Confident trust in God's deliverence

If you have your Bibles, you can turn with me to Psalm 124.

And we can keep our Bibles open there as we think about this Psalm,

which invites us to confident trust in God's deliverance.

So let's again hear God's word together.

If the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel say,

if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us,

they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us.

The flood would have engulfed us.

The torrent would have swept over us.

The raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird from the fowler's snare.

The snare has been broken and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Amen.

Boys and girls, let me talk to you for just a moment.

I want to begin with a story of something that happened to me a long, long time ago.

So when I was in university and I was playing in one of the university sports teams,

we took a trip for an away game.

So we went on a minibus and I came back on the minibus,

left the bus, started walking from home only to discover I'd left my keys on the bus

and I'd left my wallet on the bus.

And this was in the olden days before mobile phones.

So panic started to set in immediately.

And then I prayed.

And literally, literally two minutes later,

a guy from our team who lived on the other side of the city,

he happened to be driving by and he stopped and he asked what the problem was.

And he just happened to know,

the only person in the whole team who knew where the bus driver lived,

he happened to know where he lived.

And the bus driver just happened to have been a little bit lazy in returning the bus.

So he still had the bus and the keys and I could get my possessions again.

And I was happy.

And that was a narrow escape.

Grand scheme of things, no big deal.

But some 20 plus years later, I have never forgotten that lesson.

There's a number of lessons.

The lesson, God listens and God will answer our prayers.

That God cares for us in the big important stuff and in the little things of life.

And that was really good for my faith.

And I think as we come to Psalm 124,

we can all learn those lessons whatever age we are.

I imagine all of us, maybe especially if we're a bit older,

we can think about times when God intervened in our lives.

God did something.

God got involved.

It might have been a really big thing.

It might have been a really small thing.

Here's my question.

As you think about ways in your past that God intervened,

what do you do with those moments and those memories?

How can you make them work for your faith and for your trust?

And to push it one step further,

how can we make those stories work for other people's faith in God to grow too?

What we have in Psalm 124 is a story of King David's escape.

We're not told which of his many escapes it was,

but we know it's a song of ascents of David.

And David is a poet and David is a singer.

And so he turns one of these acts of God's rescue into a song.

And then he invites everyone within Israel to listen along and to sing

so that together the people of God could share his great conclusion.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

So this song is here in the Bible,

and we're thinking about it this morning,

so that you and I today,

we might remember and rejoice in God's many rescues in our lives

and ultimately the great rescue as we think about Jesus' death on the cross.

Psalm 124 is one of those Psalms that has a special place in the history of God's church.

We began saying together, Psalm 124 verse 8,

Psalms 124:8

John Calvin in the church in Geneva,

when the Reformation happened,

he used that week by week as their call to worship.

Who is it that we are invited to worship together?

The God who helps us, who is our maker.

And he felt that the church needed a weekly reminder

because in his day, the church was very much under attack.

People very much wanted to shut down the message coming from Calvin's Geneva,

the message of the Reformation.

And so this Psalm became precious in that generation,

and by God's grace,

it may be precious to us too,

as this Psalm helps us to see that God delivers his church from great dangers

so that we might live with deep confidence in his redeeming love.

So we're just going to walk through the Psalm.

The first thing we're going to notice in the first couple of verses

is our great Redeemer.

Now notice the style of these verses,

and we might call it call and response.

So you have David and then a choir master beginning,

if the Lord had not been on our side.

And then it's as if the Psalm pauses

so that David can say,

sing it with me, everybody,

if the Lord had not been on our side.

This is for the whole church.

And what David invites the whole church to do

is to look back on a great deliverance that God brought

and to imagine the outcome

if God had been absent.

If the Lord had not been on our side,

how would things have been different?

And so clearly, right from the beginning of this Psalm,

for David and for the pilgrim people of God,

the Lord is introduced as their only source of hope and help.

They're not trying to reason away their rescue.

Well, yeah, actually it was because we had a great military strategy.

Nor is he taking credit for what properly belongs to God.

David is absolutely humble, doesn't want any attention,

wants it all to belong to the Lord.

And nor does he minimize the salvation

the way sometimes we can do.

We can pray and then we get an answer

and then we can begin to think,

well, would that have happened even if I didn't pray?

David doesn't go there.

He recognizes God is at work.

If the Lord had not been on our side,

defeat, destruction, disaster.

Now, Ian read for us from 2 Samuel 5,

and you can turn back there, page 309,

just to think about how this plays out

in a real life deliverance from God.

So just to give you the background while you're turning there,

David has now been set on the throne.

God's chosen king has now been recognized

as king over Judah and over all Israel.

And now that he sits in that place,

enemies, verse 17,

they hear that David had been anointed king,

and so they went up in full force to search for him.

So these cruel enemies we meet over and over in the Old Testament,

they come on this search and destroy mission.

And so David, see his response in verse 19.

He doesn't call out the commanders of the army,

figure out what's the plan.

David inquired of the Lord,

shall I go and attack the Philistines?

Will you deliver them into my hands?

The Lord answered him,

go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines.

So he is dependent on God.

God, I'll go if you tell me to.

God, I will go if you're going to give the victory.

And look at his testimony.

After he defeats the Philistines the first time,

verse 20,

the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.

David is taking no credit.

All glory and honor belongs to God.

Now, verse 22,

notice what happens.

These Philistines who oppose God and the people of God,

they come back again.

And again, David's response is to pray.

David inquired of the Lord.

And the Lord answers,

don't go straight up,

but circle around and attack them in front of the poplar trees.

And then this,

as soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees,

move quickly,

because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you

to strike the Philistine army.

And that's what happens.

And again,

we see the battle belongs to the Lord.

Story after story of the Old Testament.

Think about the story of David as the little shepherd boy,

the teenager who goes to fight against the Philistine champion,

Goliath.

And again,

David speaks with such faith that it's evident that he is coming in the name of the Lord,

and it will be the Lord who will give that great victory.

Or go even further back.

Go back to the time of Noah.

There's another deliverance.

God saved his tiny church,

just Noah and his family from the flood of judgment.

Or go to the book of Exodus

and recognize God delivering his people from slavery in Egypt.

Or go to the story of Esther.

And think about how God raises Esther to the palace

so he can rescue Israel from the threat of extinction.

Over and over,

the Old Testament declares,

God the Lord is his people's redeemer.

And that salvation,

as we see it and experience it,

it should lead to praise.

And truly without God,

it would be game over for God's people.

And we need to recognize that's not just true of the Old Testament.

In the New Testament,

think about the number of times we see the apostles,

where various leaders,

Jewish and Roman leaders,

attack and imprison them.

And think about Peter being rescued from prison by an angel.

Think about Paul being delivered by an earthquake.

Think about the reality of the mission of the church

growing and growing rapidly,

despite all human opposition.

Go all the way to the book of Revelation

and you get this wonderful image of,

yes, the church is under fire and under attack,

but yes,

the church is protected from Satan

and from the forces of evil

by the great God of heaven.

And now,

think of Jesus.

While he walked this earth,

singing Psalm 124.

And if you know anything of the life of Jesus,

you will probably know

that he often faced anger

and hostility

and attacks from other people,

both words and actions,

and they were attempts made on his life.

And in all of his narrow escapes,

he trusted in his father

to help save him through them all.

And his greatest escape,

his most astonishing escape,

was when Jesus escaped the clutches of death,

that first Easter Sunday

in his resurrection victory,

breaking those chains of slavery

to sin and Satan for us

so that we,

through faith in Jesus,

we could be delivered.

This is why in the church,

we always think back

to the gospel events.

That's why we want our worship

to be full of God's word

and full of the gospel.

That's why Jesus gave us

the Lord's Supper and baptism,

so that we can have these physical,

visible reminders

of God's work

to rescue us through Jesus.

And every week as we gather here,

we're being reminded

that God,

through his Son,

the Lord Jesus,

he has rescued,

he has redeemed

by his life,

death,

and resurrection.

We remind ourselves

that he is still working for us now.

He continues to rescue.

He continues to redeem.

He continues to be with us

and for us.

And one day,

he'll come back.

And that rescue

and that redemption

will be complete.

And God's people

will enjoy eternal safety

and security.

And we need these constant reminders

because life is full

of constant challenges.

And that's why

we should think back

to our own narrow escapes.

We should think back

to those times

when we did see God

working for us

so that we can look back

with gratitude,

so that we can remember

personally

that God's covenant love,

it doesn't fail,

that he does care for us.

Sometimes it's through his word.

Sometimes it's the ministry

of his spirit.

Sometimes it's through

the people of God.

Sometimes it's through circumstances.

But this psalm reminds us

that we both praise

and we pray to

God who is on the throne.

God who decides the outcomes.

The God of covenant

who cannot and will not

fail his people.

And he invites each one of us

to know him

and to trust

in his

rescue.

So we have first of all

our great redeemer.

And then right in the middle

of the psalm,

David reminds us

of our

great

dangers.

All the way from verse 3

to verse 7.

But before we get into our text,

let's

step back in time

for a moment.

Edinburgh

1582.

The date is

September

the 4th.

John

Jury

was a gospel

preacher

who has been

imprisoned

and banished

for faithfully

proclaiming the word

of God.

But now

on September

the 4th,

1582,

he's back.

And down at

Netherbo,

which is not too far

away from here,

he was met by

200 friends

and supporters.

And they then

walked up

in procession

on Sunday morning

up the high street

to St. Giles Cathedral.

So we know where we are.

We're at St. Giles Cathedral

on the Royal Mile.

And by that point,

the crowd had swelled

to around about

2,000 people.

And while

enemy soldiers

watched on,

wondering what

they should do

about John,

Judy,

and a little bit

fearful about

this growing mob

within the city,

you know what

the crowd did?

The crowd sang.

Guess what?

Sam.

They sang

Psalm 124,

four-part harmony,

and the testimony

was that that

was more terrifying

than any mere

mob riot

the soldiers

might have

suspected.

The reality

that we find

in the Bible,

the reality

we meet in life

and in the Christian

life,

is that life

is full of

hazard and

difficulty

and sometimes

menace.

We've been

thinking about

on Sunday evenings

that Jesus

prepared his

disciples for that

as he sent

them for mission.

He'd say,

listen,

they hated me,

they're going

to hate you too.

I'm going to

send you out

like a sheep

among wolves.

So we shouldn't

be surprised.

And Psalm 124

stands as a

reminder in song

that we should

be alert,

that we should

know the situation,

we should know

the times that

we live in,

that spiritually

we're in a war

zone,

but also

that we should

know the solution

and the security

that comes from

our great

God.

So Psalm 124,

as David

composes it,

and then as we

sing it,

it doesn't

hide the

dangers from

us.

It doesn't

suggest that

following God

in the way of

faith,

that following

Jesus is easy

and leads to

peace and

comfort and

everyone welcoming

us and say,

this is wonderful.

Rather,

he gives very

graphic,

mental pictures

to capture our

imagination and

to work on our

hearts to

recognize that,

yes,

these things may

come,

but there is a

God who delivers

and who gives

the final

outcome.

If the Lord

had not been

on our side,

truly the church

would be done

for.

Look at the

four pictures.

Boys and

girls,

look at these

pictures.

You'll recognize

some of these.

The first one

we find in

verse 3.

If the Lord

had not been

on our side

when people

attacked us,

they would

have swallowed

us alive.

Now,

when I read

that,

I was thinking

of some kind

of lurking

predator.

I was imagining

a snake

curled up

in a dark

corner

waiting

for the

unsuspecting

mouse.

And then,

when the

strike comes,

the mouse

is swallowed

whole.

And the

idea of

Psalm 124

is that by

ourselves,

we are

outmatched

by our

spiritual

enemies

if the

Lord had

not been

on our

side.

Picture

two.

If the

Lord had

not been

on our

side,

verse 4,

the flood

would have

engulfed

us,

the torrent

would have

swept over

us,

the raging

waters

would have

swept us

away.

Picture

a raging

flood.

Maybe

some of

us,

we still

remember

those

Christmas

day images

of the

tsunami

that struck

back in

2004.

Maybe

we've seen

firsthand

the power

of a

river as

it bursts

its banks

and swept

through a

city or

a town.

And again,

the idea

here is

that if

the Lord

had not

been on

the side

of his

people,

they and

we would

be

overwhelmed

and

overcome.

come.

Picture

number

three

is of

a

savage

beast.

Verse

six,

praise

be to

the

Lord

who

has

not

let

us

be

torn

by

their

teeth.

Now,

I'm

going to

confess

the first

time I

read that

my mind

went to

our

little

dog.

Because

you know

with dogs

when they

have dog

toys,

their

instinct

is to

get it

in their

mouth

and shake

it all

about as

if they're

being truly

ferocious.

That's

their instinct.

But that

wouldn't be

particularly

terrifying.

Instead,

perhaps,

we can

think of

an

orca.

Imagine

an

orca.

You know

those horrible

scenes where

you see an

orca playing

with a

seal.

It's

managed to

grab one

and it

flings it

up in the

air and

it's just

playing

with it.

Or maybe

think of

a lion.

And now

that it's

tracked down

a gazelle

and it's

struck.

And it's

ready to

savage.

The idea

again is

that we

would have

been trapped

if the

Lord had

not been

on our

side.

But look

at how

verse 6

begins.

Praise

be to

the Lord

who has

not let

us be

torn by

their

teeth.

And then

the last

picture is

the picture

of the

captured

bird.

We have

escaped like

a bird from

the fowler's

snare.

The snare

has been

broken and

we have

escaped.

So the

unsuspecting

bird walking

through the

woods all

of a sudden

triggers the

trap and

maybe the

net falls or

maybe the

noose tightens

around its

leg.

And the

inevitable

is that the

hunter is

going to

come and

that bird is

heading for

the cooking

pot.

And again

it's the

idea of

being helpless

and hopeless

if the Lord

was not on

the side of

his people.

But what

does it

say?

The snare

has been

broken and

we have

escaped and

that breaking

and that

escaping and

that rescue

doesn't come

from the

birds.

It doesn't

come from

the people

of God.

It comes

from the

rescuer.

It's a

wonderful

reality that

in the

darkest of

dangers

God ensures

that his

church is

protected.

You

might ask

David,

why are you

telling us

this four

times over?

We got it

with the

first image.

Well maybe

it's because

there are so

many dangers

and so many

threats.

And maybe

it's a reminder

that there is a

great need

always for the

people of God

to be alert.

Remember

Peter's

warning.

you have

an enemy,

the devil,

and he

prowls around

like a

roaring lion

seeking

someone to

devour.

So we need

to look

and be

alert.

But it's

also a

reminder that

we need to

live our

days looking

with faith

to God,

his people's

great deliverer

and rescuer.

Martin Luther

was another

reformer.

He was

another who

loved this

psalm.

He often

felt that

the world

was against

him.

He often

felt spiritual

oppression as

he sought

to communicate

the truths

of the

gospel.

And that

led him to

compose a

version of

Psalm 124.

We sometimes

sing it,

a mighty

fortress is

our God.

And just

to say

at a

practical

level,

whether we're

thinking of

Martin Luther

composing a

hymn or

whether we're

thinking about

the people of

God singing

as they

recognize a

great deliverance.

I wonder if

we understand

in our

day to

day the

wisdom and

the goodness

of answering

our fears

with songs

of faith.

It does our

hearts good

to sing,

to remind

ourselves of

what we know

to be true

in God's

word.

This remains

the hope for

the church in

every age,

including

ours.

we have

a Lord

God who

delivers.

Christopher

Ash,

he has a

nice little

sentence,

he says,

the life

of faith

consists of

many narrow

escapes,

all of them

undergirded

by one

very big

escape.

The point

is this,

our faith

is in

the Lord

God,

the one

who sent

his own

son to

be our

true king

and to

be our

savior.

To

acknowledge

that by

nature,

because of

our sin,

because of

our rebellion,

because of

our pride,

we should

be swallowed

up and

we should

be swept

away,

we should

be savaged

because what

we deserve

is God's

judgment.

But by

God's

grace,

he sends

his son

and Jesus

faces down

death in

our place

as our

representative

and Jesus

defeats the

power of

death.

He robs it

of its power

and victory.

He secures

deliverance for

all who

trust in

him.

And that

great event,

the great

event of

the gospel,

God's

salvation of

us through

Jesus,

that becomes

the solid

rock

foundation

that we

build on.

That's

our source

of safety

and security

when the

storms come.

And that's

our security

when the

storm of

God's

final judgment

comes.

We will

stand when

we stand

on the

truths of

Jesus and

his word.

So that

trusting in

the Lord

Jesus,

just like the

singers of

Psalm 124

back then,

we can

look any

trouble,

any danger

square in

the eye and

say, since

God is

for us,

who can be

against us?

In all of

these things,

we are more

than conquerors

through Jesus

who loved

us.

we can

say with

faith,

I am

convinced

that

nothing in

all creation,

no opposition,

no trauma,

no disappointment,

no sin,

nothing will

be able to

separate us

from the

love of God

that is in

Christ Jesus.

The great

answer to

our great

danger is

our great

redeemer.

And that

takes us

finally to

verse 8

and our

great

confidence.

It closes

with this

wonderful

statement of

faith.

Our

help

collectively

as the

church,

our

help

is in

the name

of the

Lord,

the maker

of heaven

and earth.

Now,

we've

already

met

this

statement

of

faith

on the

pilgrim

journey.

Psalm

Psalms 121:2

121

verse 2,

my help

comes from

the Lord,

the maker

of heaven

and earth.

And here

again,

David invites

us to

look back

after a

danger

has

passed

with a

real sense

of gratitude.

He leads

the people

of God

into

confident

trust

as they

sing.

After all,

the one

who is

on the

side

of his

church

and his

people,

the one

who provides

help,

is none

other than

our almighty

maker,

the creator

of heaven

and earth.

He made

all things

and right

now he

sustains

all things

and even

now he

is directing

all things

to his

intended

purpose

and outcome

and we

can

trust

him.

Notice

our help

is in

the name

of the

Lord,

all

block

capitals.

We'll keep

saying this,

that is

the personal

covenant

name of

God.

And just

as in

the ancient

Near East

when a

great king

entered into

a covenant

treaty with

a lesser

nation,

there was

an agreement

on both

sides.

So the

great king

would say

to the

lesser

king,

you are

to show

me

loyalty

and

honour

and

if

you

do,

I

will

offer

you

protection

and

security.

Maybe we

think of

it a little

bit like

the allies

in World

War I.

You know

when Austria

decided they

were going

to wage

war on

Serbia,

the allies

stood with

Serbia.

The great

king will

stand for

the lesser

in time

of war.

God

says I

will stand

for my

people in

all dangers.

And so

confident faith

begins here.

As we

understand our

maker is our

father in

heaven, is the

one who has

entered into

covenant with

us, he will

defend us, he

cannot break

his promises.

Our

confidence is

in Jesus who

said I will

build my

church and

the gates of

hell will not

prevail against

it.

God's people

in all

times, including

our time, can

confidently say

our help is

in the name

of the Lord,

the maker of

heaven and

earth.

The psalm says

to us, yes,

there will be

suffering.

And yes, there

will even be

martyrs.

Think Nigeria,

think Yemen,

think North

Korea.

God's people

but for the

church, for the

church as a

whole, for the

church for

eternity, it

will survive, it

will grow and

in the end we

will be delivered

and glorified.

And so David

presents for us

the wisdom and

humility of faith

as he gratefully

looks away from

himself to look

to his great

God in utter

dependence, to

rejoice totally

in his

redemption,

inviting us to

be honest enough

to say, if

Jesus was not my

Lord and my

Savior, there is

no way I could

follow God, there

is no way I could

be good enough for

God, there is no

way I could hope to

stand before his

judgment seat and

be welcomed into

his kingdom.

freedom.

So as we close,

can you and I, can

we sing this song?

Can we sing it

personally?

Can we look back

and say, God has

worked for me.

God has delivered

me when I was

helpless and

hopeless.

He delivered me

there at the cross

and he continues to

be for me today.

If so, then be

glad.

Sing for joy and

give him glory and

share those stories

to encourage one

another to keep

walking with Jesus.

But if this isn't

your personal

experience, then the

word of God would

say, this then is

your greatest need.

that you would

ask Jesus to

deliver you from

your sin, to be

your savior.

And there is the

promise in the

Bible that if we

ask him with faith,

if we turn from

sin to trust in

him, then he

will do it.

Well, may Psalm

124 be precious

to us as we think

about this rhythm

that every week we

would be learning to

look back with

thankfulness and

joy.

God sent Jesus

for me to

face the attacks

of the evil one

for me, to be

overwhelmed under

the flood of God's

judgment in my

place, to be in

the teeth of lions

on the cross for

me, to enter into

death, to secure my

salvation.

may we find

ourselves looking

back to that great

rescue as we

also look forward to

final rescue, to

Jesus returning to

make everything new,

to bring perfect

justice and security

and joy so we

might live today with

confident trust, not

in ourselves, not in

our strategies, not in

our successes, but

looking to Jesus

saying our help

is in the name of

the Lord, the

maker of heaven

and earth.

Let's pray together

briefly.

Lord, we thank you

that the Bible is so

full of rescue and

redemption stories.

it's so full of

encouragements as we

see your people in

need, crying out to

you and you being

patient and kind and

faithful and answering

and delivering in

power so that your

people might live with

security and in praise

of your name.

And Lord, we thank you

that all of those small

acts of deliverance

point us to the

ultimate salvation, the

ultimate rescue of

the Lord Jesus through

his death and

resurrection.

May we find

ourselves often

returning back to

the truths of the

gospel, to give us

hope in your covenant

love and to

recognize our help

that comes from the

Lord, the maker of

heaven and earth.

May you help us to

live today with

confident trust as we

look forward to that

coming deliverance when

Jesus returns.

help us, give us

confidence and hope,

not in ourselves, but

in Jesus.

We pray in his name.

Amen.