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The Snare
Is Broken
"Once like a bird in prison
I dwelt,
No freedom from my sorrow I
felt,
But Jesus came and listened
to me
And glory to God, He set me
free."
(- Praise
Song - "He Set Me Free" - written by Albert E. Brumley)
Our God is a Mighty Deliverer.
More than anything, He desires to see His people set free
from every bondage, trap, prison, and assignment of the
devil - every
"snare of the fowler."
What a glorious feeling it is to be set free. Oh! To be
once bound by sin and Satan and then to enjoy immeasurable
liberty in Christ Jesus! It makes you want to jump, skip,
run around the block several times, shout, cry and laugh at
the same time, as well as sing with all your might for the
Glorious Anointing and Power that
is found in Jesus' Name, Word, Blood, and Holy Spirit.
Glory! Glory! Glory!
David said it so well in
Psalm 124:7-8 -
"Our soul is escaped as a bird
out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we
are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made
heaven and earth."
Like a little sparrow, entangled in the net of Satan's
subtle and spiteful trap of sin, confusion, and trouble -
our soul was gloriously set free by the Blood of Jesus. The
snare of iniquity and shame was indeed broken and we have
truly escaped. Today, we shout from the highest rafters -
"Our help is in the name
of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."
Nonetheless, just because
we have escaped one snare does not mean that we can never be
trapped again.
The Scriptures speak repeatedly about snares. Some are set
by other men, while others are caused by our own wrongdoing.
Let's examine the Word of God so that we can glean wisdom
and insight into the ways of our enemies and recognize the
traps that our own sin can lead us into if we are
not walking in the fear and admonition of the Lord all the
day long.
1. Snares Set
By Others
Psalm 119:110 -
"The wicked have laid a snare for
me..."
Psalm 140:5 -
"The proud have hid a snare for me,
and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside, they have
set gins for me."
Psalm 142:3-
"When my spirit was overwhelmed within
me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked
have they privily laid a snare for me."
Jeremiah 18:22-23 -
"...for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid
snares for my feet. Yet, LORD, Thou knowest all their
counsel against me to slay me..."
Who were the ones responsible for laying the snares for
David and the Prophet Jeremiah? The wicked or proud men -
the haughty, arrogant, and oppressive men - who were subtle
and crafty in their ways.
What exactly did they do? David said that they secretly and
covertly "hid a snare"
and "cords"
for him. They
"spread a net" and
"set gins."
The Prophet Jeremiah said that his enemies
"digged a pit"
and "hid snares"
for his feet.
The image presented here is that of a mighty hunter setting
traps, snares, and gins in order to entrap a dangerous
beast. Figuratively speaking, the
"cords" were
strings or twine that made up a net which was spread in the
place where David was expected to walk -
"they spread a net by the wayside" -
"in the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare
for me."
Usually, at a time when we are at our weakest, the enemy
strikes. David expressed his condition in this way -
"When my spirit was
overwhelmed within me..." He was in
distress. He was experiencing troubles, sorrow, and darkness
over his soul.
It was at their lowest point when the wicked plotted and
schemed to overthrow both David and Jeremiah. They sought to
bring them into sin and trouble when it was least expected -
"privily."
Like a snare or trap suddenly and surprisingly springing
upon an hunted animal, they planned to capture these two men
of God and destroy their lives.
There is a certain judgment
that comes upon all those who dig pits or set snares, traps,
and gins to overthrow another. The way we treat others is
the way that others will treat us in return. Whatsoever we
sow, we will reap. What goes around, comes around. If we
stop our ear at the cry of the poor, we will cry some day
and not be heard. If we harden our hearts and mistreat
others, then there will come a day when others will harden
themselves against us and harshly mistreat us as well.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David prayed for
all those wicked and proud opposers who sought to bring him
down from his place of excellency in God - "Let
their table become a snare before them: and that which
should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap"(Psalm
69:22).
He prayed for a just and proper recompense of their evil
deeds to fall upon his enemies. Just as they privily sought
to spring upon him, ensnare his soul, and oppose him in his
work for God - even so would danger spring unexpectedly upon
these haughty ones. Their blessings would be turned to
curses. When they would be in need of help, no one would
come to their rescue. Enemies would rise up and set gins and
snares for their souls - even as they did for David.
2. Snares Caused By Sin
Job
18:8-10 - "For he is cast
into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.
The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall
prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the
ground, and a trap for him in the way."
Although Bildad the Shuhite's words here were
incorrectly directed toward the righteous man - Job,
they are true in relating the condition of the wicked
man who chooses to live in sin and rebellion toward
God.
Proverbs 13:21 tells us that
"Evil pursueth sinners..."
Curses overtake the disobedient.
This verse in Job relates to us how evil - calamities,
troubles, sorrows, and tragedies - unexpectedly seizes
the sinner as the snare, net, or noose overtakes the
animal or bird.
Proverbs
22:5 - "Thorns and snares are in
the way of the froward..."
Those who choose to walk in a way that is contrary to God's
Word will meet with
"snares" along their way. These
"snares"
will take on the form of difficulties, trials, and
sufferings.
Isaiah 24:17
- "Fear, and the pit, and
the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth."
For a people who choose to go their own way and refuse to
turn at the Lord's admonition through the Preacher or
Prophet, they meet with one tragedy after another. It is as
though one trouble is the beginning of another. If per
chance, through the abundant mercies of God they escape one
danger, another is meeting them around the corner. The
Prophet Amos depicted it this way -
"As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear
met him: or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the
wall, and a serpent bit him"(Amos
5:19). At least, this is the way it
is until they repent and turn back to God.
Isaiah
42:22 - "But this is a people
robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes,
and they are hid in prison houses..."
The "holes" -
which the Prophet Isaiah spoke of in this particular verse -
refer to caverns or even the houses of the people. They
were their places of refuge - places where they sought for
security and safety.
Because of their wilful disobedience and rebellion toward
the Lord God, these people found no "hiding
places." They had no place to run to or hide
from their calamities. Their caverns,
"holes," or
houses became snares unto them instead of places of refuge.
Proverbs
7:23 - "Till a dart strike
through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and
knoweth not that it is for his life."
Here we have the picture of a young man who is driven by
lust and evil passion to the whorehouse - as the ox
unknowingly is led to the slaughter house and the bird
hurries to consume the bait hidden in the trap. His
uncontrollable desires blind him to the
"snare" at hand.
Little does he realize the danger, misery, and death that
lies ahead of him in exchange for one moment of pleasure.
3. Snares
Caused By False Prophets
Hosea
9:8 - "The watchman of Ephraim
was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in
all of his ways..."
These pretenders which called themselves preachers deceived
the people with their false doctrines. They justified and
excused sin on every turn. Instead of turning God's
people from all their transgressions, they taught them to
live in rebellion toward Him and His Law. Instead of
teaching the way of Holiness and Victory, they issued them a
license to sin. With their "easy-believism,"
they entrapped and ensnared the hearts and souls of the
multitudes.
Perhaps today you find
yourself in a "snare" of some
sort. You may have fallen for one of Satan's manifold
schemes, yielded to sin, and now you are trapped. As much as
you have tried feverishly to be set free, you find yourself
falling deeper and deeper into sin. Jesus - the Strong
Deliverer - is here to help you.
Or you may feel that others
are plotting and scheming against you to bring you down from
your place of excellency. There may be those who want
nothing more than to see you fail. There is Deliverance for
you today from every fowler's "snare." His
Name is Jesus!
Lastly, you may be in a
"snare" - entrapped in your own
soul and mind - because you once sat under false teaching
and are very confused as to what is the Truth.
As Pilate asked, you also ask
- "What is Truth?"(John 18:38)
Once again, I turn your focus
to Him alone - Who is the Truth - the Lord Jesus - and to
His Amazing Word.
No matter which "snare" you
may find yourself in this day - one of your own making or
one that others have caused to come your way -
You need not fear! Just take hold of the
Powerful Promise to you found in Psalm 91:3 - "Surely
He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler..."
God said
"surely."
That means - It shall be done
just as He said!
You can count on that!
At this very moment, why not call upon Jesus for His
Delivering Touch and watch Him break every snare in which
you find yourself?
God will put a new song in your
heart - a song of praise and adoration to the Mighty
Deliverer - the Lord Jesus Christ.
You will be able to sing along with
David and say - "Our soul is
escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare
is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of
the LORD, Who made heaven and earth"(Psalm
124:7-8).
May God Bless His Word.
Connie
| © COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved
