Divine deliverance.
The spirit which breathes in this psalm is one of keen thankfulness. Nothing calls out so deep and strong a sense of indebtedness to God (or to man) as a consciousness that we owe to him an escape from a great calamity. We bless the Lord with the most fervent gratitude as we realize that he has healed our disease and redeemed our life from destruction (Psalms 103:1-4). We ought to be mindful of all his benefits, and accept them as they come, one after another, as gifts from his gracious hand. We should cherish a still stronger and profounder sense of his mercy to us in the one supreme kindness shown us in the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, in which we have our share. But that which most vividly impresses us is the deliverance which, in different ways and at various times, he has wrought for us—saving our life, preserving our character, restoring our freedom.
I. TWO GREAT EVILS FROM WHICH WE MAY NEED, AND MAY HAVE, DELIVERANCE.
1. Oppression. Such as Israel endured under Pharaoh; such as Judah was threatened with when Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem; such as the Jews suffered under Antiochus; such as England faced and feared when the Armada left the shores of Spain; such as, in our own individual life, we may experience at the hand of some one who has us at his mercy and is disposed to play the tyrant. A human spirit is sometimes exposed to a veritable storm of cruelty; there are "overwhelming waters" of suffering to pass under; the stream goes over the soul (Psalms 124:4). Then nothing but Divine succor avails to save from complete collapse; except the Lord show himself to be on our side by manifestations of his power, by the exercise of his goodness and his grace, we must break down utterly. But God is on our side. He will not forsake his children in the time of their distress.
2. Temptation. The psalmist speaks of snares (Psalms 124:7) and of escaping from the fowler's hand. As we pass through life there are many of these that have to be avoided; and it may be that in our unwisdom we permit ourselves to be partially ensnared; we may allow our foot to be taken in the toils of unbelief, or of intemperance, or of impurity, or of covetousness, or of pride, or of vanity, or of extravagance and dishonesty. We may be in very serious danger of losing everything that is most precious- of parting, not only with our reputation, but with the very life of our life, with our moral and spiritual integrity. But God, in his abounding grace, interposes on our behalf. Directly or indirectly, by the immediate action of his Spirit on our spirit, or through some instrumentality, he arouses us, shows us the peril in which we stand, breaks the snare in which our foot is taken, and sets us free. Then comes—
II. DEEP THANKFULNESS OF HEART. For, however great was the first gift of life, and however great the gift of the new life in Christ Jesus, this Divine deliverance is a mercy that may well be compared with these, and may well fill our mouth with song and our life with praise. Then, too, must come—
III. WATCHFULNESS UNTO PRAYER, constantly and carefully maintained.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY