The Bird Escaped from the Snare

DELIVERED AT THE THURSDAY EVENING LECTURE,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the
snare is broken, and we are escaped." Psalm 124:7.

THIS text describes a soul-matter. The Psalmist is not speaking of a
temporal deliverance, although, even in that sense, an escape from
death would be a theme worthy of his sweetest song. He says, "Our soul
is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers," thus denoting a
spiritual rescue. The man's soul is the soul of the man and though some
give all their attention to the body, their folly is great. It is as
though a man should spend all his substance upon his house and have no
bread for himself to eat. Do I speak to any who never think about their
souls? Do you really believe that you will die like dogs and horses? I
cannot believe that you have such brutal views of yourself! Believe me,
you have within you an immortal spirit which will outlive the sun! If
you have, up to now, been careless of your nobler part, may God's
Spirit teach you wisdom. I pray that you may so think of your soul that
our text may become deeply interesting to you, so that you may join in
its song of deliverance.

I have called the text a song–does it not read like one? "Our soul is
escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken,
and we are escaped." It is a canticle of certainty. It does not say,
"We hope that we have escaped and we trust that the snare is broken,"
but, "The snare is broken, and we are escaped." "Ifs," and, "buts,"
make no music! Poetry flees when chance enters! Certainties are
melodies. We hear people speak of "dead certainties," but the Christian
rejoices in living certainties, and is wretched till they are his own!
Rise then, my Beloved, above the fogs and mists which cover the marshes
of carnal questioning! Climb the mountains of full assurance and stand
there with your foreheads bathed in sunlight, breathing that serene
atmosphere which is untainted by a cloud of doubt!

The text reads like a song, not only because of its certainty, but also
because of its joy. It has the wing and the throat of a lark! Look how
it rises from the net to God–"Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the
snare of the fowlers." Soon it takes another rise–"The snare is
broken." And it mounts yet, again, with still greater joy–"And we are
escaped." The words melt away into the music of Heaven as the spirit
perfectly escapes from the snares of earth. The metaphor used in the
text is simple, but yet beautiful and instructive. Pardon me if I make
as much of it as I am able to do. First, we have here the bird.
Secondly, the snare. Thirdly, the capture, and fourthly, the escape. We
may then add a lesson from it all.

I. First, we have, here, the soul compared to A BIRD. 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 as great men, but we are all little in God's sight.
"Lord, what is man, that You are mindful of him?" Sparrows were very
cheap in our Lord's day because of their littleness–in the market you
could buy two for a farthing and five for two farthings–so that they
threw an odd bird in when you bought at such a wholesale rate as two
farthings' worth. Sparrows were inconsiderable things, "yet not one of
them falls to the ground without your Father." 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.

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! Yes, into the same net out of which, in God's
Providence, they have just been permitted to escape! Man naturally is
the essence of folly and he is desperately set on destroying himself.
He must "see life," he says and, therefore, he haunts the gates of
death! He reckons the fowler to be his friend and dreams that he
spreads his nets for purposes of friendly hospitality! He does not know
that the fowler is hunting for his life and

will destroy him if he can. So foolish are we and ignorant, we are as
birds ready for the snare, till the Lord teaches us wis-dom–and even
then we need hourly keeping, or we are entrapped by the Destroyer.

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!
Many sip of the intoxicating cup, yet declare they will never be
drunks! They pilfer a little and yet they despise a thief! They indulge
in wanton words, but vow to be chaste as snow! They go into
questionable places of amusement, but hope to remain pure. Oh, silly
birds! I mean silly souls! Thus the fowler fills his bags. Young people
associate with ungodly persons and say, "We are not so weak-minded as
to be led away by them"–thus displaying a weak mind by that boastful
speech!

Youths tell us that to read skeptical books, impure novels and to hear
lewd songs and spicy language will do them no harm. Believe no such
flattering falsehoods, or you will rue the day! "You don't catch old
birds with chaff," says the sim-pleton–and he hops into the net.
"Younger birds must not come here," he says, "it is dangerous for them,
but I am safe enough." Yet old birds' necks are wrung as well as those
of young birds–and experienced men are as foolish as the juveniles!
When a man says, "It is no temptation to me," it may be true, for soot
will not blacken a sweep. Little birds, beware–the fowler promises
pleasure, but the end thereof is death! The little bird, also, when
once taken in the net, is a good comparison with the soul captured by
sin, for it is defenseless. What can it do?

A mouse might eat the ropes and set free the lion, but no mouse will
liberate the sparrow! He will have a short flutter and we shall hear no
more of him. When a man is birdlimed by a vice, the more he flutters,
the tighter he is held by it. What is more defenseless than a soul in
the net of sin? What little power men seem to have against their
habits! They boast that they can stop anywhere–but, alas, they stop
nowhere! "Oh, I have only to come to a determination." Yes, "only to
come to a determination"–but to that determination you will not come!
When men become entangled in the meshes of sin, their power to escape
is gone. Jeremiah asks–"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the
leopard his spots? Then may you, also, do good, that are accustomed to
do evil." Such is the entanglement of habit, the slavery of lust.

While they are thus defenseless, we must notice, too, how alarmed they
often are. The bird is no sooner in the net than he is frightened. Poor
thing, how gladly would he escape if he could! Souls are not always so.
They will be taken in Satan's snares and yet they say that they are
happy! Custom in sin kills conscience of sin. "A short life and a merry
one," they say, as if there could be any true merriment anywhere except
in the great Father's house where they begin to be merry, as if they
had never been merry before. Many souls have enough of conscience and
of enlightenment by the Word of God to alarm them when they find
themselves entangled in sin. And then they beat about and hurt
themselves, but, alas, notwithstanding all their efforts, unless a
stronger hand than theirs shall break the net, they will perish by the
fowler's hand!

Our souls, once more, are like birds because they are the objects of
snares. If the Pharisees would compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, certainly Satan will compass all the universe to ruin a
single soul, for he delights in destroying the souls of men. Nor is it
Satan, only, for all the world seems to have taken to this fowling, and
men who would not lift a finger to save their fellows will go far to
ruin them! Oh, little birds, there is no place on earth safe for you
till Jesus covers you with His protecting wings!

II. Secondly, we will now speak of THE SNARE. The text speaks twice of
the snare. It is wonderful what a variety of snares there are for
birds. The tombs of Egypt exhibit the art of bird catching and show us
decoys, traps, nets and so forth. Such arts are still practiced by
fowlers. The main point about the snare is that it is concealed. So,
when the arch-fowler comes after the souls of men, he will not usually
spread his net in their sight. Some silly birds can be taken in that
way, but most souls need that the temptation should be veiled. 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 offenses.

Oh, if we could see everything as God sees it, then we poor silly souls
might be in far less danger! But, alas, Satan covers the hook with a
tempting bait and we are taken! 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 is it with Satan. He tempts us with pleasures, with
the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life–we
taste the

sweet and are pierced with the smart. Did we perceive the intent of the
great enemy of souls, we should fly from sin! You know the old adage,
"Fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts"–even so, fear a
temptation to sin, even should it offer you all the kingdoms of this
world! May God keep us from the attractions which conceal the snare!

But Satan's snares, like the fowler's, are sadly effectual. Look at the
quantities of small birds that will be found for sale in the
markets–fowlers must be exceedingly skillful to catch all these. If we
could walk through Satan's market, what a multitude of souls should we
see in his bands! 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! What
are these snares? I cannot mention them all, for they are legion.
Snares tuck our bed and snares attend our board. Snares are in the
street and snares are in the field. Snares are on the table and snares
are in our daily walk.

But the chief among them are temptations to sin. The Evil One endeavors
to lead us into a false way which will be congenial to our taste. We
each have a peculiar weakness and he knows how to adapt himself to it.
He has been a student of human nature for so long a time that he knows
more about man than man knows about himself and he, therefore, chooses
that bait which is most likely to attract us. Oh that we may have Grace
to keep clear of pleasurable sin! The rabbis said to the Nazarite who
was not to drink wine or strong drink, "O Nazarite, go about, go
about–and do not pass through a vineyard." So, child of God, it will
be well for you to go about and not enter into temptation. Your Master
bids you pray, "Lead us not into temptation." Against temptation we are
to watch and pray as well as against the sin that is likely to come of
it.

Another snare is erroneous doctrine. There is plenty of that abroad at
this time. Be warned! You can have high doctrine and doctrine low;
broad doctrine and narrow doctrine. You can have it how you like, for
nowadays every man makes his own gospel and sits in judgment upon the
Word of God! Dearly Beloved, hold fast the Truth of God, and be not
decoyed by error! If any come with a new gospel, turn your ears away
from their deceptive teaching, for false doctrine is the poison of asps
and the venom of Hell lies within them. Even Christian people are in
danger from another snare, namely, deceitful action. The Tempter
whispers, "You need not do evil, but there are different ways of
judging right and wrong–and it is best to go by the custom of the
trade!"

Satan puts things very prettily when he means to ruin us. You have
somebody else's money entrusted to you. Of course, you would not steal
it–but yon can use it for a little while–and then replace it. It is
true, if it should be lost, people will call you a thief, but then you
are not going to lose it! You are going to double it by your
cleverness! That is the snare! At other times the temptation is in this
form–"Be sure to buy the thing if you would like it, though you have
no money with which to pay for it." You would not steal. No, no! There
is another way of doing it. Buy it, and do not pay for it. This is one
of the snares with which Satan seduces men till they are ruined. Ah,
me, that men should be so moved from their integrity! Oh, child of God,
be upright in everything! However well you may gloss a matter over, and
however much others may excuse it, yet if a certain act would be wrong
in the sight of God, you must not think of it!

I have noticed another snare. Satan tries to get Christian people to
ignore the experience of others. A certain good man is often
melancholy. "Ah," says Satan, "that is how you ought to be–you ought
to be bowed down with holy sorrow." I remember right well, when I was a
youth, hearing a preacher say that it was dangerous to be sure of our
salvation! He preached up the duty, beauty and sweetness of being
everlastingly in doubt as to your condition! A few people would gather
around such a preacher and sit and have a little comfortable misery all
to themselves–and think that they were worshipping God! Now, that is a
snare to a Christian because he has a right to be glad and, "the joy of
the Lord is our strength." May we be kept out of that snare!

On the other hand, anxious people see Christians who are advanced in
Grace and full of faith while they, themselves, are much cast
down–then the Evil One whispers, "You are not like those good men! You
are no Christian." Brother, you cannot have another man's experience
any more than you can wear another man's face! Certain lovely ferns
grow best in the shade and never flourish in the sun, while many
flowers cannot have too much sunlight. Do not wish to be like this man
or that man, but pray God to make you like Jesus Christ–and to let
your experience glorify His blessed name! Otherwise, the desire to copy
others will be a snare to you. Thus I might go on mentioning snares.
They are, some of them, gross and carnal. But for the spiritual, there
are snares so neat and pretty that they are apt to be taken in them
before they are aware!

According to Pliny, the nets in which the Egyptians took little birds
were frequently so fine that one person could carry a net large enough
to encompass a whole tree. Surely, it must have been a small tree, but
even then, it is a remarkable statement for so reliable a writer to
have made. We may here see an illustration of the delicacy of those
temptations with which Satan surrounds the nobler order of minds.
Strong as iron, yet filmy as gauze, are the snares for spiritual men.
Why, Satan can encompass a whole Church with one of those nets and you
scarcely know that it is there! And yet the minds within its meshes are
quite unable to mount up and sing unto their Lord, as once they did,
for they are within an invisible net.

III. We cannot further dwell on the subject of the snare, but we must
turn to consider THE CAPTURE. Birds are taken in nets and souls are
taken by temptations to sin, by errors of doctrine and by a thousand
other methods. Dear Friends, it is a dreadful thing for the poor little
bird, when it is taken, especially when it is so anxious to escape that
it hurts itself in its efforts to get free. How came it to be taken? It
may have been taken through hunger. Half-starved, it dashed into peril
for necessary food. Many true men are in such straits and difficulties
that they are sadly liable to be brought into the net.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, pray God to deliver you from poverty and
from great riches, for there are perilous snares about each of those
positions. May you be neither exalted nor depressed, but preserved in
the middle path of experience. 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 hands unto iniquity. 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. Ease of body, indulgence of
taste, the joy of being admired, the sweets of power and position–all
these and many more have been the fowler's baits.

Hundreds have all that heart ought to wish for, but they desire to be
rich and, therefore, fall into a thousand snares which they might have
avoided. Men are snared by eating and by drinking; by fine raiment and
by vainglorious display. Snares lie thickly around the appetites of the
body and the longings of the mind. 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 the Truth of God and join in
sin to escape scorn. God give us a holy bravery with which to defy
every man's opinion when we know that we are obeying the Lord!

Some little birds are lost by love of company. The fowler has a decoy
which sings sweetly or chirps pleasantly and the other birds must
follow it. In the Church of God we lose many members by ungodly
marriages. The worldling pipes his pretty note and the tender heart is
taken by it. The fair enthusiast says, "I shall convert him," but it is
very, very seldom that this happens–it is usually the other way! This
is a snare of Satan in which many are taken. Thus you see how souls are
captured. Perhaps I am speaking to one here who has flown into the net.
You do not know what to do, Friend, for you are quite helpless to break
your bonds. You went in very eagerly and, oh, how eagerly you would get
out, again, if you could! But you cannot escape. Your own helplessness
is now apparent as it never was before.

One thing, however, you can do–you can cry to One who is stronger than
you! You can pray the Lord to pluck your feet out of the net–and He is
able to do it, for all things are possible with Him!

IV. Just a word or two upon THE ESCAPE. This is a very blessed text,
although the sermon has been gloomy so far, for now we shall see the
fowler disappointed and the captive let loose! I wish that everybody
here could repeat the utterance and cry, "Our soul is escaped. We were
in the net, but our soul has escaped. The snare is broken! It has no
power over us any longer. We are free from its grasp! We have escaped!
Up, up, we soar away from the fowler and his nets. Glory be to God, we
have escaped!–

"As when the fowler's snare is broke,

The bird escapes on cheerful wings

My soul, set free from Satan's yoke,

With joy bursts forth, and mounts, and sings." This escape is due to
God, alone! As the bird could not get out of the snare, so the soul
cannot escape from temptation, but God can bring it out, and He works
the rescue. Hear this, you that are slaves to drunkenness–God can
deliver you! You that have fallen into licentiousness–hear it–God can
deliver you! Whatever the sin that has birdlimed you, those gracious
hands which once were nailed to the Cross can set you free! Up, up, up,
you that pine on the borders of

despair! Jesus can deliver you! He that made the world out of nothing
can make a joyful Christian even out of you! He can turn your mourning
into dancing and your despair into confidence.

This escape is achieved by power. That word, "broken," has force in it.
"The snare is broken"–the meshes torn with a strong hand; the steel
trap dashed in pieces! It matters not what danger you are in, there is
power enough in God to fetch you out of it! I thought, once, that God
could never save me. I supposed that He would bless my brother and my
sisters, but that He would leave me–yet He did save me, blessed be His
name! And you, too, He is able to deliver. "Oh, but I am the odd man,"
cries one! Then there are two of us! And if God has saved one odd man,
He can surely save another–and why should He not save you, in spite of
all your eccentricity? "But I do not think that He will save me." What
are your thoughts worth? He can save even you! Only trust Him, though
you are in the net, and out of that net you shall be fetched, for He
leaves no soul to perish that puts its trust in Him!

Observe that the escape was complete–"the snare is broken, and we are
escaped." As long as a little bird has the tiniest bit of cotton tied
to its leg, and that is fastened anywhere, the bird has not escaped.
And as long as you have one evil habit–one wrong thing that you really
love–you have not escaped! You must be altogether separated from your
sins. No man can be married to Christ till he is divorced from sin. Our
deliverance must be complete, or it is not true. Who can give us this
but the Lord Jesus Christ by His blessed Spirit? Trust Him to set you
free and no net shall hold you! I would again put the question, "How
many of us can say, 'We have escaped?'" Let us sing unto the Lord if we
can–and let those who cannot say that they are free, continue to plead
earnestly with God that He would deliver them.

V. I would close with THE LESSON which this subject ought to teach us.
A word or two only. It ought to teach us, first, to sing, for if a bird
gets out of the net, does it not sing? How glad it seems to be when
once it flies away! Oh, you that have been delivered from sin and
Satan, sing unto the Lord! Praise and bless His name! Be as happy as
possible. Be something more than full of happiness! How can that be?
Why, be so full of it that it overflows and cheers others. Let us
communicate our joy as far as we can, for we are escaped. We are
escaped and we will praise the blessed God who broke the snare.

Next, let us trust, for if the Lord has saved us from the dreadful
snare of sin and Satan, He will save us from everything else. It is
sad, to me, that any should trust the Lord with their souls and yet
they cannot trust Him for their daily bread, or for help in their daily
trials! This must not be! If the Lord has given our soul so great an
escape, depend upon it, He will take care of our bodies. He that gave
us Jesus will give us food and raiment and let us be content. Lastly,
let us watch. If we have fallen into the snare, once, let us keep our
eyes open not to go there again. May the Holy Spirit prevent any child
of God from turning aside, even for a moment, from the straight way.
"Let them not turn again to folly," is one of God's 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 let your
goings be established on the rock.

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, yes, 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–thrashes, larks and so on. "What do
you want for the 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 out?" "Oh," said the sailor, "if you
had been in prison as I have been, 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 poor
ensnared 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
set you free!
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The Word of a King