Our God, Our Creator is our Help

Sermon on Ascent Psalm 124

Introduction
Dear friends, have you ever been in a situation when things could have been much worse if not for God who came and helped you out? The author of Psalms 124 has sure been in such a situation, many times, in fact. What is this psalm all about? If Psalms 123 was a plea for God's intervention in times of trouble, then, Psalms 124 looks at what God has done in response to their plea. God has provided protection and help to Israel in their time of need. It is a collective song of relief and gratitude to the Lord, in the realization that if He had not stepped in and helped them, the outcome would have been gravely different. Some might call it a thanksgiving hymn or a benediction, much similar to the ones we use in worship today.

Thanksgiving psalms are usually written from an individual's perspective (first person pronoun, I), but in this psalm, it was written from a group's perspective (third person pronoun, we). Not only is it used by pilgrims on their journey, giving thanks to God. It is also used as a communal thanksgiving hymn during worship, sang either in a group or by a choir. Notice at the end of v. 1, “let Israel now say” or “sing” is a call which is often led by a priest or precentor (also known as the first singer or a worship leader).

Who wrote it? Only five of these 15 songs of ascent bear a composer’s name in its title heading: Ps. 127 has been attributed to Solomon, while four others (Ps. 122, 124, 131, and 133) have been attributed to David. But Ps. 124 may not have been written by David. The phrase “of David” may refer to a later king who is “of Davidic” tradition, in the line of King David.

The psalmist spoke of enemies rising up against them, a great flood, and escaping from their captors when their chains were broken. When was it written? Possibly, during the postexilic period, after the Babylonian Captivity when the Jews of the ancient kingdom of Judah were deported and exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

During this period, the Jews were going through one of their most difficult time in their nation’s history. Both the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian Exile came as a tremendous shock to the Jewish people. In Judaism, the Temple represents God’s constant presence in their lives, and the land represents God’s providence. Now all of that is gone: the land, the Temple, God's presence. No wonder they wept by the rivers of Babylon.

However, even in exile God is looking after the Jewish people, even if His presence now is concealed. Despite being in exile, the Jewish people were still able to sing this hymn of thanksgiving. They give thanks because God has protected them from greater harm and He is their help always.

God is for us. God is our help. The God who created the heaven and the earth continues to watch over our local affairs. There is no problem too small or anyone too insignificant for God. But what does it mean when we say that God protects and helps us?

It does not always mean that God will stop our enemies from attacking us. In Ps. 124, the enemies and the flood rose up against them. In fact, history tells us that they were attacked and were forced into exile by the Babylonians. Only until the Persians defeated the Babylonians in 539 BC, the Persian king (Achashverosh) would then allow the Jews to return home.

During the exile, God kept the nation alive. He protected the Israelites by preserving them. He protects them by giving them strength to live through hard times. From the destruction of the Temple to their return, the Jews were in exile for more than 60 years. But God did not allow this chosen nation to perish. It was a protection from extinction. It was a preservation of a nation. It’s God’s promise!

God made this promise to the Jewish people at the time of Mount Sinai that they will be an "eternal nation" and He is going to keep it:
"Thus, even while they [the Jewish people] are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or obliterate them, lest I break my covenant with them by destroying them. For I am the Lord their God."(Leviticus 26:44)
God is our help because He is our God.

As Christians, we also believe that God will protect us from harm. But does this mean that no misfortunes will ever knock on our doors? Some Christians even claim that true Christians will never experience any natural disasters. Or claim that Christians will never catch a cold nor be attacked by bees or mosquitoes? If you are suffering, then you are not a true Christian or God is punishing you for your sins. Fortunately, this is not true. Even Paul and Jesus had their fair share of pain, suffering and even, death!

But what good is God’s protection if it does not prevent evil and suffering in this world? Why would a good and all-powerful God allow evil to exist? For the curious mind, this is known as the classical problem of evil. Before we venture into this philosophical and theological debate, let me make it clear that God does not need us to defend him. Neither did he demand for us to do so. It is our human weakness for explanation which drives us to find answers in the unanswerable. So, what is this problem of evil?

A Philosophical Problem
The ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus, is credited with first expounding the problem of evil. "Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?" David Hume, the 18th century British philosopher, picks up from Epicurus, “If he is neither able nor willing to prevent evil, then why call him God?” (paraphrase)

In recent times, thanks to the news media, we have almost instant access to witness the many evils in this world. From man-made evils like wars in Iraq and in the Middle East, terrorist attacks, 9/11, the bombings in Bali; to the natural disasters like tsunamis in S.E.A, earthquakes in China, cyclones in Myanmar; and many medical epidemics, like SARS, Bird Flu, and the effects of global warming and the shortage of crude oil. We also hear of many unspeakable crimes and evil in this world, like human trafficking of sex slaves in Eastern Europe and in Asia, rape, murder, racial discrimination, brutality against minors, etc. So, where is God when it hurts?
Philosophically, God and evil cannot exist together. Theologically, they can. A theologian would claim that God allow it for the sake of free will. What are your thoughts? "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Why would a good God allow evil to persist in this world, even though he may not have created it? Sometimes, when we see so much suffering in this world, it is difficult to reconcile why a good and powerful God would allow it.

A Theological Response
John Stott has said that "the fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith." It is unquestionably true that there is no greater obstacle to faith than that of the reality of evil and suffering in the world. Throughout human history, many have tried to solve this problem of evil and defend the existence of God. But not many found success.
To this, the psalmist responds, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” things could have been worse. Many lives have been lost, but the human spirit lives on. God is always by our side, even when we do not see him. Despite the evils in this world, we continue to witness also the many amazing stories about God’s love and providence. Despite the disasters in the world, we see many efforts to rebuild a nation, a people. Despite the darkness, we still see the light shining forth. It is this light which gives us strength to live on. God has paid the ultimate price for the sins of this world. He has given his own son to die on the cross for our sake. He has given himself for us. He did not take away the evil and suffering in this world. But he did something even better: he took away the sting of death!
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15.55)

More often than not, I believe that God’s way of protecting us is not to remove harm altogether but rather, to give us strength to live through it, in order that we become stronger in our faith. In some instances He does remove harm entirely to show his power and mercy. But yet, at times, we hear of good Christians dying for their faith. How do we explain this?

Sometimes, death is a release from pain and suffering. Consider William L. Rowe's famous example of natural evil: "In some distant forest lightning strikes a dead tree, resulting in a forest fire. In the fire a fawn is trapped, horribly burned, and lies in terrible agony for several days before death relieves its suffering.” For the deer, death was a release. But this does not mean that we seek death and live carelessly in our lives.

Sometimes, our strength may fail us, and our faith may be weakened through extreme pain and suffering or even loss of someone special, but it does not mean that God is absent or has given up on us, but that He may have other plans for you and your loved ones. When we suffer in Christ, even in death, we are given a precious opportunity to share in Christ’s suffering. Romans 8:17-18 tells us that “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

All the evil in this world can only take away our physical lives; destroy our homes and at most, our human bodies. But Matt 10.28 tells us, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” No evil in this world can ever take away God’s love from us. He is always there even when we do not see or experience Him. Sometimes, we need to hit rock bottom before we learn to give our life to God. He demands absolute obedience and trust.

Conclusion
The proper work for Christian is witness, not apology and Ps. 124 is an excellent model. The psalmist is not a person talking about the good and easy life, how God has kept him out of all difficulty. This person has gone through the worst – almost swallowed alive, possibly drowned in the flood – and yet found himself intact! He was not abandoned but helped and escaped the shadows of death. Ps. 124 is a testimony of God’s protection and help in the midst of suffering. It teaches us to give thanks despite the troubles before us. No matter how bad or unbelievable the situation may be, God is always there for us.

Allow me to end the sermon with a story. This story was read publicly on the radio in 2000.
It was a typical Sunday evening, and just before the pastor gave his sermon, he told his congregation that there was a special guest minister in their midst and he was a very dear old friend and wanted him to share a few words with them that evening.

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high that, even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were looking somewhat interested in the story. The aged minister continued with his story. "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to save his son who was a Christian or his son’s friend who was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of the waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!’ he threw out the life line to the son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging waves into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus.

Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that He could do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. Will you take hold of this life-line today?" No one responded.

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. Not long after, the service ended, and the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely said one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hope that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. Sorrow began to overtake the old man's smiling face as he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm here today to tell you that I understand more than most the pain God must have felt to give up His only Son. For you see, I'm the man who lost his son to the ocean that day, and my son's friend that I chose to save is your pastor."

How great is the Father’s love for us? Isn’t it wonderful when God transforms a bad situation into something so beautiful? Ps. 124 is about a person who is able to find God in the darkest of times. Faith often develops out of the most difficult aspects of our existence, not the easiest. My prayer for you today is not for you to never experience hardship, but that in all suffering, God will grant you the strength to overcome it. And at the end of the day, we can still thank God for all things, good and bad.

Things could have been much worse,
but the Lord is on our side.
He is our help, who protects us from greater evil,
and helps us escape from the clutches of eternal death!
Our Creator, Our God, is Our Help!
Let us pray.