torn by the teeth of
criticism and scorn. We often have pictures of big monsters when we think of
being torn by teeth but did you know that chihuahua’s are Mexican hunting dogs.
Those yupping nipping Dogs, used to kill deer and other animals, in a pack they
would nip and yup and worry their prey, giving it no rest, till it was worn out
and couldn’t get away, trouble can often be like that pack of chihuahua’s
right, trivial things that are like a pack, nipping at our heals, one after the
other and not giving us any rest. but the psalm invites us to see and to tell
of God’s presence and God’s help. As a communal psalm it invites us to be encouraged
and strengthened by what God has done in other people’s lives as well as ours.
To be encouraged by the testimonies of people who have been where we have and
can attest to God’s presence and help.
Finally we are invited to see God as our help. The psalm
says our help is in the name of the LORD. It’s not that we can say in the name
of Jesus likes it’s a magical formula, and abracadabra mumbo jumbo thing to
make it alright, but rather for the Jewish mind set a name summed up the whole
character of a person or in this case the very nature of God. God is our help
because of who he is. In 1 john1:9 it says that we can have confidence that of
we confess our sin that God will forgive us because God is faithful and just.
Israel could have hope even when they were in exile and as Jerusalem was inflames
because the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. The psalm talks of God as
the maker of heaven and earth, so acknowledged his power and might, but also
his provision and care.
So the psalm invites us not only to give thanks but use that remembering of God's aid and presence
to give us faith and trust for the things of today. Faith and trust in the God
who has helped his people in so many situations and ways in the past. Who in
Jesus came to our side and our aid and is with us till the end of the age.
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