Not Quite
The wicked have set a trap for me, yet I have not wandered from Your precepts. Psalm 119:110 NASB
Trap – The Hebrew word translated “trap” is paḥ. It is literally a snare for birds. Its root is pāḥaḥ, to ensnare. Why would we want to be sure that we understand its use before we use “trap.” In other words, what’s the difference between a “trap” and a “snare”?
Trap – a device or enclosure designed to catch and retain animals, typically by allowing entry but not exit or by catching hold of a part of the body.
Snare – a trap for catching birds or animals, typically one having a noose of wire or cord.
Generally, a trap encloses the prey, not allowing exit, while a snare catches the prey so that it can’t escape the restraint.
Let’s apply this. “The wicked have set a snare for me,” that is, without realizing it I find myself tied to something so that I can’t escape. It’s not that I can’t move about (like a trap). I have some freedom of movement but I’m on a leash. I can only go so far before the noose holds me back. This, it seems to me, is the important difference. I am not trapped by the wicked in such a way that I experience shackles. I still think I have some freedom to act. But the truth is that it’s a lie. I’m really tied to something that prevents me from coming and going as I please. My life is restrained by the noose.
And, of course, in both cases, I never saw it coming.
Doesn’t this describe the operation of sin? If the offense was so blatant, so obvious, and repulsive that it shocked my conscience, I wouldn’t choose it. For sin to be effective it must look pleasing or at least not repugnant. It entices because it appears to be acceptable. But once I engage, I soon discover the leash. My ultimate freedom is suddenly restricted. Oh, I can still move around. I can still pretend that things haven’t changed because some of my free will is still free. But not all. Little by little the noose tightens. I am more and more limited in my choices. As the ex-communist said, “We can’t control the things life does to us, and once they are done, they make you do other things, until at last everything prevents you from being that man you wanted to be.” The snare is incremental restriction, just like sin. It overcomes its victim, not all at once when the trap teeth snap closed, but little by little until it chokes the life out of you.
“Yet I have not wandered” writes the psalmist. We would have expected “I have not fallen victim” or “I have not been caught.” Why “wandered”? tāʿâ, “to wander, to go astray” suggests deviation from the straight path. Isaiah 53:6 uses the term in an especially pregnant phrase, “All we like sheep have gone astray. . .” In other words, there are lots and lots of snares. But the psalmist has his eyes fixed on piqqûdîm, oversight. He doesn’t step without consulting the Lord and that keeps him away from the invisible snares. If he feels restraint, he checks. Better to stop, wait, and listen than to act. After all, snares are deliberately hidden. Sensitivity to oversight is the safety belt of life.
Topical Index: paḥ, snare, trap, tāʿâ, wander, piqqûdîm, oversight, Psalm 119:110
