Utter Dependence

Psalm 124
1If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say—
2if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us,
3then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
4then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
5then over us would have gone the raging waters.
6Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
7We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
8Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Our ability to look back over our lives is a gift, for in that backward observation, we are able to see the hand of God at work for us personally. David is the author of this prayer and he certainly had much for which to give God credit. He was spared time and again from death and danger. While I’ve never been threatened by a giant or a murderous king, I am fully aware that God has been constant in His protection and provision for me. And if you take but a moment to review your life, you will find the same to be true of your life as well.

As a nation, Israel had much for which to be thankful. They had been formed by God Himself as His people and protected quite often despite their own ignorance and idolatry. Now David takes a moment to remind himself and everyone else that their mere existence as a people must be credited to the God who created them. We are no different, for we are their descendants.

In my wanderings through these words today, I learned that the phrase “had been on our side” (hāyāh lānû) is the past tense of Immanuel (“God is with us”). Thus, the community confesses that God has been with them in their past history – since their beginning. That is a powerful confession and assurance of future protection. The last verse of this prayer says it all, ”Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth”. He who formed us from the dust of the ground and breathed into us our very existence remains today as our Protector and Provider.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more