Before I get started, I thought I'd say I haven't been posting the last two nights because on Monday night I was filling out job applications and last night I was having internet issues. But everything's back to normal, so no worries.
Psalm 124
A Song of degrees of David.
1If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
2If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
3Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
4Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
5Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
A Song of degrees.
1They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
2As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
3For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
4Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.
5As 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.
Chapter 124
What I get out of this chapter as a whole is that if God didn't help out His people in their trials, they wouldn't be able to get through their trials. I kind of mentioned something like that before in regards to my darkest moment and it's neat to see a chapter that relates to the point I've established. It's kinda like it's being emphasized since it's repeated. Throughout His Word, a message is repeated for emphasis. If God wasn't with me, I'd still be stuck in my darkest moment and knowing that makes me realize that I probably didn't deserve for Him to free me since I had rebelled against Him, but it was by His grace that He helped me out. I praise Him for not leaving me in the enemy's grip (v. 6) and for providing me a way to escape from his snares (v. 7) by delivering me. I thought I'd include Matthew Henry's comment on the last verse since I like it, "The believer will ascribe all the honour of his salvation, to the power, mercy, and truth of God, and look back with wonder and thanksgiving on the way in which the Lord has led him. Let us rejoice that our help for the time to come is in him who made heaven and earth." What I have to say about the verse is that since I found help in Him during my darkest moment, I can look back on that and remember that He helped me out for dealing with future trials. I like the idea that He'll never stop helping His people because with His help, they can get through anything.
Chapter 125
I like the comparison in verse 1 to Mount Zion in the sense that one's trust and confidence cannot be moved no matter what trials he or she goes through. What I also get out of it is that the trials a Christan faces help strengthen his or her faith in the Lord since he or she has to trust in Him to get through trials. The more trials a Christian faces, the more he or she is less likely to drift away from Him. My trials, such as my darkest moment and algebra, were what caused me to draw closer to Him. For clarity, here's Henry's insight on verse 2, "Committing themselves to God, they shall be safe from their enemies. Even mountains may moulder and come to nothing, and rocks be removed, but God's covenant with his people cannot be broken, nor his care of them cease." In my darkest moment, I made the decision to commit myself to Him by letting Him know that I needed His help. I think by doing that, I recognized that my covenant with Him would not be broken since if I didn't ask Him to help me, I would've lost faith in Him. I dunno that verse is kinda hard for me to comment on, but I will say that when I became a Christian, I made a covenant with Him and since He's all-knowing, He knows whether or not I will keep my covenant with Him -- I don't. He used my darkest moment as a trial to test me to see if I would keep my covenant with Him and to see if I would acknowledge that by trusting Him. Had I not put my trust in Him, I probably would've given up on my relationship with Him. And since God knows stuff that I don't, I can trust Him in my trials and come out of them with more strength faith-wise. I'm not sure how I'd relate to verse 3 since I haven't utilized the rod of the wicked. I think it's a verse I'd look into in to future because I'm not if it's supposed to be taken literally or metaphorically, but I will say that God's people and evil spirits or what have you don't get along well. I like Henry's thoughts on verse 4: "God's promises should quicken our prayers. The way of holiness is straight; there are no windings or shiftings in it. But the ways of sinners are crooked. They shift from one purpose to another, and turn hither and thither to deceive; but disappointment and misery shall befal them." In regards to the verse, God has blessed me by doing things such as freeing me from my darkest moment and helping me pass algebra. I figure since I follow after Him and seek His ways in prayer, He'll bless that, which is what I get out of "them that are upright in their hearts." I can't relate to verse 5 since I don't turn to crooked ways, but I will say that once the Lord deals with all the evil in this world, His Son will return to take care of the evil and bring peace.
Sources used:
Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 124". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=124>.
Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 125". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=125>.
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