The Lord Will

Psalms

Psalm 124

KJV

1

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.

Overview

Psalm 124 is a Song of Ascents that remembers a danger that could have overwhelmed the community, thanks God for deliverance, and ends by confessing help in the Maker of heaven and earth.

Setting and context

The psalm moves from the repeated counterfactual 'if the LORD had not been for us' through images of swallowing, floodwaters, prey, and a broken snare, to a final confession of help in the Creator.

Themes

Deliverance · Communal testimony · Escape · Divine help · Creation

Key passages

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Questions readers ask

What is Psalm 124 about? It is communal thanksgiving for deliverance from a danger pictured as overwhelming attack, floodwaters, prey, and a snare.