Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Parallel Translations
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Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
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Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
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Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Psalms 124:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.
- Proverbs 6:5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
- 2 Timothy 2:26 and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.
- 1 Samuel 25:29 Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.
- Psalms 25:15 My eyes are ever on Yahweh, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
- 1 Samuel 23:26-27 Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David hurried to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land!”
- 2 Samuel 17:21-22 After they had departed, they came up out of the well, and went and told king David; and they said to David, “Arise and pass quickly over the water; for thus has Ahithophel counseled against you.” Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they passed over the Jordan. By the morning light there lacked not one of them who had not gone over the Jordan.
- Jeremiah 18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses when you bring a troop suddenly on them; for they have dug a pit to take me and hidden snares for my feet.
- 1 Samuel 24:14-15 Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? May Yahweh therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand.”
- 2 Samuel 17:2 I will come on him while he is weary and exhausted, and will make him afraid. All the people who are with him will flee. I will strike the king only,
- Jeremiah 5:26 For wicked men are found among my people. They watch, as fowlers lie in wait. They set a trap. They catch men.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For the wicked did not only furiously rage against…
For the wicked did not only furiously rage against the faithful, but craftily imagined to destroy them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 124:7 Our soul is escaped as a bird…
Psa 124:7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped, &c.] Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. See Gen 22:14 Eze 37:11 2Ki 19:3-4.
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The snare is broken, &c.] God hath with as much ease delivered us as a bird net is broken.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Our help is in the name of the Lord,....…
Our help is in the name of the Lord,.... This is the conclusion the church draws from the scene of Providence in her favour; this is the instruction she learns from hence, that her help is in the Lord only, and not in any creature; and that it is right to put her trust and confidence in the Lord for it, and only to expect it from him whose name is in himself; and is a strong tower to flee unto for safety, Pro 18:10. The Targum is,
"in the name of the Word of the Lord;''
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in the Messiah; in whom the name of the Lord is, his nature and perfections; and in whom help is found, being laid upon him, Exo 23:21;
who made heaven and earth; and therefore must be able to help his people, and to do more for them than they are able to ask or think: for what is it he cannot do that made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them? see Psa 121:1.
Next: Psalms Chapter 125
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird…
Verse 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare] This is a fine image; and at once shows the weakness of the Jews, and the cunning of their adversaries. Haman had laid the snare completely for them; humanly speaking there was no prospect of their escape: but the Lord was on their side; and the providence that induced Ahasuerus to call for the book of the records of the kingdom to be read to him, as well indeed as the once very improbable advancement of Esther to the throne of Persia, was the means used by the Lord for the preservation of the whole Jewish people from extermination. God thus broke the snare, and the bird escaped; while the poacher was caught in his own trap, and executed. See the Book of Esther, which is probably the best comment on this Psalm.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 124:7-8. Our soul is escaped as a bird,…
Psa 124:7-8. Our soul is escaped as a bird, &c. — This is the third image by which the marvellous deliverance of Israel is illustrated. Having compared it to that of a person snatched, by a miracle, from the fury of surrounding and overwhelming torrents, and to that of a lamb rescued from the jaws of a wolf or lion, he here illustrates it by the escape of a bird, through breaking the snare, before the fowler came to seize and kill it. Our help is in the name of the Lord — David, who had directed us (Psa 121:2) to depend upon God for help, as to our personal concerns, saying, My help is in the name of the Lord, here directs us to the same dependance as to the concerns of the public, observing, Our help is so. It is a comfort to all that have the good of God’s Israel at heart, that Israel’s God is he that made the world, and therefore will have a church in it, which he can secure in times of the greatest danger and distress. In him therefore let the church’s friends place their confidence, and they shall not be put to confusion.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Our soul is escaped - We have escaped; our…
Our soul is escaped - We have escaped; our life has been preserved.
As a bird out of the snare of the fowlers - By the breaking of the snare, or the gin. The bird is entangled, but the net breaks, and the bird escapes. See the notes at Psa 91:3.
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The snare is broken ... - It was not strong enough to retain the struggling bird, and the captive broke away. So we seemed to be caught. The enemy appeared to have us entirely in his power, but escape came to us as it does to the bird when it finds the net suddenly break, and itself again at large.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. Snare is broken, and we are escaped—Both snare…
7. Snare is broken, and we are escaped—Both snare and fowler are in God’s hands, and he will not only deliver his people, but crush the power of the enemy. The figure applies only to such an escape as is from the very teeth of death. They were already in the snare—the watchful fowler had only to take his prey.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. The timorous defenceless bird is an apt emblem…
7. The timorous defenceless bird is an apt emblem for weak helpless men. Cp. Psa_11:1. By ‘snare’ (pach) is probably meant a kind of clapnet. The frame breaks or the spring fails to act, so that the bird is not captured, or else escapes. See the illustration in Driver’s Joel and Amos, p. 157.
we are escaped] We is emphatic. We, who seemed certain to become the prey of our enemies. But God “frustrated (lit. broke, though the word is a different one) their counsel” (Neh_4:15).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) Snare.—Another rapid transition to a favourite figure, that…
(7) Snare.—Another rapid transition to a favourite figure, that of the hunter’s net. (Comp. Psa_10:9, &c)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Our soul is escaped as a bird out of…
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers. (comp. Psa_91:3 Psa_140:5 Psa_141:10) Another metaphor. We have been like birds taken in the "snare," or net, of a fowler. But now we are escaped not, however, of our own strength or of our own cleverness. The snare is broken for us by God"s providence, and so we are escaped.
The soul"s birdlike experiences.
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We have a number of objects presented to us in this verse.
I THE SOUL AS A BIRD. We are often bidden consider the birds who, "without barn or storehouse, are fed," so that from them we may learn the lesson of trust. Even the ravens may leach us that. But the psalmist here bids us think of birds in perpetual peril of ensnarement, and actually taken, but, by rare good fortune, finding escape. That is the image of the soul which he here pictures. How true it is perpetual peril is our lot!
II THE SNARES FOR THE SOUL.
1. How many there are! And they are everywhere, and especially where we least expect them. Temptations to sin, to misbelief, to unbelief, to compromise with the world, to doubt, to pride, and to many other such things.
2. And the end and aim of them all is the same to separate the soul from God, and so to destroy it.
3. And these snares are of various kinds. Sometimes the soul is captured by means of another that seems to be at liberty. A man who has a religious reputation, is much thought of by many he is used to tempt, to decoy, others astray. Sometimes, indeed always, there is some attraction the force of which we cannot help feeling. And these baits are varied according to the character of each soul. What will attract one will not another. Satan knows when to have us where and how we are most open to his assaults. What need we have to obey our Lord"s words, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation"!
III THE FOWLER THAT SEEKS TO ENTRAP THE SOUL. It is he whom the Bible calls Satan. We dare not ignore his existence or his power. Our Lord had just come from fierce encounter with him, and bids us pray, "Deliver us from the evil one." Remember Christ has destroyed the works of the devil.
IV THE CAPTURE OF SOULS. The soul of the psalmist knew this bitter experience, as have thousands more. Some subtle lure, some crafty bait, has wrought the harm. How many such ensnared souls we meet with every day!
V BUT THE SNARE MAY BE BROKEN. This too has often occurred. Some powerful word, some startling providence, some gracious working of the Spirit of God, has led to it.
VI THE JOY OF ESCAPE. Are we free? From the condemnation of the Law, the power of sin, the fear of sorrow and death, are we free? Then praise God, and seek to get others free. "I would say again to you netted ones you that are really caught in the trap and held fast, "Oh, that the Lord would come at once and set you free!" I think he will yea, I am sure that he will if you cry to him to do so. I have heard of a sailor who had been in prison, that, after his release, he had money in his pocket, and going over London Bridge he saw a man selling birds thrushes, larks, and so on. "What do you want for that lot?" said Jack. I forget how much it was, but Jack found the money; and as soon as the birds were his he opened the door and let them all fly away. The man called out, "Whatever did you buy those birds for, and then let them all fly away? "Oh," said the sailor, "if you had been in prison, as I have, you would be sure to set everything free you could get a hold of." You and I ought to display the same kind of feeling towards all bondaged souls. I am sure that the Lord Jesus Christ is more tender-hearted than we are; and therefore he will certainly come and set free all prisoners who beg him to open their cage-doors. He is the great Emancipator; show him your bonds, and beg for liberty, and he will grant it you" (C. H. Spurgeon). S.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird…
Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers. Our soul is like a bird for many reasons; but in this case the point of likeness is weakness, folly, and the ease with which it is enticed into the snare. Fowlers have many methods of taking small birds, and Satan has many methods of entrapping souls. Some are decoyed by evil companions, others are enticed by the love of dainties; hunger drives many into the trap, and fright impels numbers to fly into the net. Fowlers know their birds, and how to take them; but the birds see not the snare so as to avoid it, and they cannot break it so as to escape from it. Happy is the bird that hath a deliverer strong, and mighty, and ready in the moment of peril: happier still is the soul over which tim Lord watches day and night to pluck its feet out of the net. What joy there is in this song, "our soul is escaped." How the emancipated one sings and soars, and soars and sings again. Blessed be God, many of us can make joyous music with these notes, "our soul is escaped." Escaped from our natural slavery; escaped from the guilt, the degradation, the habit, the dominion of sin; escaped from the vain deceits and fascinations of Satan; escaped from all that can destroy; we do indeed experience delight. What a wonder of grace it is! What a miraculous escape that we who are so easily misled should not have been permitted to die by the dread fowler's hand. The Lord has heard the prayer which he taught us to pray, and he hath delivered us from evil.
The snare is broken, and we are escaped. The song is worth repeating; it is well to dwell upon so great a mercy. The snare may be false doctrine, pride, lust, or a temptation to indulge in policy, or to despair, or to presume; what a high favour it is to have it broken before our eyes, so that it has no more power over us. We see not the mercy while we are in the snare; perhaps we are so foolish as to deplore the breaking of the Satanic charm; the gratitude comes when the escape is seen, and when we perceive what we have escaped from, and by what hand we have been set free. Then our Lord has a song from our mouths and hearts as we make heaven and earth ring with the notes, "the snare is broken, and we are escaped." We have been tempted, but not taken; cast down, but not destroyed; perplexed, but not in despair; in deaths oft, but still alive: blessed be Jehovah!
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This song might well have suited our whole nation at the time of the Spanish Armada, the church in the days of the Jesuits, and each believer among us in seasons of strong personal temptation.
Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers, etc. Various snares are placed for birds, by traps, birdlime, guns, etc.: who can enumerate all the dangers of the godly, threatening them from Satan, and from the world? Ps 91:3: Ho 5:1. "We are delivered, "not by our own skill or cunning, but by the grace and power of God only: so that every device is made vain, and freedom is preserved. Martin Geier.
Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers, etc. I am quite sure that there is not a day of our lives in which Satan does not lay some snare for our souls, the more perilous because unseen; and if seen, because perhaps unheeded and despised. And of this, too, I am equally sure, that if any one brings home with him at night a conscience void of offence towards God and man, it is in no might nor strength of his own, and that if the Lord had not been his guide and preserver he would have been given over, nay, he would have given himself over, as a prey to the devourer's teeth. I believe there are few even of God's saints who have not had occasion, in some season of sore temptation, when Satan has let loose all his malice and might, and poured in suggestion upon suggestion and trial upon trial, as he did on Job, and they have been ready to faint, if not to fall by the ways then, perhaps, in a moment when they looked not for it, Satan has departed, foiled and discomfited, and with his prey snatched out of his hands, and they, too, have had gratefully to own, "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; tie snare is broken, and we are escaped." Yes! depend upon it, our best and only hope, "is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Barton Bouchier.
Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird. The snare of the fowler was the lime-twigs of this world; our soul was caught in them by the feathers, our affections: now, indeed, we are escaped; but the Lord delivered us. Thomas Adams.
Ver. 7. As a bird out of the snare of the fowlers. The soul is surrounded by many dangers.
1. It is ensnared by worldliness. One of the most gigantic dangers against which God's people have specially to guardan enemy to all spirituality of thought and feeling.
2. It is ensnared by selfishnessa foe to all simple-hearted charity, to all expansive generosity and Christian philanthropy.
3. It is ensnared by unbeliefthe enemy of prayer, of ingenuous confidence, of all personal Christian effort. These are not imaginary dangers. We meet them in everyday life. They threaten us at every point, and often have we to lament over the havoc they make in our hearts. George Barlow, in a "Homiletic Commentary on the Book of Psalms, "1879.
Ver. 7. The snare is broken. It is as easy for God to deliver his people out of their enemies' hands, even when they have the godly in their power, as to break a net made of thread or yarn, wherewith birds are taken. David Dickson.
Ver. 7. The snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our life lieth open always to the snares of Satan, and we as silly birds are like at every moment to be carried away, notwithstanding the Lord maketh a way for us to escape; yea, when Satan seemeth to be most sure of us, by the mighty power of God the snares are broken and we are delivered. Experience we have hereof in those who are inwardly afflicted and with heaviness of spirit grievously oppressed, that when they seem to be in utter despair, and ready now, as you would say, to perish, yet even at the last pinch, and in the uttermost extremity cometh the sweet comfort of God's Holy Spirit and raiseth them up again. When we are most ready to perish, then is God most ready to help. "Except the Lord had holpen me, "saith David, "my soul had almost dwelt in silence." And this again do we mark for the comfort of the weak conscience. It is Satan's subtlety whereby commonly he disquiets many, that because carnal corruption is in them he would therefore bear them in hand that they are none of Christ's. In this he plays the deceiver; he tries us by the wrong rule of perfect sanctification; this is the square that ought to be laid to Christ's members triumphant in heaven, and not to those who are militant on earth. Sin remaining in me will not prove that therefore I am not in Christ, otherwise Christ should have no members upon earth; but grace working that new disposition which nature could never effect proves undoubtedly that we are in Christ Jesus. Thomas Stint.
Ver. 7.
1. The soul ensnared.
(a) By whom? Wicked men are fowlers. By Satan.
"Satan, the fowler, who betrays
Unguarded souls a thousand ways."
(b) How? By temptationsto pride, worldliness,
drunkenness, error, or lust, according to the tastes
and habits of the individual.
2. The soul escaped: "Our soul is escaped, "etc. "The snare is broken, "not by ourselves, but by the hand of God.
G.R.
Ver. 7.
1. A bird.
2. A snare.
3. A capture.
4. An escape.
Psalms 124:8*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Our soul is escaped as a bird.
Psa_124:7
Our soul is escaped as a bird.
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Soul manumission
I. It is a liberation from a miserable bondage.
1. It is a bondage of the man himself.
2. It is a bondage associated with a sense of guilt.
3. It is a bondage from which God alone can deliver.
II. It is a liberation into a happy freedom. The freedom of the soul consists in the freest exercise of its intellectual faculties and spiritual powers. The freedom of the soul consists in being unconstrained by any force bur love for the infinite. It is a glorious liberty. Glorious on account of the hero who achieved it--glorious on account of the immortal blessedness it secures. (Homilist.)
The bird escaped from the snare
I. The soul compared to a bird.
1. It is a little bird, too--a sparrow, or one of the sparrow kind. Our soul is escaped as a little bird--not as a great bird that could break the net and free itself by its own force. A little bird fitly represents our soul when we are lowly in heart. In our unregenerate condition we think ourselves eaglets at the very least, but we are not great creatures after all. We talk of great men: we are all little in Gods sight. If He cares for sparrows, be sure He cares for souls, and when you think least of yourself, yet believe that the Lord regards you.
2. Again, our soul is like a little bird because it is so ignorant. Birds know little about snares, yet they know so much that surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird. Even this slender wisdom is more than men display, for they fly into the net when it is spread in their sight; aye, into the selfsame net out of which, in Gods providence, they have just been permitted to escape. So foolish are we and ignorant, we are as birds ready for the lure, till the Lord teaches us wisdom; and even then we need hourly keeping, or we are entrapped by the destroyer.
3. Our soul is often like a little bird because it is so eager and venturesome. How birds will trust themselves in winter around traps of the simplest kind if but a few crumbs are used as bait! Alas, men are equally foolhardy: they see others perish, yet they follow their ways.
4. The little bird, also, when once taken in the net, is a good comparison with the soul captured by sin, for it is defenceless.
5. Souls are also like birds because they are the objects of snares.
II. The snare.
1. It is concealed. Always suspect that in a temptation to sin there is more than you can see. Never say that it is a little thing; for great evil lurks in a little fault. Death and destruction hide under apparently small offences.
2. Snares and traps are usually attractive. The poor bird sees seeds which he is fond of, and he goes for them, little judging that he is to give his life in exchange for brief enjoyment. So it is with Satan. He tempts us with pleasures, with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life: we taste the sweet, and are pierced with the smart.
3. Satans snares, like the fowlers, are sadly effectual. Multitudes upon multitudes are the victims of their own passions, victims of that hellish art which makes evil appear to be good. God save us from being taken in these most deadly snares!
III. The capture. How came the bird to be taken?
1. It may have been through hunger. If you are extremely needy, you may be tempted to do wrong to provide for your wife and family; I pray that you may never yield to the temptation, but trust in God, and He will deliver you without your putting forth your hand unto iniquity.
2. Other birds are taken merely by their appetite. They are not excessively hungry, but they enjoy certain choice seeds, and the fowler knows it; and he scatters such around the trap. Easy of body, indulgence of taste, the joy of being admired, the sweets of power and position, all these and many more have been the fowlers baits.
3. Some persons are entrapped by fear. Birds have rushed into the net for fear of danger; many persons have become great offenders against God through lack of moral courage. They are afraid of the laughter of fools. They cannot bear the sarcasm of the so-called wise; and so they suppress truth, and join in sin to escape scorn.
4. Some little birds are lost by love of company. The fowler has a decoy-bird which sings sweetly or coquettes pleasantly, and the other birds must needs follow it. In the Church of God we lose many members by ungodly marriages.
IV. The escape.
1. It is due to God alone.
2. It is achieved by power. The snare is broken--the meshes torn with a strong hand, the steel trap dashed to pieces.
3. The escape is complete. Our deliverance must be entire, or it is not true.
V. The lesson. It ought to teach us--
1. To sing.
2. To trust.
3. To watch. Let them not turn again to folly, is one of Gods own cautions to His people. He has brought you up out of the horrible pit; do not play near the edge of it. He has set your feet on a rock; what have you to do with the miry clay? Get away from the slippery ground, and on the rock let your goings be established. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The escape of the soul from danger
I. A melancholy fact supposed.
1. The sources of temptation are various.
(1) Inward.
(2) Outward. Satan and the world.
2. The nature and limits of the power of temptation.
3. From no quarter, perhaps, are we more exposed to danger than from former habits of once-indulged and unrepented sin, because there is a constant predisposition, without great watchfulness, to yield again to pursuits upon which the sinner has once entered.
4. Our safety is found in early resistance.
II. A joyful triumph expressed. We may justify this joy in experiencing the Divine protection under those dangers which threaten the stability of our faith and hope--
1. From our knowledge of the mournful results of temptation in the ease of others.
2. Because evil resisted and overcome is an occasion of inward satisfaction and happiness. Temptation foiled is happiness begun.
3. Because every such victory is a pledge and precursor of final conquest.
III. A practical improvement demanded.
1. Rejoice that the power and grace of Christ are equal to the worst extremities of human character and condition.
2. Remember the power of prayer.
3. Importance of habits of watchfulness and self-denial.
4. Temptation is only for a season. (S. Thodey.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.