I remember as a lad in Sunday School being fascinated by this psalm: I liked its cadence; its rhythm; its shape and appearance (on the page it was ‘short and slim’, thus easy to memorise). I liked its images — especially the picture of the fowler’s snare. It captured my imagination. But I understood it only in a childish way. I think I un­derstand it a little better now.

It’s another of the psalms of as­cents. It’s a song for pilgrims and a very suitable one, too; it reminds us that the pilgrim’s journey can be a dangerous one. Jesus reminds us, ‘in the world you will have trou­ble. But take heart; I have over­come the world’ (John 16:33).

It’s a psalm of David: one of four in this section (Psalms 122, 124,131 and 133).

It’s a song of thanksgiving to God, ac­knowledging what He has done. He has wrought great and miracu­lous deliverances not only for David, but also for the nation of Israel. As a result he exhorts us to, ‘Praise the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth’ (6). We don’t know the background of this psalm. There are several pos­sibilities in David’s life which might fit.

He might have composed this psalm after his encounter with Goli­ath: recorded in 1 Samuel 17.

He might have composed it after Saul was suddenly transformed into ‘a wild beast’ and sought to kill him: recorded in 1 Samuel 19:9­-10.

The background could be 1 Samuel 23: a report came to David that the Philistines were attacking Keilah in Judah, and had raided the threshing floors and made off with the grain. David enquired of the Lord what to do. The Lord told him to attack; so he rescued Keilah, inflicting heavy losses on the Philis­tines. When Saul heard that David was in Keilah he dispatched his army — thinking David was easy prey. The Lord told David to flee the city: he escaped to the wilder­ness of Ziph and Maon. Saul, in hot pursuit, was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side. The noose was tightening. David was heading into a trap. But just at the right moment a messen­ger came to Saul saying, ‘Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.’ So Saul broke off his pursuit. David was saved. It was a remarkable providence! He escaped like a bird out of the fowl­ers snare.

The background could be 2 Samuel 5: David had captured Je­rusalem from the Jebusites and made it his capital; but the Philis­tines were alarmed and attacked. Their goal was to terminate David’s kingship. But they were defeated at Perazim. They re­grouped and tried again at the Valley of Rephaim, where they were routed again. Both times the strategy was the Lord’s. David could have said, ‘if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, we would have been swallowed alive.’

There are many other similar incidents in David’s life. But be­cause we don’t know the precise background; we can apply it to any remarkable deliverance — personal or national. There are many times we marvel at what might have been, ‘if the Lord had not been on our side.’ Per­haps you have a story to tell about God’s startling intervention and protection?

I can think of a couple of ex­periences while growing up on the farm — if the Lord had not been on our side — I would have been killed — and the machinery I was working on smashed. I’ve been in a couple of collisions in the car and in God’s goodness I’ve walked away unscathed. During my years in the ministry I can testify that ‘our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.’

The late Tom Woollard of Dingo Creek in his book, ‘Changes of a Lifetime,’ tells us that at least 3 times he should have been killed — once when a tree fell upon him; once being trampled under the hoof of a horse; and once by taking a pre­scribed drug for blood pressure for too long. He too could have said, ‘if the Lord had not been on our side – we would have been swept away.’

Let’s look at the three metaphors that David uses to describe the different dangers he faced.

1. The Fierce Animal (2-3 and 6)⤒🔗

The image is of a monster large enough that could gulp its prey in one go. (NB. ‘Quick’ in the KJV and NKJV means ‘alive’). The enemy is not a literal monster, but came in the form of dangerous and bloodthirsty men motivated by malice and hatred (2-3). It well describes Israel’s enemies. They were strong, numerous and ruth­less. They were like a ferocious animal. They outnumbered and outgunned Israel. Israel ‘should’ have been defeated. But David says, ‘Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth’ (6). Against all odds the LORD granted miraculous pro­tection and deliverance for His people. David says, ‘The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love ... We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield’ (Psalm 33:18 and 20).

It’s significant that David com­pares his enemies to wild beasts and fierce animals. In the Bible the nations and empires of the world are often depicted as wild animals. E.g. in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13, Daniel saw four great beasts emerge out of the turbulent sea (Dan. 7:3-7). They were like something out of a Ste­ven Spielberg movie.

The first beast is described as a lion with eagles’ wings (4). The second beast was like a bear with 3 ribs in its mouth (5). The third beast was like a leopard with four wings of a bird (6). The fourth beast is an indescrib­able monster, terrifying and ex­tremely strong (7). These animals (as we know from verse 17) repre­sent 4 kingdoms that will arise from the earth. (This idea is not farfetched. Still today animals and birds are used as nation symbols e.g. the Russian tiger, the Chi­nese dragon, the American eagle, the Australian kangaroo, the New Zealand kiwi, etc.). All these king­doms in Daniel’s vision have something in common: they are all hostile to God and His people. The beasts represent the hostility of the world toward the church.

Fast forward to the present: the enemy of the church today in so many places is the secular god­less state. There is persecution against the church in many coun­ties. Read ‘Barnabas News’ or ‘Voice of the Martyrs’. This psalm therefore is no less relevant today than it was in David’s day. Derek Kidner writes, ‘It makes the psalm all the more accessible to the Christian as a vehicle of his own praise...the praise is (primarily) corporate, blessing God for the survival of His people (in whom we may now see not only Israel but the church) under the most formidable attacks and most piti­less bondage’.

2. The Flash Flood (4-5)←⤒🔗

The picture here is of the flash flood. Like the flood we saw in the Hunter Valley last year. Remember the scene of the car being washed away and two houses in Dungog sailing downstream?) It was a tragedy that happened un­expectedly — it was unforeseen — out of the blue.

In the Middle East the streams (or wadis) were normally innocu­ous and harmless. But after a storm over the hills, the little stream was suddenly transformed into a raging torrent, which swept away everything in its path. The result was sudden, catastrophic and unforeseen destruction on a massive scale.

It’s a picture of how our lives can be suddenly overwhelmed by an unexpected and unforeseen event. Perhaps it’s a visit to the doctor; or a phone call in the mid­dle of the night; or an accident in the car. Or it may be a sudden temptation that arises from within our hearts that has the potential of sweeping us away. The only de­fence against being swept off our feet is to ensure we are standing on the Rock — the Almighty Sov­ereign and Omnipotent God. David says, ‘If the Lord had not been on our side ... the raging waters would have swept us away.’ He says something simi­lar in Psalm 18: ‘He reached down from on high and took hold of me, He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They con­fronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support’ (Ps.18:16-18).

3. The Fowler’s Snare (7) ←⤒🔗

The picture here is of a fowler using all his cunning and skill to lure an innocent helpless dove into his net or trap. Can you think of anything more helpless than a dove? It has no teeth or claws or strength to fight off its captor. When caught, it is doomed unless someone sets it free. But miraculously and un­expectedly, it is set free. God foils the fowler. And so David says, ‘The snare has been bro­ken and we have escaped’.

There is surely the sugges­tion that this kind of danger is Satanic. Satan is a cunning de­ceiver and a liar. He aims to lure us into his deadly trap. Paul declares, ‘We are not ignorant of his designs’ (2 Cor. 2:11). He also tells us that, ‘when you are tempted, He will also pro­vide a way out so that you can stand up under it’ (1 Cor. 10:13).

He provided a way of escape for George Wishart (John Knox’s mentor). It was 1545. Wishart received a letter alleging to come from an intimate friend who had suddenly become ill and earnestly desired his friend’s presence at his death­bed. Wishart set out with a few friends but had scarcely gone a quarter of a mile before he stopped and abruptly an­nounced, ‘I am forbidden to go on this journey; will some of you be pleased to ride to yonder place (he pointed to a little hill) and see what you find, for I apprehend there is a plot laid against my life.’ His scouts checked the hill and discov­ered some 60 horsemen concealed behind it, ready to seize Wishart. The ‘friend’s’ letter had been a for­gery of his eminence, the most bloody, treacherous Cardinal Bea­ton. The Lord preserves and pro­tects His people from the snares of Satan.

This psalm has ultimately only one message. Where would we be if the Lord had not saved and deliv­ered us from all the dangers we have encountered? We would be swallowed by death; we would be washed away; we would be held captive by sin. ‘Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth’.

Prayer: Almighty God, and merci­ful Father, you see the multitude, the force, and the exceeding rage of our enemies to be so great that they would devour and tear us in pieces if your bountiful mercy did not relieve and help us. But, see­ing their craft and fury increase and grow from day to day, de­clare yourself to be our defender and protector; that we, escaping their traps and snares, may give ourselves wholly to praising and magnifying your most holy and blessed Name, and that through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, our only Lord and Saviour. Amen.adapted from the 1595 Psalter