Sei sulla pagina 1di 1

PSALMS OF ASCENT!

PSALM 124:2-3

Swallowed
IF THE LORD HAD NOT BEEN ON OUR SIDE WHEN MEN ATTACKED US, WHEN THEIR ANGER FLARED AGAINST US, THEY WOULD HAVE SWALLOWED US ALIVE; (PSALMS 124:23 NIV)
SURVIVAL
Is David here recalling what happened when the Philistines attacked him?
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD, Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? The LORD answered him, Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you. So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me. So that place was called Baal Perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off. (2 Samuel 5:1721 NIV)

of survival and I am sure even he felt so at the time.

working His purpose out to complete his work,


I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the rst day until now, being condent of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:36 NIV)

PRESERVATION
But God was not nished with His man and His people. And God never gives up on His dream of preserving and rescuing His people time and time again. Sometimes, although it may not seem so to us, survival is the greatest victory of all. The history of the Hebrews reveals this over and over again. Survival is not the nal goal, but it is a worthy intermediate goal so that, in Gods good time, He then has a further opportunity to complete His work in us and through us. In the midst of all his trials in prison and the galling knowledge that some so-called brothers were stirring up trouble for him, Paul was able to retain a vision for the Philippians - a vision that had God at the centre. Paul was condent that God was still

ANGER
Anger is tough to handle. It is one thing to endure the anger of another when it is kept below the surface, but quite another to be confronted with another's rage when it 'ares' up in our faces. The temptation is to react or run. But with God we can stand rm, safe and secure knowing He will vindicate us. This Psalm says that we do not need to fear being swallowed alive, or fear the anger of others. We are not powerless to resist, but can rest assured that God has got a plan for our survival, preservation and - in time - our victory. God is on our side, and no force is His equal.

The Philistines had thought they had seen the last of the nation of Israel after their defeat of Saul, and it must have looked like that to David too. David had no guarantee

Malcolm Cox, email: malcolm.cox@iccmissions.org | ICC Missions on facebook | www.nwlcc.org

Potrebbero piacerti anche