Psalm 124 (King James Version) “124 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say;
2 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
3 Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124 is one of the 15 Psalms that has the following phrase: “A song of ascents or the song of degrees.” You will find this title to be the title of Psalms 120 all the way through 134. As I conducted my background research on this psalm, I found out that scholars believe that these Psalms were sung as the Israelites accented up the mountain to Jerusalem. The pilgrims made this trip every year to the feast.
There are four of these Psalms that are attributed to David. Here, we see a Thanksgiving Psalm! The people on the way up the mountain either sang this or recited this song! This Psalm was written which thanked the Lord for His protection.
Here, David Expressed Thanksgiving to God for all of His help and protection, but it also speaks in Thanksgiving to God for the help He will provide them in the future.
Today, let’s praise God, because God is on our side and if he is for us then who could stand against us?
First, I want to read just the first part of verse 1 and David said, “If it had not been for God” This is a very loaded question! It is definitely a stopping point in the scripture. We can’t just run or read over this question: if it had not been for God on our side; where would we be?
We all know how this Psalm plays out, but if God had not been on my side where would I be? Where would you be?
This is actually the best Psalm for the New Year, because our nation is in a storm! For example, people who were use to money do not have money now, because of a loss of employment. Our government cannot find a solution to medical illnesses, diseases, and viruses; therefore, the world is in a medical storm. Our elders are in a financial storm, because basic social security does not meet their needs. Partly, do you to inflated cost. Our country is in an economical store, because big business owns the world and can charge immaculate prices. Big business controls the supply chain and if they’re closed we can’t get supplies anymore. Grocery store shelves are empty and people are going hungry. We have do you remember where God has brought us from and that God will be with us through all storms.
So, if not for the Lord where would we be?
Looking back in retrospect at 2022 we can all say we would not have made it if it was not for the Lord. All of us have had those moments! We all can say amen to that! We can all agree that we would not find ourselves in the sanctuary today! We are only here, because of the Lord. It was nobody but God!
Right now,
you did not sit there because you were good.
You do not sit there because you were right.
You did not sit there because you had a good job.
You did not sit there because you invested properly.
You did not sit there because you had great performance evaluation‘s.
you don’t sit there because you know the right people.
You don’t sit there because you’re self-employed.
We set together, because of God.
Like David said, if it had not been for God! We are only here, because God brought us through last year. If this year, 2023 is going to be any better; then, I need to know that the God of last year; is the same God that will get me through this year.
If it had not been for the Lord, who was with us in 2022 we wouldn’t see 2023!
When David wrote this scripture he meant for us to stop and consider where we would be without God. Then David, goes into some scenarios of what would’ve been if God had not been on our side.
If the Lord had not been on our side our enemies anger flared against us and they would have swallowed alive.
And in another metaphor David reminds us that the food would have overtaken us. Basically, if God had not been with you in 2022, life would have got the best of you.
As we enter a new day in the new year let’s remember that ….
God will be with us today,
God will be with us tomorrow,
and God will never leave you or for sake you!
It’s only by the grace of God that he will keep us. This year, the Holy Ghost wants us to stay focused on God! Trials, tribulations, and storms will come, but put your trust and your faith in God.
We know, from scripture, that there were many times The enemies of David arose against him. Perhaps, a great example of this would the when the philistines rose up against the whole kingdom of Israel. We can find this record in second Samuel chapter 5 beginning in verse 17. When this kingdom stepped up against God‘s children, his chosen, God leaped into action.
David‘s song of victory, became a song that Israel used to thank God. It is interesting to know that the kingdom of Israel sang David’s song on the way to Tabernacle of feast every year.
Verses three, four, and five, thank God for saving David and his people. Let’s re-read the Scriptures and make note of these certain situations.
3 Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
5 the raging waters would have swept us away.
So, continuing the thought from the first two verses, we see what would have happened to Israel if God would not have helped them.
They would have been destroyed by their enemies.
We see that the God of Israel, your Yahweh, was not one of many possibilities for solutions, but Yahweh was the only savior of Israel.
It is often true that we create problems for ourselves or we find trouble for ourselves and we need God to rescue us. Has anyone been there?
Look, how beautifully David uses language in verse three: they would have swallowed them up. So, if the Lord did not rescue us we would have been gone. Verse three also says in their wrath their anger was against us. Sometimes, a persons anger is like a burning fire against others. Some times, a persons anger spews into gossip and utterly destroys the Christian. Sometimes, the anger of the ungodly sparks flames that are heated seven times hotter and it just devours God’s children. If it had not been for God we would have been swallowed up!
There are many scriptures that speak against Christians devouring one another! (Galatians 5) We must work together in love! The Bible says love your neighbor as thyself. To complete the great mission that Jesus left us we must love one another. The Bible also tells us that if we love the brethren we know that we have passed from death to life. (1 John 3:14)
In verse 4, David uses another poetic form of language and it says the following: the floods would have overtaken us. The Holy Spirit wants to to know that it’s more like a rushing river instead of a collection of water. In this poetic picture Israel was in danger of being swept away or overtaken by its enemies swiftly.
I think it is great David uses metaphors to do describe how we need God. For example in verse three, David talks about kindled anger, in verse four sometimes our trouble overtake us. Finally, in verse five our troubles sweep us away like the white water rapids.
Then in verse five, Scripture says the water would have caused their demise. David again, uses repetition to move our thinking. The danger that Israel faced and the danger we face is not only political, but economical. The problems had to do with the very soul of man. The problem was life at the deepest level.
In these great dangers God is our deliverer.
In these great dangers God is our refuge.
In these great dangers God is our strong tower.
Listen, whether our trails overwhelm you or sweep you away: God is the solution.
We do not need to despair.
We do not need to fret.
We do not need to be afraid.
All we need to do is come to Jesus. We meet God through our high priest Jesus Christ. God is with his people. God is with you. And God is with me! Let’s put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. In his will and in his word.
In verse six, I believe David changes directions of thought, because he begins to praise God for his deliverance and for the deliverance of Israel. Now, let’s read verse six together.
Here, we see David praising the Lord! David says, blessed be the lord! I have seen this language in other places of scripture, the idea here is not to bestow a blessing upon the Lord, but instead it’s praising the Lord, because he is blessed and he is holy.
The idea is not that God needs our blessing. The idea is that God deserves our praise. We should declare how faithful God is. We should exhibit this powerful expression of praise in our every day life. We should recall the events of where God has brought us from. God was there in all of our troubles and he has delivered us.
The second part of verse six speaks to the danger that is real. David describes their trouble as a beast. With the help of God; his people was saved from their destruction.
They were also saved from captivity. Do you see, when Israel was kept in captivity they lost their liberties and their freedom. Often times, they could not follow their rituals.
According to verse seven David compares our life to the life of a bird. It is a nice comparison. You see, a bird can easily be trapped. It is weak and it is fearful. This speaks to our frailness and our complete dependency on God.
Just as there are traps to capture a bird; there are traps and snares for us too. These snares and traps seek to take away our liberties and our spiritual freedoms. The snares and traps come in forms that are attacks from Satan.
For example, there are people who are slaves to their addiction.
There are people who have found themselves stuck in materialism and now are slaves to their debt.
There are people that are snared in traps of bitterness and anger.
The good news is, that no matter what snare or trap you find yourself in, our God CAN deliver you. We have to figure out what trap we are in and give it to Jesus.
Whatever brings bondage into your life Jesus can deliver you.
Verse eight says the following:
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Did you catch a glimpse of defiance in these words? In the days of David there were many gods that men worshiped. Today, there are all kinds of different religions. People worship all kinds of strange things. But the true power And true deliverance only comes through and by our God. (The God of the Bible. The God that sent Jesus Christ into the world. So, that we can all be reconciled to him.) There’s only one way to obtain the keys and rights to heaven. There’s only one way to obtain our true inheritance. It is the belief and the acceptance of this gospel and this gospel alone!
This entire song shows and demonstrates the help that God provides to the believer!
For example, in verse three, God delivers us from things that would devour us. Hostile people are depicted as devouring, and unrestrained monsters. These types of people use tactics to destroy the person and what they want.
In verse four, God delivers us from things that would overtake us like a flood. God has delivered us from all things that would wash away all evidence of his people.
In verse five, God delivers us from things that would sweep us away like a river or a torrent.
In verse six, God delivers us from things that would grind us into powder.
In verse seven, God delivers us from troubles that would catch us in a snare or in a trap.
And who is it that does this? Let’s read verse eight.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
You see this confidence in God was in no way a vein activity. The same God that created heaven and holds you in his hand. He is mighty to help his people!
So you see here, it is recommended that we praise God, for being our protector and for being our deliverer!
Before we leave Psalm 124, let’s consider one more idea that the Holy Ghost brought to my attention. The question is as follows: how does Jesus Christ fit into this Psalm. Jesus escaped the snare of death, our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the Fowler’s; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. (Verse 7) You see, the ultimate trap is sin and death. But, Jesus defeated sin and death. For the believer, we have escaped that snare, and are set free. Jesus Christ’s victory has became our victory.
