Psalms 124

Psalms 124:1-8

the Christian’ s Fortress Psalms 124:1-8; Psalms 125:1-5 Here are three instances of escaped peril. In Psalms 124:3 is an allusion to Korah and his company; see Numbers 16:32-33. Why are we spared when others have been overwhelmed by swift disasters? In Psalms 124:4 and Psalms 124:5, as the morning breaks, we see the proud waters that have burst their banks and are inundating the low-lying lands. Why did our house escape? In Psalms 124:6 and Psalms 124:7 we have the metaphor of the ensnared bird and as the fluttering fledgling, when freed, leaps into the sunny air, so do we rejoice when God frees us. But why should we escape when so many never break loose? Psalms 125:1-5 Jerusalem lies on a broad and high mountain range, shut in by two deep valleys. But the surrounding hills are higher, and made her almost impregnable to the methods of ancient warfare. They who trust in God live within ramparts of His loving care for evermore. The scepter of evil may sometimes cast its gaunt shadow over their lives, but it is always arrested in time. Crooked ways are by-paths. The commandments of God are a public thoroughfare. Keep on the highway and no hurt shall assail you.

The Lord on our side One of David’s Psalms, perhaps written during the Aramaic-Edomitic war (2 Samuel 8:3-13; compare Psalms 44:1-26; Psalms 60:1-12.) Luther says, “We may well sing this Psalm, not only against our enemies who openly hate and persecute us, but also against spiritual wickedness.”

Psalms 124:1. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side! What an If is this! One shudders to think what and where we might have been without the delivering, preserving hand of our God. If we are on the Lord’s side and walking uprightly, we need never doubt as to whether He is on our side. That we may rest assured about.

Psalms 124:2. The Lord on our-side: … men against usWeigh these two in the balances, God and men, and how unworthy do our fears appear! (Psalms 56:11).

Psalms 124:3. They had swallowed us up quick Probably an allusion to the destruction of the company of Korah (Numbers 16:32-33). The word quick is old English for “alive.”

Psalms 124:4-5. The waters; the stream; the proud waters Yet, as a matter of fact, the proud waters never have gone over us. They have threatened us again and again, but there has always been a “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further” (Job 38:11). God makes of soft sand a strong bar to the sea. His voice on high is greater than the voices of the waves (Job 38:8; Psalms 93:3-4). Trust Him! As it has been, so shall it be.

Psalms 124:6. Blessed be the Lord! These outbursts of praise are so characteristic of the sweet Psalmist (Psalms 28:6; Psalms 31:21).

Psalms 124:7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare We have often marvelled at the way in which the Evil One ensnares us. Quite unexpectedly he begins to weave the meshes of some net around the soul and seems about to hold it his captive. And then, all suddenly, the strong and deft hand of our Heavenly Friend interposes, as we sometimes interpose on behalf of a struggling insect in a spider’s web. The snare falls into a tangled heap and the soul is free.

Psalms 124:8. Our help is in the name of the Lord All the help of Omnipotence is pledged on the side of the weakest of the saints. Lean back upon it and be strong!