We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. (Psalm 124:7, NIV)
Call this an absolute statement, if you will, but one cannot win the British Open Championship without at least one notable escape.
Jordan Spieth famously did so in 2017, when he made bogey at the thirteenth from Royal Birkdale’s practice area before playing the final five holes in five under par to seize the Claret Jug. Fresher in our minds now is the way Francesco Molinari escaped the sinister clutches of Carnoustie wind and gorse and rough and bunkers for an entire weekend while the others contending with him encountered bogeys, doubles, even triples, that undid their hopes.
How about you? Do you play a game that requires several escapes per round? Most of us do. And once in a while, on those magical days, we pull them off and post a score to remember.
The Messiah descends—into our world, into our desperation, into our heart. His death supplants ours; his life resurrects our hope and our salvation.Our fifth psalm in the Songs of Ascents, Psalm 124, is a song of escape and a praise-filled recognition of the one who facilitates these slips: the Maker of heaven and earth.
In golf, we are left to play our own shots. We cannot hand the club to our partner and say, “You know what? This shot is too hard for me. You play it.” But we might, if we are a father teaching his young child to play, step in and offer to help. And as a youngster befuddled by the circumstance ahead—a carry over water, a towering bunker lip, a seemingly endless par-5 stretched out before us—we might eagerly say, “Yes, please!”
In life, God is the one on our side. And if he were not, as the psalmist wrote, the attacks of men or the floods of nature would sweep us away. We simply don’t have defense enough to rescue ourselves.
And here is where the Old Testament runs headlong into the story of Jesus, what we call the gospel. For our sin has pinned us down, caught us in its snare, holding us tight “till the Devil come get us.” We wait for our doom, without hope. And then the Messiah descends—into our world, into our desperation, into our heart. His death supplants ours; his life resurrects our hope and our salvation.
Whether you are a Jewish pilgrim recollecting the nation-saving intervention of Yahweh or a 21st Century Jesus-follower assured of eternal life despite all your sin, you have reason to praise. Your help has come by the name of the LORD our God.
—
Jeff Hopper
July 24, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Ascending: Common Complaints (Psalm 120)
Ascending: In God’s Care (Psalm 121)
Ascending: Joy and Peace in Fellowship (Psalm 122)
Ascending: The Mercy We Need (Psalm 123)
Ascending: Stark Lines (Psalm 125)
Ascending: Sorrow and Joy (Psalm 126)
Ascending: Work and Home (Psalm 127)
Ascending: ‘Blessed’ (Psalm 128)
Ascending: Set Free (Psalm 129)
Ascending: Finding Forgiveness (Psalm 130)
Ascending: Our Waiting, Impatient Soul (Psalm 131)
Ascending: Despite Our Sin (Psalm 132)
Ascending: Together in Christ (Psalm 133)
Ascending: Earth to Heaven, Heaven to Earth (Psalm 134)