Saved and Set Free (Psalm 124)
In July 2010, I was preaching for a congregation in West Virginia, and the elders called me in and said it was time for a change, so they were cutting me loose. Since we lived in the church parsonage, losing my job also meant we lost our home. Honestly, I didn’t have a clue what we were going to do: Tammy had a good job, and we needed her income, and we hated to pluck the kids out of school. To make a long story short, we lived with a couple members of the church and then we found a lady who rented one-bedroom apartments to construction workers on a weekly basis. We convinced her to rent us the rooms for three-months. But I still hadn’t found a job when that lease was about to expire, and we didn’t know what we were going to do.
As the lease was expiring, Heritage Christian University asked me to come and work with them. I was there for about 18 months, and they let me go. We didn’t know what we were going to do.
After searching high and low for work, I was hired by a congregation in Virginia. I was there for three years, but my health—physical, mental, and spiritual—deteriorated, and I needed to step down. We didn’t know what we were going to do.
There were so many times over the past 14 years that my family had the rug pulled out from under us. But every single time the situation seemed hopeless, God was there to catch us. In those fourteen years, God has opened door after door after door. Every single time I was at my wit’s end, God saved me and set me free.
Each of you could also talk about times the bottom has fallen out of your life. Maybe you, too, have been fired. Or perhaps you faced some illness or your home suffered damage in a storm. You might have lost a loved one and wondered why you should keep going. Perhaps your children have hurt and disappointed you. And I’m confident that you could each describe how God was there to save you and set you free.
David also saw God save him and set him free. In Psalm 124, David recounted a time when God saved and set him and the entire nation of Israel free. Apparently, Israel had been attacked and nearly overwhelmed by a Gentile army; the only thing that saved Israel was the God of heaven. David reminded his people: “Our help is in the Almighty God.”
Scripture (Psalm 124)
verses 1-5:
This psalm depicts a foreign enemy’s suddenly coming upon Israel. David spoke of “the torrent” at verse 4. The Hebrew term refers to a dry riverbed which only has water during rain—the word depicts a sudden flash flood. The LORD’s protection is all that saved the Israelites from annihilation.
verses 6-7:
“Blessed be the LORD.” The Hebrew term “bless” literally means to kneel; it can either mean to kneel in adoration or it can mean to kneel from a high position to help someone in a lower position. Here David called on the Israelites to praise God. Why should they praise God? The enemy wanted to devour them, but God saved them and set them free.
verse 8:
Israel’s help was in “the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” The people knew a multitude of gods, but they were all figments of man’s imagination, except One—Yahweh. This God not only exists, but he “made heaven and earth.” The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has all power, for he created everything that is.
Application
“Our help is in the Almighty God.” Israel faced certain defeat, but God saved them and set them free. I’ve faced certain defeat, but God saved me and set me free. You’ve faced certain defeat, but God saved you and set you free.
And, if I may go out on a limb, there will be days in the future when each of us will need God to save us and to set us free. Since “Our help is in the Almighty God,” what can you do when calamity strikes?
One: Remember
David called his hearers to Remember how God saved them from their enemy. Memory can be a powerful tool. Before the Israelites began the Conquest of the Canaanites, Moses said, “You shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt” (Deut 7:18). “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you” (Deut 15:15). “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old” (Ps 77:11).
Remember all the deeds God has done for you. Sure, Remember the broad things he has done for everyone—sending Jesus to die for you, saving you from sin, and preparing you a home in heaven. However, focus on how he has personally helped you; Remember when you were at your end and God came in and saved you and set you free.
Two: Respect
A God who has saved and set you free deserves Respect, and David called his hearers to Respect God, to bless him, to kneel before him. You must fall before God in worship. “Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. . . . Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness” (1 Chr 16:28-29). “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Rev 4:11).
The God who has saved you and set you free deserves your Respect. Be sure you give him the proper Respect: Assemble with the saints, lift his name on high as we sing, go before his throne in prayer, dig in the Word, remember his great sacrifice at the Lord’s Supper, and give generously. Respect the God who has saved you and set you free.
Three: Rely
David gave his hearers a reason to Rely on God in the storms of life: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Our God isn’t created by man’s imagination; he is the Creator of the entire cosmos.
God has proven his power time and time again: from creation to the crossing of the Red Sea to shutting the mouths of the lions. You can Rely on the living God, for he is the Almighty God. Job relied on God; in the midst of his suffering, he said, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). Hiding from Saul in a cave, David wrote, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by” (Ps 57:1).
David could Rely on God when his life was in danger, and Job could Rely on God in the midst of unimaginable suffering. Why? Because the living God has all power. When you’re in the midst of suffering, Rely on God, knowing his great power.
Are you relying on God for your salvation this morning?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.