Devotion • April 14
Today’s Scripture Reading
Psalm 124
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side — let Israel now say —
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone the raging waters.
Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (NRSV)
Reflection
The psalms encourage us to be thankful for who God is and what God has done.
It’s helpful for me to remember that psalms are poems or songs used in worship and can either express praise or also doubts and questions.
This psalm, attributed to David, is a song of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. The people of Israel may have faltered, strayed, been faced with enemies and natural disasters, and yet they survived.
The psalmist doesn’t question “why?” but immediately thanks God, “who was on our side.” In Psalm 120, the writer cries out to the Lord to answer his plea for peace in Jerusalem, and in Psalm 124 an answer for help has come.
Sometimes it seems to us that God is silent and prayers aren’t answered. We are human and God is God, not always responding to our wishes and wants—or maybe responding in ways we could not have imagined.
This psalm reminds us to keep reaching out, talk to God, and sing God’s praises with a strong conviction that “our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”
Prayer
God, who made heaven and earth, I reach out to say thank you, and when words don’t come, I turn to read a psalm aloud. All praise and honor for you this day. Amen.
Written by Arlene Faulk, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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