Reflections on Psalm 124

Psalms 124 (Contemporary English Version)


1. (A song by David for worship.) The LORD was on our side! Let everyone in Israel say:
   
2. "The LORD was on our side! Otherwise, the enemy attack
   
3. would have killed us all, because it was furious.
   
4. We would have been swept away in a violent flood
   
5. of high and roaring waves."
   
6. Let's praise the LORD! He protected us from enemies who were like wild animals,
   
7. and we escaped like birds from a hunter's torn net.
   
8. The LORD made heaven and earth, and he is the one who sends us help.
   

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This psalm could be titled, "If the Lord had not been on our side." The entire psalm is an explanation of that statement. If the Lord had not been on their side, the enemy would have swallowed them alive, the waters would have engulfed them, and the torrent would have swept over them. As it was, they escaped the encounter "like a bird from the hunter's net." But it was only because of the Lord's help, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Two thoughts strike me as I reflect on this psalm. The first is the importance of recognizing the source of our victories - whatever those victories may be. Not only is it important that we praise God and thank Him for His help because that is what He desires, but it is important because we need to realize the source of our victory. This recognition will serve us in the future when faced with more difficult situations. Situations so overwhelming that we have no doubt of our inability to do anything about them. Being confident in God's help will come from previous experiences in which we have recognized His help, and will carry us through the present overwhelming circumstance. Every time we praise God for what He has done, we not only are doing something pleasing to Him, we are building our store of confidence in God's help for the future.

The second thought that strikes me from this psalm comes from the very last phrase of the psalm, "Maker of heaven and earth." This recognition of God as the Creator is central to our ability to recognize God's help in times of trouble. It is central, even, to recognizing there is a God. Much of the scientific community these days is intent on denying any involvement of an "Intelligent Designer" in creation. They do so in the face of a total inability to explain how the universe and all it contains got here. Explanations they offer are harder to believe than to believe there is a God who created it. But they are determined to accept these explanations rather than accept that there is a God. If, however, at this very crucial point one were to accept the idea of God in the role of creation, everything else about God becomes plausible. Accepting the role of God in delivering His people in times of trouble, as did the psalmist in this psalm, becomes believable if one accepts God as "Maker of heaven and earth." If God is the Creator, then He is capable of delivering His people from anything. The remaining question to answer is, "Does the Creator of the universe care enough about you and me to deliver us when we are in trouble?" And Jesus answered this question for us. God cares enough about our deliverance to sacrifice His own son for that purpose.