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Psalm 124 (NIV)
A song of ascents. Of David*.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side –
let Israel say –
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
This psalm is numbered among the “songs of ascent” however it does not describe directly any aspect of a physical journey towards Jerusalem or towards the temple itself. The connection is more a spiritual one: the psalm expresses gratitude towards the Lord and identifies his name as “our help” (verse 8a), that is to say a single source of help and not just one of perhaps several helpers. It also recognises the Lord as the Maker of all that exists, of heaven and earth (verse 8b).
If not written to describe a journey, to what part of Israel’s history might this psalm refer? The comparison of the attacking multitudes to a “flood” and a “torrent” could be reminiscent of the flight from Egypt, the arriving at the sea with the forces of pharaoh’s Egypt in close pursuit. Then, the God of Israel forged a passage for them to pass through the sea on dry land but, as Egypt’s army entered the same gap in the waters, those waters closed in and swept them away (Exodus 14: 23-28).
The metaphor of “flood”, “torrent” and “raging waters” might have been just that, a metaphor, which did not directly reflect the events of the Exodus. The invading armies of the Philistines (numerous references are recorded in 1 Samuel) or of Assyria may have had the potential to “swallow (them) alive” but on many occasions the Lord’s intervention on the side of Israel enabled them to survive (see, for example, 2 Kings 19) and even to be victorious in battle.
Even though Israel’s defeat and captivity and exile to Babylon are not part of the psalm’s message, the possibility remains that it is post-exilic.
How are we, the people of God, to use this psalm today? We see across many parts of the world that the Lord’s devoted followers continue to be swept away by those who hate them or who hate the person of Jesus Christ and any who call upon his name. They and we still claim that “our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”. That help may not be evident in some of the circumstances of this present existence however it is an accomplished fact in its saving power for eternity. If the Lord had not been on our side as we battle the forces of the evil one in this life, we would have no hope for the life to come. Thanks be to God. Praise be to the Lord (verse 6a).
* No attribution was given to this psalm in the Septuagint so we should not place great reliance on the reference to David as author.