The Psalms of Ascent
Psalm 124 - Praise the Lord - God rescues his community, Jesus saves his people
What does the psalm say? Praise the Lord!
The psalm looks as if it is written by someone who has just escaped from some terrible danger and he is encouraging everyone to praise God about it - the line “let Israel say” is almost like saying “come on, all together now!”.
The general structure of the psalm uses another common Hebrew technique, where a concepts are mirrored either side of a central point, which is the crescendo of the writing. In this case you could summarise the psalm like this:
If the Lord had not been on our side (1-2)
We would have faced disaster (3-5)
Praise be to the Lord (6a)
We have been rescued from disaster (6b-7)
Because the Lord is on our side (8)
The shape directs the readers to the central idea, Praise be to the Lord!
This is bracketed by descriptions of several dangers: angry attackers & flood waters are both real dangers which could be faced in that region. A fowler’s snare is used as a metaphor for a trap which has been broken, setting them free.
This is surrounded, like a pair of bookends, by references to the Lord God. The psalm begins and ends with the Lord, and directs us to him at the very centre, to make sure our attention is drawn to the right place. He doesn’t say “wasn’t it lucky that…” or “It’s a good job that I’m clever enough to…” but “Praise be to the Lord!”
What does the psalm mean? God rescues his community
Like all the psalms, we are not reading a theological expression of doctrine.
This psalm is someone rejoicing in God’s deliverance of him and his people. Our text says a psalm of David, although many early texts lack that addition. In truth, this psalm could have been written at almost any time in the history of Israel - when David faced the Philistines, when Hezekiah was surrounded by the Assyrians, after the exile in Babylon - and God continued to rescue his people - from the Romans, during the dark ages and for much of the last 2000 years while they wandered homeless yet still they were not wiped out. Even the holocaust, Hitler’s evil “final solution” could not wipe them out… and against all the odds Israel are a nation again today, still surrounded by enemies, but still a distinct people.
All through history God has continued to rescue his people
Why do some of Gods people die then ?
This psalm, like many, has sometimes confused believers. On the one had they read in the Bible about God rescuing his people, on the other hand they see terrible persecution and believers dying - just in this last couple of weeks some of our brothers and sisters have been murdered in Pakistan. Over 100 people have been killed by the flooding in Europe this last week and hundreds of thousands have had their homes ruined- were any of those Christians?
Has God fallen asleep on the job? No! But something that we sometimes forget to take account of is the distinction between the community and the individual.
Community not individual
We live in a world where it is very normal to think in individual terms. Individualism is probably one of the distinguishing marks of western philosophy. It seems very natural to us to read the Bible and see what God says to ME in it. But look at the text in our psalm: we see the plural us, us, us used time and time again.
The psalmist is encouraging everyone that the community will survive, as we have seen in the history of both Israel and the Church, because God is overlooking it all.
I heard about an interesting example of community thinking the other month. Apparently a gifted African man joined a Philadelphia basketball team. He was extremely well paid, but didn’t live the lifestyle of his team-mates. They asked him why that was, and he replied that he was sending a lot of his salary back to his community in Africa where they were building a school and a hospital. His team mates were impressed by his sacrificial giving, and decided that he must be a very good man - but he couldn’t understand why they thought it was unusual. “I’m part of my community back home - why wouldn’t I still be trying to help them?”
Jesus saves his people!
I think that the main thing the psalmist wants to make clear to everyone is that “God is in charge! And he is going to bring his people through!”
We know that this is true for Christians today too. What did Jesus say in Matt 16v18? “I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”. The Church is ultimately in Jesus’ hands, not ours. Building his church is His business, and nothing will stop him doing it. During the last century I remember there was tremendous worry about the communist “threat” to the church. Yet even in countries declared atheist they could not stamp out the church. The church may seem to be dwindling in the UK, but it is growing all over the world. It is in good hands, no matter what disasters may come.
Jesus will bring his church safely through. Individuals within the church will still face persecution and suffering, they will still know disease and unemployment, they will still face natural and personal disasters. But Jesus is interested in bringing individuals through too - we have a promise which is far greater than any that Israel would have known.
Jesus said Jn 14v1-3 “In my fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.”
If you trust in Jesus, and choose to follow him as your Lord and Saviour, then this promise of his stands true - he is not only concerned with the continuity of his community, the church, he is concerned about you personally too. He loves you, and cares about what happens to you. And one day he is going to take you on a personal guided tour of the place which he has prepared for you in heaven! Each of those believers who have been killed in the last couple of weeks are now, at this very moment, enjoying the presence of Jesus and all of their troubles and pain are forgotten in the light of his glory!
Are you certain that this is your future? Is this the living hope which you are waiting for? Because if it is not, then there is no better time than the present to make your future certain by coming to Jesus today. Ask him to break the snare of sin which has you trapped, ask him to lift your head up out of the flood of everyday things which threaten to drown you. Believe that he died on the cross for your sins, and confess him as Lord of your life… that means tell someone about any decision which you make today. And Jesus will come and dwell with you now - and one day you will be certain of that ultimate rescue, taken with him to everlasting glory!
Alex White
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