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 men rose up against 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 as 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.
As pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the great feasts, they would be singing “Songs of Ascent” like this one, recalling God’s intervention in their life.
The key moment of Israel’s salvation history was the Exodus, but even then, it was not until the very last moment that their deliverance was certain. Behind them as they escaped from Egypt were the quickly approaching and angry troops of Pharoah’s army. In front of them were the impassible “raging waters.” But they were told to walk forward in faith before the waters parted. Fear and faith mixed together as they took those steps. They were almost trapped and killed, like a bird captured by a hunter’s net. But suddenly the trap breaks and the bird escapes. For Christians, death is the ultimate trap, broken by Christ to free us for eternal life in Him.
In commenting on the last verse of the psalm Saint Augustine interprets the “trap” as the short-lived pleasures of this world that ensnare us and lead to spiritual death. Only with the Lord Jesus Christ—and not by our own strength—can we break this trap and find deliverance.
“Our help stands in the Name of the Lord, who has made heaven and earth.” For if this were not our help, the snare would not indeed remain for ever; but when the bird was once taken, it would be killed. For this life will pass away; and they who shall have been taken in by its pleasures, and through these pleasures have offended God, will pass away with this life. For the snare will be broken; be assured of this: all the sweetness of this present life will no longer exist, when the lot assigned to it has been fulfilled; but we must not be enthralled by it, so that when the net is broken, you may then rejoice and say, “The snare is broken, and we have escaped.” But lest you think that you can do this of your own strength, consider whose work your deliverance is (for if you are proud, you fall into the snare), and say, “Our help stands in the Name of the Lord, who has made heaven and earth….”
Synaxis of Monastery Superiors
These past three days I was privileged to be part of the gathering of superiors from OCA men’s and women’s monasteries, led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, who is himself a monk of long experience. After these days of intense discussion, services and meals, my impression is that monastic life in the OCA, by God’s grace is healthy, inspiring, wonderfully varied and has much to offer the wider Church. Of course there are many challenges, and these were spoken about candidly. But overall, the OCA’s monasteries are a profound blessing that do what monks and nuns have always done: seek to pray unceasingly, intercede for all of us and witness to the Kingdom that is not of this world.