# Psalm 124 📖: If the Lord Had Not Been [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 123]] | [[Psalm 125]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) #### A song of ascents; by David. [[#Verse 01.]] “If the Lord had not been on our side”— let Israel say this.— [[#Verse 02.]] if the Lord had not been on our side, when men attacked us, [[#Verse 03.]] they would have swallowed us alive, when their anger raged against us. [[#Verse 04.]] The water would have overpowered us; the current would have overwhelmed us. [[#Verse 05.]] The raging water would have overwhelmed us. [[#Verse 06.]] The Lord deserves praise, for he did not hand us over as prey to their teeth. [[#Verse 07.]] We escaped with our lives, like a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare broke, and we escaped. [[#Verse 08.]] Our deliverer is the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Psalm 124 is a Song of Ascents attributed to David. 2. The phrase "let Israel say" (124:1) invites the whole congregation to repeat the words, a sign of public worship. 3. Being swallowed alive (124:3) recalls Sheol and the ground swallowing Korah's rebels (Numbers 16:32-33). 4. Flooding waters (124:4-5) were a common Old Testament picture of overwhelming danger. 5. Bird hunters in the ancient world used nets and spring traps, the picture behind 124:7. 6. The psalm does not credit Israel's strength but only the Lord's presence. 7. Verse 8 became the opening words of worship in John Calvin's Geneva liturgy and many Reformed services since. 8. "Maker of heaven and earth" (124:8) also appears in Psalms 121:2 and 134:3. 9. The psalm moves from danger (124:1-5) to praise (124:6) to confession of faith (124:8). 10. The specific crisis behind the psalm is not named, so it has been used for many different deliverances. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the One through whom God is on our side. If God is for us, who can be against us? He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all (Romans 8:31-32). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. David asks Israel to imagine what would have happened if the Lord had not been on their side (124:1-5). Looking back, where would you be without the Lord? 2. Their escape is like a bird breaking free from a hunter's trap (124:7). What traps has God freed you from? 3. "Our help is in the name of the Lord" (124:8). How can that confession shape how you start each day? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 1-3: If the Lord had not been on our side, our enemies would have swallowed us alive. - 📖 verse 7: We escaped like a bird from a hunter's snare; the snare broke and we escaped. - 📖 verse 8: Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Romans 08#Verse 31.|Romans 8:31-32]] - If God is for us, who can be against us? - 🔗 [[Psalm 121#Verse 02.|Psalm 121:2]] - My help comes from the Lord. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 43#Verse 02.|Isaiah 43:2]] - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. - 🔗 [[2 Corinthians 01#Verse 08.|2 Corinthians 1:8-10]] - God delivered us from deadly peril. - 🔗 [[Psalm 91#Verse 03.|Psalm 91:3]] - He will rescue you from the hunter's snare. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 📂 Internal Notes