God Takes Our Side

OPENING PRAYER:

Amazing God, be the strength I desire, the power within me, that I might live the life You want for me.

READ: Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say—

2 if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us,

3 they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us;

4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,

5 the raging waters would have swept us away.

6 Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124

REFLECT:

If disaster strikes, whom do you ask for practical help? And how?

Israel was never a big country. Mostly, throughout Old and New Testament times, God’s people saw themselves as vulnerable to – if not actually oppressed by – greater powers. They were like a fragile bird (7). Jews through the centuries must easily have identified with this image.

The same worldly weakness has not always been true of Christians. Of course, our faith has passed through times of persecution. It still does. For some believers today, this psalm may have urgent resonance. Meanwhile, many of us live in societies where the church has often joined hands with those in power and prospered in terms of status and material life. Has this been good for our faith? Is it as easy to grasp the centrality of faith when, individually, some of us have sound bank balances, insurance policies, and governments that invest millions in our security?

It is thought that this psalm (as mentioned in an earlier series) may have been sung as God’s people processed up to the Temple. David, the psalmist, feels intense gratitude. He urges all the people to declare the need for God’s help in positive acts of thanksgiving. He knew that, if not supported by the Lord, his people would be overwhelmed.

APPLY:

The clutter of our material well-being is temporary. It may be swept aside by many forces. Ask God to confirm this to your heart. Thank Him that He will be on your side should it happen.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Lord, You are a covenant-keeping God, You are for me and not against me. I need not be afraid.

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