Your Turn for 07/29-30/2023 - Psalm 124
Welcome to the weekend, Seeds of Faith community!
Because this is a reflection on scripture using the SOAP method (Scripture-Observation-Application-Prayer), part of the purpose is sharing an example of what you might practice in your own scripture reading. So, the weekend invitation is to practice your own SOAP reflection.
Each weekend, I share a passage of scripture to work from. If you’re up for sharing in the comments, I’d love to see what you come up with. This week the prompt is Psalm 124, which you’ll find below. If you share, please copy and paste the sentence or phrase you are reflecting on.
Brief guidelines for a good practice:
The Basic Method. Pick a sentence or phrase in the scripture passage that stands out to you. Write down something you observe going on in that sentence or phrase. Reflect on how that observation gives insight that might apply to your faith and life. Write a short prayer about that.
Observe Well. Think about what the sentences and phrases are saying and not saying. Take care also not to extrapolate more than is there.
Stay Balanced. Focus on the particular scripture while keeping the whole witness of scripture (as well as you know it) in mind. Isolating a verse or passage from the whole can lead us to heresies, but reading each verse or passage deeply and well makes for a robust understanding of the whole. This is one purpose of the early creeds (Apostles’ and Nicene)—they summarize the major points of Christian scripture and doctrine so as to help us read individual biblical passages faithfully.
Psalm 124
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
If you liked this post from Seeds of Faith, why not share it and/or subscribe?
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
SCRIPTURE:
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
OBSERVATION:
This verse speaks to me. Don’t we all have times in our lives when we feel helpless, frail and lack strength to overcome a challenge in life? Floundering around like a bird caught in a trap? At these times, through faith and prayer, we find our way; our lives settle; there is calm again; we have escaped the “snare.”
APPLICATION:
There is always help from our Father. Talk to Him in times of need. He is there, He will calm the turbulent times. Thank Him, praise Him for His help.
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for your care, love and tenderness. You always help me free myself from life’s snare. AMEN