Psalm 124

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say—
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood would have engulfed us,
    the torrent would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.
Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

• Psalm 124:1-8

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“David penned this psalm (we suppose) upon occasion of some great deliverance which God wrought for him and his people from some very threatening danger, which was likely to have involved them all in ruin, whether by foreign invasion, or intestine insurrection, is not certain; whatever it was he seems to have been himself much affected, and very desirous to affect others, with the goodness of God, in making a way for them to escape. To him he is careful to give all the glory, and takes none to himself as conquerors usually do. I. He here magnifies the greatness of the danger they were in, and of the ruin they were at the brink of, ver. 1-5. II. He gives God the glory of their escape, ver. 6, 7 compared to ver. 1, 2. III. He takes encouragement thence to trust in God, ver. 8. In singing this psalm, besides the application of it to any particular deliverance wrought for us and our people, in our days and the days of our fathers, we may have in our thoughts the great work of our redemption by Jesus Christ, by which we were rescued from the powers of darkness.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 124 “Psalm 124 is a song of hazard-and of help. Among the Songs of Ascents, sung by the people of God on the way of faith, this is one that better than any other describes the hazardous work of all discipleship and declares the help that is always experienced at the hand of God.”

• Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

My Thoughts

This psalm is attributed to David.

This continues the songs of ascent, where the people make their pilgrimage up the mountain to Jerusalem.

I have written a few times about how we should be on God’s side, not God being on our side.  So, to properly sing this psalm, we need to know that our endeavor where God is on our side is one that is His will in the first place.  Note that the Scripture shows that David’s success came after he consulted the Lord before taking the first step.

But it is a wonderful thing to be in a hazardous environment with dangers on all sides and know that God is there with you.  As Rev. Peterson states, this is a psalm of hazard and a psalm of help.

The hazards are not trifling hazards.  They face death on all sides, but God sees them through.

But as God saw the Israelites through one hazard and another, He can do the same for us.  We should not be foolhardy.  We go to God in prayer and make sure we are doing God’s will.  Then, we know we are doing the right thing.

Psalm 125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people
    both now and forevermore.
The scepter of the wicked will not remain
    over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
    their hands to do evil.
Lord, do good to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.
But those who turn to crooked ways
    the Lord will banish with the evildoers.
Peace be on Israel.

• Psalm 125:1-5

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach.  In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Intercessional psalms:  These are psalms where the psalmist intercedes with God for others.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This short psalm may be summed up in those words of the prophet (Isa. 3:10, 11), ‘Say you to the righteous, It shall be well with him. Woe to the wicked, it shall be will with him.’ Thus are life and death, the blessing and the curse, set before us often in the psalms, as well as in the law and the prophets. I. It is certainly well with the people of God; for, 1. They have the promises of a good God that they shall be fixed (ver. 1), and safe (ver. 2), and not always under the hatches, ver. 3. 2. They have the prayers of a good man, which shall be heard for them, ver. 4. II. It is certainly ill with the wicked, and particularly with the apostates, ver. 5. Some of the Jewish rabbies are of opinion that it has reference to the days of the Messiah; however, we that are members of the gospel-church may certainly, in singing this psalm, take comfort of these promises, and the more so if we stand in awe of the threatening.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 125 “Climbing is difficult. The tug of gravity is constant. There are barriers to be surmounted and hazards to be met. Ordinarily, though, with a moderate amount of determination and stamina, people complete the climb they begin. But sometimes the foothold gives way and there is a slide backward.
“The Rocky Mountains, where our family loves to hike, are mostly sedimentary rock. There are places where the rock, under the impact of ice and water, erodes to a loose, crumbly stuff called scree. A misstep there can send you cascading down a mountain slope for hundreds of feet.”

• Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

This continues the songs of ascent, where the people make their pilgrimage up the mountain to Jerusalem.

This psalm is short, but it comes in three parts.

Jerusalem, Mount Zion, is surrounded by other mountains, thus God surrounds Jerusalem with protection.

Secondly, if evildoers take the land, the scepter will be removed from their hands and placed in the hand of the righteous.

Lastly, the psalmist pleads with God to support the righteous and send those with crooked ways out with the evildoers.

And may Peace be on Israel.

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

• Psalm 126:1-6

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“It was with reference to some great and surprising deliverance of the people of God out of bondage and distress that this psalm was penned, most likely their return out of Babylon in Ezra’s time. Though Babylon be not mentioned here (as it is, Ps. 127:1-9) yet their captivity there was the most remarkable captivity both in itself and as their return out of it was typical of our redemption by Christ. Probably this psalm was penned by Ezra, or some of the prophets that came up with the first. We read of singers of the children of Asaph, that famous psalmist, who returned then, Ezra 2:41. It being a song of ascents, in which the same things are twice repeated with advancement (ver. 2, 3, 4, 5), it is put here among the rest of the psalms that bear that title. I. Those that had returned out of captivity are here called upon to be thankful, ver. 1-3. II. Those that were yet remaining in captivity are here prayed for (ver. 4) and encouraged, ver. 5, 6. It will be easy, in singing this psalm, to apply it either to any particular deliverance wrought for the church or our own land or to the great work of our salvation by Christ.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 126 “Ellen Glasgow, in her autobiography, tells of her father who was a Presbyterian elder, full of rectitude and rigid with duty: ‘He was entirely unselfish, and in his long life he never committed a pleasure.’ Peter Jay, in a political column in the Baltimore Sun, described the sober intensity and per-sonal austerities of one of our Maryland politicians and then threw in this line: ‘He dresses like a Presbyterian.’
“I know there are Christians, so-called, who never crack a smile and who can’t abide a joke, and I suppose Presbyterians contribute their quota. But I don’t meet very many of them. The stereotype as such is a big lie created, presumably, by the devil. One of the delightful discoveries along the way of Chris-tian discipleship is how much enjoyment there is, how much laughter you hear, how much sheer fun you find.”

• Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

This continues the songs of ascent, where the people make their pilgrimage up the mountain to Jerusalem.

This is a song of Joy, but the Joy comes by returning to Jerusalem.  Thus, this is assumed to have been written about the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.  The Chosen People had returned to the land.

This says that the neighbors realize that God had returned to the land also.

In reading Ezra and Nehemiah, there were hard times.  The neighbors did everything they could do to stop the temple being rebuilt and the wall around Jerusalem.  The timeframe of those two books spans a few rulers of the Medo-Persian Empire, starting with Cyrus the Great.

But in building the wall, the people of that time reestablished themselves as the rightful people to possess the land, a wonderful reason to rejoice and give praises to God.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 124

“1. If Israel had lost this battle, would David have written a psalm about God’s wrath for their sin? Does God take sides?
“2. From what external or internal enemy is God saving you?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 125

“1. What non-Christian influences tempt you at home, at work, at school or in society? How do you stay ‘straight’?
“2. When is it hardest for you to trust the Lord? Why?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 126

“1. Has God ever done something so great you had to pinch yourself to see if you were dreaming?
“2. How does God tend to answer your prayers: A flash flood or a long planting season?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.