Read
(A song by David for worship.)
Thanking the Lord
1The Lord was on our side!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2“The Lord was on our side!
Otherwise, the enemy attack
3would have killed us all,
because it was furious.
4We would have been swept away
in a violent flood
5of high and roaring waves.”
6Let's praise the Lord!
He protected us from enemies
who were like wild animals,
7and we escaped like birds
from a hunter's torn net.
8The Lord made heaven and earth,
and he is the one
who sends us help.
Reflect
You can read this psalm as an answer to the plea of last week’s psalm (Psalm 123). Even if the problems of last week have not been solved, you can thank God in advance for what he will do. After all, “if God is on our side, can anyone be against us?” (Romans 8:31 – it’s worth reading the whole chapter). We know he will deliver us, because he has promised. We may have to wait, but that’s a topic for another time.
The psalmist uses two vivid images here. First, floods. The Middle East was liable to devastating floods, and the Bible frequently uses the imagery of water to conjure up pictures of destruction. Psalm 89:9-10 refers to the mythological “Rahab,” a terrifying beast that lived in the waters. A few years ago floods swept through Calgary, Alberta, and no amount of technology was able to save the many homes – some of the most splendid homes were built along the river bank – from total destruction.
The second image is that of a bird caught in a snare. The same picture is found in Psalm 91:3-4, and it is found on the Assyrian prism that describes how Sennacherib boasted that he had shut up King Hezekiah “like a caged bird” in Jerusalem. (See 2 Kings, chapters 18 and 19 for the biblical story of what actually happened.)
This psalm, with its vivid images and repetition, suggest that it was used communally in worship. Perhaps it was sung by the pilgrims after they had arrived safely in Jerusalem.
Respond
Lord Jesus, like the people with lovely homes in Calgary or like the bird that is free on the wing one moment and then finds itself trapped in a snare, we can be subject to disaster at any time. Thank you that we do not need to panic, and that, whatever happens, we are safe in your hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.