Psalm 124
Psalm 124, Thanking God for the Help Only He Can Bring
Psalm 124 is another Song of Ascents, and the title identifies it as “A Song of Ascents. Of David.” This connects it with the pilgrim songs sung by Israel as they went up to Jerusalem for worship. Psalm 122:4 said that the tribes went up “to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.” Psalm 124 gives a clear example of that thanksgiving. David leads Israel in looking back and confessing that if the LORD had not been on their side, they would have been destroyed.
This psalm is not vague gratitude. It is specific thanksgiving for deliverance from real danger. David remembers enemies rising against Israel, wrath kindled against them, waters nearly overwhelming them, teeth ready to devour them, and snares set to trap them. Yet through all of it, God delivered His people. Therefore, the psalm moves from danger to praise, and from praise to renewed confidence, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
Although some have connected this psalm with the return from Babylonian exile, the language fits better with military danger and deliverance. The attribution to David should be taken seriously. It likely reflects Israel’s peril under enemies during David’s reign, possibly the Philistine threat early in his kingdom. David knew that Israel’s survival was not because of his military genius, national strength, or human advantage. Their help came from the LORD alone.
A. Gratitude for God’s Help
Psalm 124:1 to Psalm 124:2, The Help of God When Under the Threat of Men
Psalm 124:1, “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;”
Psalm 124:2, “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:”
The psalm opens with a repeated confession, “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side.” David wants Israel to think carefully about what would have happened without God’s help. This is not a theoretical statement. It is a call to remember danger honestly and to give God full credit for deliverance.
The phrase is repeated because the lesson is important. Men often forget how great the danger was once the crisis has passed. After deliverance, we may minimize the threat and therefore minimize the grace of God. David refuses that. He makes Israel say it plainly, if the LORD had not been on our side, we would not have survived.
The expression “on our side” does not mean God merely watched with sympathy. It means He actively stood for His people. He intervened. He defended. He acted. Israel’s survival depended entirely on the covenant faithfulness of the LORD.
This idea is closely connected to the truth of Immanuel, God with us. The God of Israel had been with His people in their history, not as a distant observer, but as their Defender and Deliverer.
Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:7, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”
David says, “now may Israel say.” This confession belongs to the whole covenant community. It is not enough for David alone to recognize God’s help. All Israel must say it. The people of God must learn to confess together that their help comes from the LORD.
Verse 2 identifies the danger, “when men rose up against us.” Human enemies had risen against Israel. David’s kingdom faced real threats, especially from surrounding nations. The Philistines in particular threatened David early in his reign, thinking they could crush the newly established kingdom.
2 Samuel 5:17, “But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David, and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.”
2 Samuel 5:18, “The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.”
2 Samuel 5:19, “And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.”
David did not trust merely in his own strength. He inquired of the LORD. He knew that if the LORD was not on Israel’s side, no military plan could save them.
Psalm 124:1 to 2 teaches that the people of God must remember and confess that their survival and deliverance depend entirely on the LORD being on their side.
Psalm 124:3 to Psalm 124:5, The Disaster That Could Have Happened Had God Not Helped
Psalm 124:3, “Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:”
Psalm 124:4, “Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:”
Psalm 124:5, “Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.”
David now explains what would have happened if the LORD had not been on Israel’s side. “Then they had swallowed us up quick.” The image is violent and sudden. Israel would have been devoured alive, swallowed by enemies whose wrath burned against them.
“When their wrath was kindled against us” shows the intensity of the threat. The enemies were not mildly opposed. Their anger was inflamed. God’s people often become the object of unusually fierce hatred because they belong to the LORD. The wrath of enemies can burn hot against those who stand in covenant with God.
This same reality is seen repeatedly in Scripture. Pharaoh raged against Israel. Haman plotted against the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar threatened the faithful. Herod sought the child Jesus. The rulers and crowds turned against Christ. The world’s hatred for God often expresses itself in hatred toward God’s people.
Verse 4 changes the image, “Then the waters had overwhelmed us.” David pictures the danger as a flood. The enemy was like water rising with destructive force. Israel would have been covered, drowned, and carried away.
“The stream had gone over our soul.” The threat was not merely external. It reached the soul. The danger struck at the deepest level of life. David is not speaking only of inconvenience, political pressure, or temporary trouble. He is describing ruin that would have overwhelmed the very life of the people.
Verse 5 intensifies the picture, “Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.” These are not calm waters. They are proud waters, swollen, violent, arrogant, and destructive. The image is of a torrent that sweeps away everything in its path.
Scripture often uses overwhelming waters as an image of great danger.
Psalm 18:16, “He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.”
Psalm 69:1, “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.”
Psalm 69:2, “I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing, I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.”
These verses show the kinds of trouble that can come upon the soul. Sometimes trouble feels like being swallowed alive. Sometimes it feels like being overwhelmed by floodwaters. Sometimes it feels like being swept away by a torrent. David says Israel would have been destroyed by such danger if the LORD had not helped.
The point is clear. The LORD was not one helper among many. He was the only Savior. No human arm could have rescued Israel from such danger. Their escape came by His action.
Psalm 124:3 to 5 teaches that without the LORD’s help, the enemies of God’s people would have swallowed them alive, overwhelmed them like waters, and swept over their soul like proud floods.
B. Praise to the LORD Who Helps
Psalm 124:6 to Psalm 124:7, Praise for the Help Received
Psalm 124:6, “Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.”
Psalm 124:7, “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers, the snare is broken, and we are escaped.”
Verse 6 begins with praise, “Blessed be the LORD.” David now turns from remembering danger to blessing God for deliverance. To bless the LORD means to praise Him, thank Him, and declare His worthiness. The redeemed should not remember danger without also remembering mercy.
The reason for praise is, “who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.” David returns to the image of a beast. The enemies were like predators ready to tear and devour. Their teeth were ready. Israel was vulnerable. But the LORD did not give His people over as prey.
This is a powerful comfort. The enemies may have teeth, but God decides whether they devour. They may be strong, but they are not sovereign. They may rage, but they cannot consume beyond what God permits. The LORD preserved His people from becoming prey.
Verse 7 uses another image, “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers.” The soul is pictured as a small bird caught in a trap. This emphasizes weakness, vulnerability, fear, and helplessness. A bird in a snare cannot free itself. It flutters, trembles, and struggles, but the trap holds it.
So it is with many dangers of the soul. Satan lays snares. Sin lays snares. Wicked men lay snares. Fear, lust, greed, pride, bitterness, false doctrine, and evil companions may all become traps. A man may find himself caught and unable to free himself.
But David says, “the snare is broken, and we are escaped.” The escape does not come because the bird became strong enough to break the trap. The snare was broken by another. God broke it. The soul escaped because the LORD intervened.
This is true not only nationally for Israel, but spiritually for every believer. God delivers from snares that would otherwise hold the soul in bondage.
2 Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”
2 Timothy 2:26, “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
Christ is the ultimate Deliverer from the snare of sin and death. The hand that was nailed to the cross is the hand that sets captives free.
John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
These verses give more pictures of trouble. Sometimes trouble grinds like teeth. Sometimes trouble traps like a snare. But God can deliver from both the violent attack and the subtle trap.
Psalm 124:6 to 7 teaches that the LORD is to be praised because He did not give His people as prey to their enemies, and because He broke the snare so that their soul escaped.
Psalm 124:8, Confidence in the Continuing Help of God
Psalm 124:8, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
The psalm ends with confidence, “Our help is in the name of the LORD.” The people of God do not merely say, “Our help was in the LORD.” They say, “Our help is in the name of the LORD.” Past deliverance strengthens present trust. The God who helped before is still the Helper of His people.
The name of the LORD represents His revealed character, covenant faithfulness, power, holiness, mercy, truth, and authority. To say that help is in His name is to say that help comes from who He is. God’s people are not protected by luck, numbers, human strength, or favorable circumstances. Their help is in the LORD Himself.
This statement carries holy defiance. Other nations may trust idols, armies, rulers, wealth, alliances, or human wisdom. Israel’s help is in the name of the LORD.
Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
The LORD is further identified as the One “who made heaven and earth.” This is the same confession found in Psalm 121. The Helper of Israel is the Creator. The One who made all things is able to preserve His people from enemies, floods, teeth, snares, and every danger.
Psalm 121:2, “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”
Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah Lord GOD, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”
This final verse teaches the proper fruit of memory. Looking back on deliverance should produce confidence. The believer should write down the works of God in his mind and heart, often return to them, and conclude, “Our help is in the name of the LORD.”
Psalm 124:8 teaches that the continuing help of God’s people is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 124 teaches that the people of God must give thanks for the help only God can bring. If the LORD had not been on Israel’s side, enemies would have swallowed them alive, wrath would have consumed them, waters would have overwhelmed them, proud floods would have swept over their soul, beasts would have devoured them, and snares would have trapped them. But the LORD delivered. Therefore, His people bless His name and confess that their help is in the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
