Psalm 124 - Chambers, Oswald

1. Alternative danger

if it had not been the lord who was on our side, now may Israel say . . . (psalm 124:1)

Facing an alternative is not to deal in supposition, but part of wisdom and understanding; supposition is wisdom gone to hysteria. In estimating the dangers which beset us we have to remember that they are not haphazard, but things that will happen. Our lord told his disciples to lay their account with peril, with hatred, in fact he tells them to leap for joy when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the son of mans sake (Luke 6:2223). We are apt to look at this alterna- tive as a supposition, but Jesus says it will happen and must be estimated. It is never wise to under-estimate an enemy. We look upon the enemy of our souls as a conquered foe, so he is, but only to god, not to us.

(a) estimate of antagonism

if it had not been the lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us. (psalm 124:23)

we have to lay our account with the antagonism of men, it is a danger that is always with us. . . . When men rose up against us not tendencies, not the moods of men, but men themselves. All that makes life either honourable or terrible is summed up in the word men. In estimating the forces against us we are slow to believe in this antagonistic element, we look at them too haphazardly, not realising that they are dead set against us. But beware of men it is the last thing we do. The reason our lord tells us to beware of men is that the human heart is deceit- ful above all things, and desperately wicked, and if we put our trust in men we shall go under, because men are just like ourselves, and none of us in our wits before god would ever think of trusting ourselves; if we do it is a sign that we are ignorant of ourselves. At heart men are antagonistic to the lordship of jesus christ. It is not antagonism to creeds or points of view, but antagonism encountered for my sake. Many of us awaken antagonism by our way of stating things; we have to distinguish between being persecuted for some notion of our own and being persecuted for my sake. We are apt to think only of the bad things as being against jesus, but it is the refined things, the cultured things, the religious things which are dead against jesus christ unless they are loyal to him. It was the religious people of our lords time who withstood him, not the worldly. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you ( john 15:18). These are the deliberate words of our lord to his disciples. In the measure in which we are loyal to jesus christ the same thing happens to us; we are at a loss to understand why people should have the most apparently absurd antipa- thy to us. Their anger is strangely unaccountable; it is not irritation, but an inspired working against.

(b) Estimate of agony

then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul. (psalm 124:4)

One element in the alternative danger that attends the saints of god is the agony it produces. It is strange that god should make it that through the shadow of an agony cometh redemption; strange that gods son should be made perfect through suffering; strange that suffering should be one of the golden pathways for gods children. There are times in personal life when we are brought into an understanding of what Abraham experienced. Get thee out of thy country. . . . It is not so much that we are misunderstood, but that suffering is brought on others through our being loyal to god, and it produces agony for which there is no relief on the human side, only on gods side. Then we pray thy kingdom come we have to share in the pain of the world being born again; it is a desperate pain. Gods servants are, as it were, the birth-throes of the new age. My little children, of whom i travail in birth again until christ be formed in you (gala- tians 4:19). Many of us receive the holy ghost, but immediately the throes begin we misunderstand gods purpose. We have to enter into the travail with him until the world is born again. The world must be born again just as individuals are.

(c) Estimate of annihilation

then the proud waters had gone over our soul. (psalm 124:5)

The ultimate result of the danger is annihilation, our lord leaves us in no doubt about that; he always estimated things in the final analysis. Our lord teaches that the forces against us work for our annihilation, and ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake. Nowadays we do not catch the drift of these words. It is not the question of a law of nature at work, but a law of antagonism, everything that is not loyal to Jesus christ is against us. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord. . . . Saul of tarsus was spending all his educated manhood to annihilate those who were of the way (rv). It is that spirit we have to estimate in the danger that besets us if we are true to god.

2. Appreciated deliverance

blessed be the lord , who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. (psalm 124:6)

The reason some of us are so tepid spiritually is that we do not realise that god has done anything for us. Many people are at work for god, not because they appreciate his salvation, but because they think they should be doing something for other people. Our lord never called anyone to work for him because they realise a need, but only on the basis that he has done something for them. The only basis on which to work for god is an esteemed appreciation of his deliverance, that is, our personal history with god is so poignant that it constitutes our devotion to him. Gods deliverance makes us his absolute debtors. Have we taken into account what god has done for us? Estimate the alternative danger, and then begin to call on your soul to bless god for his deliverance. . . . To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

(a) entire escape

Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowl- ers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. (psalm 124:7)

God does not deliver us gradually, but suddenly, it is a perfect deliverance, a complete emancipation. When the deliverance is realised, it is realised alto- gether, from the crown of your head to the sole of your foot, and your devotion to god is on account of that deliverance. It is a good thing to begin prayer with praising god for his attributes, and for the way those attributes have been brought to bear on our personal salvation. Let your mind soak in the deliverance of god, and then praise him for them.

(b) eternal element

Our help is in the name of the lord , who made heaven and earth. (psalm 124:8)

Our help is not in what god has done, but in god himself. There is a danger of banking our faith and our testimony on our experience, whereas our experience is the gateway to a closer intimacy with god. Our help is in the name of the one who delivers. The dangers that beset us are real dangers, and if we estimate them we shall appreciate gods deliverance. Why our lord said that self-pity was of the devil is that self-pity will prevent us appreciating gods deliverance. When we begin to say why has this happened to me? Why does poverty begin to come to me? Why should this difficulty come, this upset? It means that we are more concerned about getting our own way than in esteeming the marvellous deliverance god has wrought. We read of gods people of old that they soon forgot his works, and we are in danger of doing the same unless we continually lift up our eyes to god and bless him for his deliverances.