Psalm Meditation 551
Baptism of the Lord
January 9, 2011

Psalm 124
1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side --let Israel now say--
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
(NRSV)

Sometimes it is important to look at something from a different perspective, to reinterpret the information at hand with a different worldview. In this psalm it seems that Israel did not win the battle at hand. They could certainly wallow in the parts of the battle that did not go their way and allow themselves to feel defeated. The psalmist chooses to emphasize that they were not defeated to the point of destruction. We didn’t win and we did not lose. One of these is due to the presence of God in our lives.

We are faced with some powerful forces on a daily basis. There are folks who give in to those forces and there are folks who manage to resist. It seems that the folks who resist are likely to have a support system of some kind that allows them to see beyond a momentary setback to other possibilities in the future. In the situation in this psalm God is present to give a different viewpoint. It was not a victory and it certainly was not a defeat. God has kept us from total annihilation in the face of these powerful forces.

Victory and defeat are not permanent states of being though it is easier to stay defeated than it is to stay victorious. God continues to offer each of us a sense of personal worth that allows us to get up, dust ourselves off and go on with our lives after each one of our defeats. At our best we also learn something or sharpen a skill that we will be able to put to good use in the future as we face new trials. God is with us in all times and places. God offers us a sense of hope, purpose and perspective that is longer and wider than what we can possibly have as individuals. God is with us and that is a good thing.

January 3, 2011