Salvation from the snare of religious pride
Warm-up: Are you someone who tends to worry about all the bad things that could happen if…? What are the ‘ifs’ that scare you?
Read: Psalm 124
1) v8: How is God’s name the help of his people?
- Read Mt 24:9. Isn’t God’s name the very reason why his people come into the line of fire?
- Why then such emphasis that ‘our help is in his name‘?
- Does v8 regard God’s name as a magic spell that can be invoked and chanted to scare away demonic spirits? Why not? cf Acts 19:13-16
- If not by magic, how else is God’s name a safe refuge? cf Lk 21:16-19
- Safety from what? Lk 12:4-5
2) vv3-5: Why does the Bible here and elsewhere compare Satan’s forces to torrential floods? e.g. Isa 8:7-8; Dan 11:40; Rev 12:15
- What examples in the history of Israel come to your mind when you think of the threats and oppression by her enemies? e.g. 2Ki 19:35; Est 3:12-13
3) Read again vv1-2. Why ask worshipers to think of this hypothetical scenario in the past?
- => ‘Let Israel say…’: Say what, and why so?
- What will happen if believers forget that they owe it all to God?
- Why are we asked to give all glory to God? Does God need glory? If not, for who else is it essential that all glory goes to God? Why?
4) vv6-7 bless God for deliverance from a snare: Which one?
- Read Eph 6:10-12 and 2Tim 2:26 => why does it matter to know that the true enemy is a spiritual enemy?
- Do you think the devil gets too much attention for how he ensnares people, or too little?
- What is that trap? Is the snare only a danger? Or does the psalm say that they too were actually ensnared?
- How has it been broken to secure our escape? cf Jn 8:31-34
5) v6: Why is it important to bless the Lord for deliverance from such danger? Deut 9:4-5
- What does it mean to bless him? cf Ps 103:1-2
- How come that this psalm is sung in first person plural (‘our’ help…) and no longer singular (‘my help…’ as in Ps 121:2?* cf Ps 122:1; 123:1-2
6) Personal and application
- Why should Christians identify themselves with the worshippers addressed by Ps 124, and how?
- Do you regard Christianity as the means to avoid a trap, or as the means for you and your children to be set free?
- Ps 123:4 mentioned those who are ‘at ease’. How does ‘being secure in God’ differ from ‘being at ease’?
- Can we be lulled into ‘being at ease’? How would you notice if that happened to you?
* Those who come to the house of God to lift their eyes above the visible things will find that they are not alone in doing so, cf Heb 12:22; 1Ki 19:10.18
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