The answer
The psalmist saw himself as a bird without strength or power, incapable of escaping from the snare of the fowlers; namely the devil and his angels. But the Almighty helped him, broke the snare, and set him free. The psalmist sang, saying, “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 124:7–8).
St. Jerome says, “What snare is this that has been broken? ‘The Lord,’ says the Apostle, ‘will speedily crush Satan under our feet’ (Rom. 16:20); ‘that you may recover your-selves from the snare of the devil’ (2 Tim. 2:26). You see, then, that the devil is the hunter, eager to lure our souls unto perdition. The devil is master of many snares, deceptions of all kinds. Avarice is one of his pitfalls, detraction is his noose, fornication is his bait. ‘And from the destroying word’ (cf. Ps. 90:3). As long as we are in the state of grace, our soul is at peace; but once we begin to play with sin, then our soul is in trouble and is like a boat tossed about by the waves.”706
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
706 St. Jerome, The Homilies of Saint Jerome, Volume 1 (1–59 on the Psalms) 20 (FOTC 48:157).