Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

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ON OUR SIDE - 1-5 - The Peril

“If the Lord had not been on our side– let Israel now say– If the Lord had not been on our side when people rose up against us, they would have swallowed us alive because of their burning anger against us.” (1-3) The most likely scenario for this situation in David’s day was the battle against the Ammonites and the combined armies of several nations. As David’s men faced 32,000 chariots and an overwhelming army he told them: “Be courageous! Let us fight bravely to save our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.” (1 Chron. 19:13) The repetition of the words is very important here; the out- come of the history of the nation and each individual would be totally different “if the Lord had not been on our side”; they would not exist as a free people if it were not for the Lord’s mercy. This psalm reminds us to always be aware of how the Lord’s intervention has made a difference in our lives. Now David paints a picture with vivid metaphors: 1. The Beast of Prey- “…they would have swallowed us alive…” This is a description of a person being suddenly attacked and devoured by a monstrous beast. It is used elsewhere in scripture to de- scribe ‘Hades, which suddenly and forcibly snatches away its victims.’ 2 “Lets swallow them alive as the grave swallows its victims. Though they are in the prime of life, they will go down into the pit of death.” (Pro. 1:12) David is using the most descriptive language possible. 2. The Burning Fire- “…because of their burning anger against us…” This burning is alluding to the sudden and uncontrollable fires that would rage in dry, wind swept landscapes of the Middle East. Jesus taught that anger in the heart of a person is like a fire that will destroy them: “And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Mt. 5:22) 3. The Bursting Flood- “The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.” (4, 5) This is the most forceful of the metaphors as the flood is mentioned three times and in each instance it is rising in in- tensity. It is describing the violent flash floods that arise suddenly in the dry riverbed, valleys [wahdis] of the Middle East: ‘Torrents suddenly break out, fill the valleys, and carry everything away with them…the thought of the primeval flood [Noah’s day] is also present in this description.’ 3 The victory that Debo- rah and Barak won over the armies of Sisera years before this psalm, was won in a similar way. God used a dry riverbed and a sudden flood to destroy the much larger foe: “I will lure Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.” Deborah sings of the ensuing flood and their victory: “The Kishon River swept them away¬– that ancient river, the Kishon.” (Jdg. 4:7; 5:21) Isaiah the prophet describes the delivering flood of God’s presence as he frees Israel from the oppression of the Assyrians; “Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River–the king of Assyria and all his mighty armies. This flood will over flow all its channels and sweep into Judah. It will submerge Immanuel’s land from one end to the other.” (Isa. 8:9) Whenever our riverbed is dry and we are overwhelmed with difficulties, we are candidates for God’s spiritual flood of help! This is the very core of the psalm; David begins to bless the Lord from a heart of sincere appreci- ation. To bless means to ‘praise with deep affection’ and ‘to acknowledge someone in his position of power and in his claim to greatness with all due form.’ 4 The analogy is clear, either our mouth (and our soul) acknowledges God’s saving grace or we end up in the teeth of the monstrous beast mentioned in the previous verses. Now the fourth metaphor is used: 4. The Bird Escaped- “We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!” (7) In ancient times as in today the ‘hunter (fowler)’ uses a variety of nets to ensnare the unsus- pecting bird depending on its flight patterns and food preferences. “Does a bird ever get caught in a trap that has no bait?” (Amos 3:5) The bird caught in the snare of the hunter is highly symbolic of a person being in bondage of any kind whether it is enslavement to a foreign power or the tyranny of sin within the heart. To those who place the writing of this psalm at the time of Hezekiah there is a ‘cylinder [used for recording ancient history] in the British museum…it records eight expeditions of Sennacherib, one II OUR HELP IS FROM THE LORD - 6-8 – The Praise “Blessed be the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! (6)

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