August 24th
Psalm 124
A song of degrees of David
The
Lord protects
1: If it had not been the LORD who was
on our side, now may Israel say; 2:
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: 3: Then they had swallowed us up
quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: 4: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over
our soul: 5: Then the proud
waters had gone over our soul. 6:
Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7: Our soul is escaped as a bird out
of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8: Our help is in the name of the
LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
A song of degrees
The
Lord surrounds
1: They that trust in the LORD shall
be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. 2: As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
3: For the rod of the wicked
shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth
their hands unto iniquity. 4:
Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their
hearts. 5: As for such as turn
aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers
of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.
Today we are reading Psalm 124 & 125. Psalm 124 is a Psalm
of David but it is used by Hezekiah to describe the LORD as the creator of
Heaven and earth. This was a reply to Rab-shekeh’s railings. Let me read the
background
2Chron 32…
16: And his servants
spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. 17: He wrote also letters to rail on
the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the
nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so
shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand. 18: Then they cried with a loud voice
in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to
affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. 19: And they spake against the God of
Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work
of the hands of man. 20: And
for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz,
prayed and cried to heaven.
In 2Kings 19 we read…
14: And
Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and
Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15: And Hezekiah prayed before the
LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims,
thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast
made heaven and earth. 16:
LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear
the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
In Isa 37 we read…
15: And
Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16:
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art
the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made
heaven and earth. 17: Incline
thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the
words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.
So David is quoted in
these songs of the degrees as being the best answer to the railings of
Rad-shakeh. David says, The LORD is on our side. If the Lord had not be on our
side when men rose up to oppose us and destroy us we would have been totally
destroyed. We were totally over come in many senses. Then David blesses the
LORD who did not allow us to be eaten by their enemies. Then we have an
interesting concept – our lives were delivered like a bird that escapes out of
the net of the bird catcher. The snare was broken and the birds escaped. This
concept is quoted by Sennacherib which is written on the clay prism which is
now in the British Museum. Then David says, our help is in the name of the LORD
who is the creator of Heaven and earth. It’s interesting in scripture that when
God is spoken of to Gentiles he is referred to as the God of Heaven. Psalm 125
speaks about Hezekiah’s honest desire for peace.
In Isa 38 we read…
17: Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in
love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all
my sins behind thy back.
In 2 Chron 32 we read…
1: After these things, and the establishment thereof,
Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against
the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. 2: And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he
was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
Hezekiah says those who trust in
the LORD will be like the mountain of Zion which can never be removed. And just
as the mountains surround Jerusalem so the LORD surrounds the people of God,
now and forever. And the punishment of the wicked will not rest on the
righteous in case the righteous begin to do wickedness. Do good O LORD to those
that do good and to those who are upright in heart. This theology could not be
father from the Grace of God. Could there be a clearer statement of legalism
and law keeping. He says, do go to those who do good. This is not error but it
is the truth of God under law. Under law God blessed the good with goodness but
under Grace God gives his goodness to those who are not good, on the basis that
Christ has done good. Under law Hezekiah pleads that because Israel has been
good and upright then God should be good to them. And this was the conditions
and provisions of the Mosaic Law. Then Hezekiah gives his reasoning, he says,
that those who turn away from following the straight path to their crooked
ways, the Lord will lead them out of the land, with all the evil workers of
iniquity but the Lord will bring peace on Israel. As Christians we can see that
Israel under the law had a real experience of God without the personal
salvation that christians know and enjoy.
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