Have you ever come to a point in life that you have got no other option to rely on other than God? A point where if things failed that would be a devastating moment not only to you but for many? The story behind John Newton, the writer of “Amazing Grace” is an incredible one. Having lost his mother two weeks before his seventh birthday, received eight dozen lashes and demoted from being a captain for attempting to flee navy, given as a slave to a slave trader in West Africa, and even the ship he was travelling on started to sink, he knew God still cared for him. Despite all the challenges, Newton called upon God for help and was saved. The ‘Amazing Grace’ attests to God's incredible plan of delivering his people amidst their struggles.
Psalm
…show more content…
124 like the story behind the song ‘Amazing Grace’ celebrates God’s great deliverance of Israel. The superscription of this Psalm attributes it to David, the King of Israel. Although the psalmist doesn’t mention the exact occasion, there are multiple occasions in David’s life that might have warranted him to write the psalm. . Whichever the occasion, David celebrates Yahweh for delivering the nation of Israel. Kidner points, As a psalm of David, this psalm gives us rare insight into the early peril of David's kingdom, mainly from the Philistines, who had thought to see the last of Israel when they shattered the kingdom of Saul. In 2 Samuel 5:17ff is shown how serious the threat was, and how David placed little confidence in his power to survive it. This was no mere raid to gain territory: it was meant to put an end to David and the hope of Israel. The psalmist urged the Israelites to imagine what could have happened to them if God had not intervened in their situation. The appeal seeks to draw them into offering thanksgiving but more affirming their dependence on the Lord God. Nancy deClaisse-Walford regards this psalm as “the closing words of trust and praise of lament singer of Psalm 123.” It is a communal thanksgiving psalm that focuses on God’s mighty act of delivering His people from the hands of their enemies. It contains words of “trust and praise sung by the pilgrim worshippers who have entered the city gates of Jerusalem for a festival celebration Passover, the feast of weeks and the feast of tabernacles.” This psalm calls us to depend upon God always by; affirming his protection in our lives, applauding the lord for his deliverance in our lives and lastly by proclaiming our trust in the Lord. I. Protection by the Lord vv1-5. In this Psalm, the Psalmist begins with a declaration call which invites a response.
He calls upon the people of Israel to reflect on the fate if Yahweh was not on their side. The focus is on particular events in which the Lord God faithfully and graciously preserved them from extinction. The initiation comes in the form of a statement that warrants them to narrate these phenomenal experiences. As they recall these past events, it, in turn, drives them to worship and dependent upon Yahweh who saved them who saved them in the past and will in future. Metaphorical statements used throughout the psalm describes how dangerous their situation was. The Psalmist starts by employing parallelism in verse 1 and …show more content…
2; If the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel say. If the Lord had not been on our side, when people attacked us, (Psalm 124:1-2) The psalmist uses parallelism as an acclamation at the beginning of the psalm to places more emphasis on the statement proclaimed ‘If the Lord had not been on our side.’ It arouses the reader’s attention and interest towards the call to praise Yahweh. Moreover, it invites Israel to reflect on their fate if the Lord had not been with them. While the first statement would have served the purpose to call Israel into worshipping God, the psalmist repeats it to emphasise that Yahweh is worth being exalted. The invitation led Israel into:- a. Acknowledging God’s Victory vv1-2a Although the phrase: If the Lord had not been on our side” in verses 1 and 2, express unreal conditions, it serves as a reminder to the nation of Israel that their victory was from Yahweh. In fact, the Israelites knew the Lord was with them all through their difficult moments. According to the Psalmist, deliverance was not from themselves, their weapons or even any other human being. It is here that the Israelites acknowledges that it is Yahweh who was with them and it is Him who granted them deliverance. They attest to God's mighty hand at work among them. The severity of Israelites struggles only meant that Yahweh was their only deliverer. There is no question of God’s involvement in the Israelites issues. As God’s own people, it is clear that their only hope is in Him. Although they had gone against the Lord God, He was still mindful of them as his people. When they were plagued by all sorts of dangers that almost lead to their extinction, Yahweh delivered them. He graciously saved them as his own people. As God’s own people, our victory is neither pegged on our resources nor our loved one, it God’s doing. In every battle we face, we must let God fight for us for the battle is his 2 Chronicles 20:15. No matter what battle you face as a Christian, look upon the Lord for “He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57. b. Annotation of God’s intervention 2b-5. God never abandons his own, this was Samuel noted “For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.” 1 Samuel 12:22. However, people who opposed them attacked (v2b). These human attacks contradicts God promise of keeping his people Israel, “nonetheless, the Lord, the God who keeps faith with His own, was the key to all that had happened.” The psalmists then explains the struggles Israelites experience in the past to remind his audience of whom God is to them in their present struggles. The sufferings they underwent perhaps during slavery in Egypt and attacks at the Red Sea, the attacks by the Philistines or exile experience in Babylon seeks to remind the Israelites that Yahweh was with them all through. The conditional statement in verse 1 and 2 presents four apodosis; i. V3 they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us. ii. V4 the flood would have engulfed us. iii. V4 the torrent would have swept over us. iv. V5 the raging waters would have swept us away Each of these four apodosis tells how deadly the Israelites’ situation was. They did not have any chance of survival , they we hopeless and desperately and needed to be rescued. The figure of speech presented here illustrates that Israelites experience was fatal, because the wrath of their enemy was massive enough to exterminate them from the face of the earth. In spite of all these God would never permitted Israel’s enemies to have their way. Their coming out of these situations demonstrates God’s power actively rolled-out in their life as a nation. II. Praise of God’s deliverance vv6-7. After giving accounts of their depressing moments, the psalmist moves on to expresses reasons for his call of thanking God. Verse 6 and 7 indicates that the danger the Israelites were in, was too severe for they were close to death. They knew they were going to die, but then God intervened and delivered them. The psalmist uses the present perfect verb, ‘has not given’ to indicate that the deliverance highlighted here took place in the past, but its effect still continues. He uses two comparisons to demonstrate how the Israelite’s condition was. Firstly he compares them to a prey in the teeth of a wild animal. He equates the Israelites to a prey of a wild beast ready to be devoured, but who manages to escape miraculously because God delivered them. Secondly, the psalmist drew a comparison of a bird trapped in a snare but managed to fly away because God them. Israelites escape was a narrow, they had actually felt at the hand of their enemies. As they recount their ordeal, they all acknowledged that their escape came from Yahweh who let them escape their enemies ‘teeth’ and even destroyed their enemies ‘snares’ leading them to freedom. The psalmist “breaks out in praise that the potential outcome (of been destroyed by the enemy) was not realised” , precisely the Lord was on the side. III. Proclamation of Trust in God 8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Having experience God’s deliverance, the psalmist alongside the entire Israel nation move to proclaim publicly that their help came from Yahweh.
At the point of destruction, the nation that relied on the Lord comes out of the enemy’s attacks for the Lord helped them. Verse 8 could be seen as the continuation of the question posed by the psalmist in Psalm 121:1 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains-- where does my help come from?” The nation’s joyous celebration of God’s deliverance is followed by the affirmation that there is no one worth trusting beside Yahweh, the creator and sustainer of the all the living and non-living things (v8). John Goldingay, argues that “Yhwh’s work of deliverance is one with Yhwh’s work as the creator.” The community draws this Thanksgiving to a conclusion by affirming that their faith is only in Yahweh alone. Artur maintains that “It is out of the knowledge of man’s own helplessness that there grows the strength of a faith which relies wholly on him (God) who alone is equal to every kind of
danger.” Conclusion Psalm 124 celebrates God for preserving the people of Israel. The entire nation of Israel communally reflects of what could have become of them without Yahweh on their side. They experienced God’s saving power in action during their sufferings. It is important to note that Yahweh remained a faithful God who kept His promise to preserve Israel for Himself, Deuteronomy 28:7-10. Presented clearly in this psalm is an outstanding truth that God came to the disaster of the Israelites and delivered them at the right time. This act of deliverance served as a historical memorial of God’s preservation of Israel as well as a call to hope, trust and always depend upon Yahweh, for He saves. We too just like Israelites are reminded that the God we serve is a mighty God who is mindful and ready to save us. Just as he conquered Israel’s enemies and delivered them, He is the same God even in our generation. With the rise of hate and persecution against Christian believers across the globe, this psalm reminds that our hope is only in Yahweh the sovereign. An encouragement during such challenging times is that God never abandons his own people. We are called to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6. No matter what men plot against God’s own people, God always stands with them.
Amazing Grace is a story that addresses the poverty and poor conditions in the South Bronx, which has been left out in the cold and subjected to poverty and a lack of proper accommodations for its residents. The city became a refuge for the homeless that have been relocated from Manhattan in an effort to give the downtown area a more desirable appearance. With the residents of the Bronx struggling to survive in the environment they were born into, Johnathan Kozol gives us a glimpse into what life in the Bronx is like.
Kozol, Jonathan. Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation. New York: Harper, 1996.
... a cry for help “Save me god (commentary note)”. Maybe the psalmist is saying that it is this coming to awareness of our failing as human beings and our efforts to transcend those flaws are those that will bring true salvation. It may not be misfortune that Christ does not look at the drowning supplicant, but to the angel next to him; perhaps man is really alone, he finally must come to Christ, confessing all of his sins and weaknesses.
Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace is a book about the trials and tribulations of everyday life for a group of children who live in the poorest congressional district of the United States, the South Bronx. Their lives may seem extraordinary to us, but to them, they are just as normal as everyone else. What is normal? For the children of the South Bronx, living with the pollution, the sickness, the drugs, and the violence is the only way of life many of them have ever known.
Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace is a book that describes the everyday horrors and struggles for survival, for a group of elementary girls and boys who are growing up in the South Bronx, the poorest congressional district in the United States. "When you enter the train, you are in the seventh richest congressional district in the nation. When you leave, you are in the poorest." This unimaginable way of life seems normal to these children because they really don't know any better. Normal to them is sickness, drug abuse, pollution, death, welfare and violence.
The heart wrenching film Amazing Grace made its debut in September of 2006. The film was written by Steven Knight and brought to life by director Michael Apted. Focusing on the life of parliament member and antislavery activist William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace tells the story of Wilberforce’s twenty-year battle to put an end to the British Slave Trade. The film is set between 1780 and the early 1800’s during which time Wilberforce is actively involved with the movement to abolish slavery. William Wilberforce’s crusade was inspired by friend and mentor, John Newton a remorseful formal slave ship captain who became a preacher. His mentor also led him to find his conversion to evangelical Christianity. His friend William “Billy”
In his song “Amazing Grace”, John Newton uses parallelism, metaphor, simile, and imagery to compose a sensational song of appreciation for the undeserved kindness that he receives from God; he refers to the grace as “amazing”. In 1779, Newton, a slave trader now minister, had just survived a horrific storm at sea, and by virtue of his occupation, sees himself as someone in whom there is no good(trades in the suffering of other people) and who should have been consumed by that raging storm. In a state of hopelessness and trepidation, God shows up, rescues and restores him. Newton wonders why a holy God decides to rescue a sinner like himself. No wonder he says, “….that saved a wretch like me”. Newton cannot fathom why such an amazing grace
Southern intellectuals and leaders strongly believed that they were far superior to both slaves and the Northern Society. They believed that slavery was not evil and did not cause dueling in the South. In fact, James Hammond defended the institution of slavery and stated that “stability and peace are the first desires of every slave-holder.” (Pg. 34) He also stated that the idea of riots and bloodsheds happening in the South is untrue and that “scenes of riot and bloodshed have within the last few years disgraced the Northern cities.” While, the Southern cities have not have any instances of it. Hammond also stated that “the only thing that can create a mob, is the appearance of an abolitionist.” (Pg. 34)
Psalm 89 of the Book of Psalms, advocates the message of consequentialism, foreground by man’s relationship with God, with direct lin...
The title describes on the day when the Lord delivered David from his enemies and from Saul. The heading, which is the theme, identifies the setting in Samuel. Since the book of Samuel records many accounts when David was protected and saved by God from his enemies, it can be inferred that Psalm 18 is connected based on the common theme and not by the actual event. The use of imagery and metaphor in this psalm makes it difficult for the readers and scholars to conclude that the psalm is directly from the context of the events in 1 Samuel 24 and 27. The commonality between these two passages are that David called for help and God rescues him. He describes Yahweh as his refuge, shield, and deliverer (Psalms 18:2). This is observed in 1 Samuel, when God protected David from being killed by Saul. Though Saul may have tracked David and attempted to kill David several times, God protected him. This event, however, is not explicitly stated in the Psalms. Psalm 18 only portrays God’s sovereignty and love for his people. Psalm 18:31-45 resembles the battle David had with the nations in Philistines, and his victory that is described in 1 Samuel 27. Despite the common elements, Psalm 18 ends its poem by stating David and his descendants. If it was taken directly from 1 Samuel 24 and 27, a note about David’s offspring would not be stated. While reading the Bible, it can be noted that Psalms 18 is
Today’s culture is one where people like to do as little work as possible. Even when it comes to reading our own scripture, The Holy Words of God, a lot of people like to look up one verse and reference it to something without knowing what the rest of the passage says. Psalms 109 is no exception, it is one the more widely misused passages as of late. A popular verse from Psalms 109 is verse 8 which reads “Let his days be few; and let another take his office”, this is seen in reference to our current president, but what people fail to realize is what else David is actually praying. This paper is going to go through Psalms 109 and unpack it verse by verse to show the true meaning of what David was praying and to give us a new look at how to pray.
It is warning the people that if they don’t start listening to the true prophets, he will leave them to be destroyed in the hands of the false prophets and corrupt leaders of the land. God tells them that he really does not want them to come to this, because the passage ends with a prophecy about what will become of the worthless shepherd. I think this is a message to false prophets that eventually no one will believe them, and also to the leaders or kings that they will lose all of their power and military strength. God reminds them that he really is helping protect them from the full effect of their sins, even if they don’t realize it. In other words, things could be a lot worse, but God loves humans so much that he won’t let it get worse.
Religious text, like the Hebrew Bible, tell stories of an all-powerful god. In Psalms he is celebrated and praised, his relationship to
Just like the thief on the cross besides Jesus, that has no chance by law but it is different because of grace the thief was saved even if he is close to dying. Grace is God’s unmerited favor. The purpose of this essay is to define grace, what does it do, how does’ it work and who can receive God’s grace. Grace is God doing good for us that we do not deserve. We don’t deserve His love and we are not worthy to be loved by Him.
Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643 in Woolsthorpe, England where he grew up. His father, also named Isaac Newton, was a prosperous farmer who died three months before Isaacs’s birth. Isaac was born premature; he was very tiny and weak and wasn’t expected to live (bio).