Psalm 124 Sunday School
Notes
Transcript
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
Psalm 124. In four metaphors of totally unexpected escape—from monster, torrent, wild beast, and snare—the poet urges Israel to acknowledge that only the Lord, Maker of all, rescues his own from attack by furious foes. Deliverance from overwhelming invasion, exile, or from Egypt under Moses, may be in the pilgrims’ minds as they “ascend” to celebrate the truth that illumines all of Israel’s history: “the Lord is on our side.”11
R. E. O. White, “Psalms,” in Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, vol. 3, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1995), 394.
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say—
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone the raging waters.
Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
In C. S. Lewis’s Reflections on the Psalms, he writes, “A man can’t be always defending the truth; there must be time to feed on it” (Reflections, 5). Indeed, the psalms nourish our inner persons. In Psalm 124 we have the opportunity to feast on the Lord’s salvation. Often we find ourselves defending and proclaiming his salvation, but here we should delight in it and praise him for it.
The psalm begins with repetition for emphasis. He’s leading the community, saying, “Come on, say it with me! The Lord was on our side!” One can hear an echo of this type of declaration in Paul’s words to the Romans: “What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:31). We need to remind one another of the Lord’s grace.
Notice also the “if/then” pattern throughout the psalm. The writer wants the people to know how desperate they are for the Lord’s deliverance. So he says,
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side … then they would have swallowed us up alive, … then the flood would have swept us away, … then over us would have gone the raging waters. (ESV ; emphasis added)
Historians have pointed to a powerful moment when a group of saints sang Psalm 124. In 1582 a Scottish minister named John Durie was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. When he was later released from prison, a few hundred of his congregants met him at the gates of the prison and began walking up the street in Edinburgh. That group of people began singing Psalm 124. Soon, about two thousand people joined in the song. One of his persecutors witnessed this moment and said he was more alarmed by that sight and song than anything he had ever witnessed in Scotland (in Ligon Duncan, “Our Help”).
Clearly the psalmist knows that apart from the Lord’s gracious activity, the people would have been destroyed. The Lord protected them from all sorts of dangers and enemies.
Psalm 124. In four metaphors of totally unexpected escape—from monster, torrent, wild beast, and snare—the poet urges Israel to acknowledge that only the Lord, Maker of all, rescues his own from attack by furious foes. Deliverance from overwhelming invasion, exile, or from Egypt under Moses, may be in the pilgrims’ minds as they “ascend” to celebrate the truth that illumines all of Israel’s history: “the Lord is on our side.”11
God suffers the enemies of his people sometimes to prevail very far against them, that his power may be seen the more in their deliverance.
124:1–5 The first two verses contain the same phrase. These repetitions establish that Psa 124 will focus on Yahweh’s work on behalf of Israel. The psalmist then uses graphic flood imagery to describe the crisis, depicting Israel’s enemies as an overpowering flood that threatens to destroy Israel.
Marvel at What God Has Done
The psalm begins with repetition for emphasis. He’s leading the community, saying, “Come on, say it with me! The Lord was on our side!” One can hear an echo of this type of declaration in Paul’s words to the Romans: “What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:31). We need to remind one another of the Lord’s grace.
Notice also the “if/then” pattern throughout the psalm.
Four pictures of danger tell it all: earthquake (3b, Nu. 16:30) and flood (4a) are overwhelming threats from which deliverance is against all the odds—but the Lord can do it!
124:1 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side …”
Everything depended on that if. It spelled the difference between deliverance and disaster. But the Lord was there, and that made all the difference.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
124:2 when men rose up against us Reflects the flood imagery that portrays the hostile nations in vv. 3–5.
Our enemy Satan does not give advance warning of his attacks; therefore, we must be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8),put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10–18), and be alert in our praying. God promised His chosen people that He would curse those who cursed them (Gen. 12:3), and He has kept that promise
The invading armies, such as Assyria and Babylon, did not conquer the Jews because their armies were too great for God, but because God’s people were great sinners and the Lord had to chasten them. If we are walking with the Lord, we need not feel unprepared for the enemy’s sudden attacks.
124:3 they would have swallowed us alive Here and in v. 6, the psalmist portrays the nations as a mouth that wants to consume Israel.
3. Then—that is, the time of our danger.
quick—literally, “living” (Nu 16:32, 33), description of ferocity.
Isaiah 30:20
Clearly the psalmist knows that apart from the Lord’s gracious activity, the people would have been destroyed. The Lord protected them from all sorts of dangers and enemies.
124:4–5 The psalmist portrays the nations using several images of dangerous waters that threaten to cover Israel and sweep them away. Such flood imagery is usually connected to Yahweh’s subordination of chaos during creation and reflects His power over the whole world (see 93:3–4).
4–5. There is an obvious progression in these verses in the use of the water metaphor. Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: then the proud waters had gone over our soul. The flood of opposition would have swelled over the heads of the Israelites like the waters of the Red Sea had it not been that the Lord was on their side. So also, the rushing torrent would surely have drowned their souls; the proud waters able to capsize the largest vessel and drown the greatest men would have gone over their souls; and Israel’s antagonists would have been victorious over them.
124:4–5 Fast-moving waters and floods would have washed away all evidence of Israel’s existence (69:2, 15; Isa 30:28; 66:12). The Hebrew term translated raging is related to a word that means “arrogant” (Deut 17:13; Neh 9:10, 29), characterizing the destructive waters and the oppressive enemy.
During the rainy season, and when the mountain snow melts, the dry riverbeds in Israel quickly become filled with water and flash floods threaten houses and people. Jeremiah compared the enemy invasions to sudden floods (Jer. 47:1–4), and Job 27:19–20 uses the same image on a personal level
5. The epithet proud added to waters denotes insolent enemies.
Job 38:11
This image of the persecution of the Jews is also seen in Revelation 12:13–17. The psalmist feared that the raging waters of persecution would sweep over him and his people and that they would be swallowed up forever. Jeremiah pictured the Babylonian captivity of Israel as Nebuchadnezzar swallowing the nation (Jer. 51:34, 44). But if the Lord is on our side, He will provide a way of escape.
The Lord has delivered us from our greatest imprisonment, and he also delivers through other smaller trials on this earth. Marvel at what he has done. Let the marvel lead you to praise.
Praise God for What He Has Done
Yahweh, Israel’s Creator, will provide his people with an escape (see vv. 6–8). God is the Author of all our deliverances, and he must have the glory.
A sudden attack by a wild beast is a biblical picture of persecution
There are twelve words in the Hebrew language for lions, which indicates that the Jewish people in that day took wild beasts seriously. Jeremiah compared Babylon to a lion (Jer. 4:7; 51:38), and Peter compared Satan to a prowling lion (1 Peter 5:8). Like a cunning animal, Satan stalks us and waits until we have relaxed our guard, and then he pounces. But the Lord is stronger than Satan, and if we are abiding in Him, we can win the victory.
6–8. Blessed be the Lord who was their Life Preserver. Not only did He keep them from drowning in the waters of despair; but, abruptly changing the metaphor, Jehovah also prevented Israel’s enemy from devouring them as a prey to their teeth.
124:6–8 The psalmist mentions Yahweh by name again and introduces a new image for the crisis threatening Israel. The enemies of Israel are like deadly hunters who will capture Israel and consume it. The closing verse of Psa 124 mentions Yahweh again, forming a bookend structure that emphasizes Yahweh’s help as the object of Israel’s thanksgiving (v. 8).
6, 7. The figure is changed to that of a rapacious wild beast (Ps 3:7), and then of a fowler (Ps 91:3), complete escape is denoted by breaking the net.
124:6 Blessed be Yahweh The psalmist states that God is the reason for Israel’s escape (see vv. 1–2, 8).
124:6 Hostile people are depicted as devouring, unrestrained monsters (79:7; Isa 9:12; Jer 51:34).
Verse 6 transitions into praise for the Lord’s deliverance, as the writer magnifies the danger. When the psalmist ponders the Lord’s rescuing work, he bursts forth into praise and confesses his confidence in the Lord. Apart from the Lord’s grace, the people would have drowned, been devoured, and been trapped. And the snare has also been torn apart!
It’s fitting to move from marveling at God’s saving work in Christ to praising him. We should give expression to our delight and awe at God’s grace.
C. S. Lewis said, “The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express that same delight in God which made David dance” (Reflections, 23).
Yes! Deliverance should make us dance with joy! Allow this psalm to feed your delight in the Redeemer.
124:7 The mouth of a bird trap (Prov 7:23; Amos 3:5) has been torn and the captured bird has escaped, as if from prison. The setting of a fowler’s trap suggests premeditation by the opposition, who lay in wait to capture God’s people.1
124:7 like a bird from the snare of Portrays Israel’s narrow escape from death with the image of a fragile bird that barely escapes capture in a snare.
Josh 23:13; ; Is 8:14) Ezek 12:13)
Apparently some fowlers also used decoys in their snares to attract the birds along with bait food (attested in Ecclus 11:30).11
We must use the Word of God to throw light on our path so we can detect and avoid the devil’s traps (119:105; 91:1–3; 1 Tim. 3:7; 6:9; 2 Tim. 2:24–26). The picture is that of a helpless bird who walked into the trap in order to eat the food. Satan always has fascinating bait to offer. The Lord may allow us to fall into a trap, but nobody can keep us when He wants us to be free. The Lord not only opened the trap but broke it so it cannot be used again! The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has broken the dominion of sin and death and we can walk in freedom through Jesus Christ.
The Lord has delivered us from our greatest imprisonment, and he also delivers through other smaller trials on this earth. Marvel at what he has done. Let the marvel lead you to praise.(124:6–7)
Because they have escaped, they should praise the Lord!
Are you aware of particular events in which the Lord delivered you—from dangers, concerns, fears?
What do you make of these deliverances?
They should feed your faith. They should build your trust. They should stimulate great joy. They should give us confidence for today’s trials.
Do you need to be delivered from some danger, threat, or problem? Seek the Lord’s deliverance now.
Apply What God Has Done (124:8)
Finally, the writer applies the Lord’s past work to present experience. He summarizes Israel’s experience: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
124:8 Our help is in the name of The psalmist concludes by mentioning that Yahweh is the only reason Israel has survived. He adds a nuance of praise to the sense of thankfulness.1
124:8 The psalm closes with its basic point, that our help is in the name of the Lord (that is, his personal presence; see Deut. 12:11).1
Nehemiah’s words “Our God will fight for us” (Neh. 4:20) remind us of 124:1–2 and 8. We may not have entire nations and armies opposing us, but we do face emergencies that are more than we can handle. That is when we turn to the Lord for help, because He is on our side and helps us with these emergencies.
Life is war. Each battle is the Lord’s. Trust in him, for that’s where our ultimate help comes from. He has been faithful in the past, and you can trust him in the present.1
Praise God for What He Has Done Let us rejoice that our help for the time to come is in him who made heaven and earth.