Commentary - Psalm 124:1-5

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 124 is a song of grateful deliverance, a corporate testimony of God's people. It is one of the Songs of Ascents, sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem for the feasts. These songs were meant to prepare the heart for worship, and this one does so by reminding the people of a fundamental, bedrock truth: without the Lord, they are utterly lost. The psalm is structured as a great "what if" scenario. What if the Lord had not been on our side? The answer is stark and terrible: complete destruction. David, writing this psalm, uses a series of powerful and violent metaphors, being swallowed alive, drowned by a flood, swept away by a torrent, to describe the fate that would have befallen Israel had God not intervened. This is not hyperbole; it is the sober reality of our condition apart from God's grace. The central point is to stir up thankfulness by forcing us to look into the abyss of what would have been, in order that we might properly praise God for what is.

The psalm moves from the hypothetical horror to a blessed reality. The structure is simple: a repeated, emphatic declaration of dependence (vv. 1-2), a vivid description of the alternative (vv. 3-5), and then (in the verses that follow) a joyful shout of praise for the actual deliverance. This psalm teaches us to interpret our history, both personal and corporate, through a theological lens. It is not luck, or our own strength, or fortunate circumstances that save us. It is Yahweh, and Yahweh alone. This is a truth Israel must "now say," and it is a truth the church must continually declare. Our very existence is a testimony to the fact that the Lord is on our side.

Outline

Context In The Songs of Ascents

As a Song of Ascents, this psalm fits into a collection of psalms (120-134) that were sung by Hebrew pilgrims as they made their way up to the holy city. This journey was not just a physical ascent, but a spiritual one. The songs were designed to focus the mind and heart on God. Psalm 124 serves a crucial function in this process. Before the worshiper can properly praise God in His temple, he must recognize his own complete helplessness and God's absolute necessity. The pilgrim road was often dangerous, beset by robbers and natural perils. This psalm takes those real-world threats and uses them as a picture of the greater spiritual dangers that beset God's people. The world, the flesh, and the devil are constantly rising up against us. This psalm is a corporate acknowledgment that our safe arrival, whether in Jerusalem or in the New Jerusalem, is due to nothing in ourselves, but entirely to the fact that Yahweh was on our side.

Key Issues

Yahweh Was on Our Side

v. 1. “Had it not been Yahweh who was on our side,” Let Israel now say,

The psalm opens with a sentence fragment, a burst of grateful realization. The grammar itself is breathless. Before the thought is even completed, David calls on all of Israel to join in this confession. This is not a private reflection but a public, corporate testimony. "Let Israel now say." This is something that must be declared, spoken out loud, and affirmed by the whole covenant community. The foundation of our safety, the bedrock of our existence, is the simple fact that Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, has taken our side. He is not a neutral observer. He is partisan. He is for us. And if He had not been, the thought is too terrible to complete just yet. This is the starting point for all true worship: a recognition of our desperate situation and God's gracious alignment with us.

v. 2. “Had it not been Yahweh who was on our side When men rose up against us,

The phrase is repeated for emphasis, like a hammer striking an anvil. This is the central truth that must be driven deep into our hearts. "Had it not been Yahweh..." The repetition isn't for poetic flair alone; it's to make us stop and truly consider the alternative. And here the threat is identified. It is when "men rose up against us." The Bible is realistic about the enmity of man. Ever since Genesis 3:15, there has been a perpetual conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. This opposition is not random; it is a spiritual reality. The world hates Christ, and so it hates those who belong to Christ. When men rise up against us, whether it is Pharaoh, or the Philistines, or the Sanhedrin, or a hostile secular culture, they are not the ultimate problem. The ultimate question is whether Yahweh is on our side. If He is, their rising is in vain. If He is not, we have no hope.

v. 3. Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their anger was kindled against us;

Now David begins to paint the picture of what would have happened. The first metaphor is that of being swallowed alive, like a great beast or like the ground opening up (as with Korah). This speaks of a swift, sudden, and total annihilation. There is no fight, no struggle, just utter consumption. This is what the "anger" of men seeks to do. The word for anger here is a hot, burning wrath. This is not a mild disagreement. The world's opposition to God's people is a hot, consuming rage. It wants to see us gone, erased, devoured. And apart from God's intervention, this is precisely what would happen. We have no native strength to withstand this kind of fury. We would be gone in an instant.

v. 4. Then the waters would have flowed over us, The stream would have swept over our soul;

The metaphor shifts from a devouring beast to a raging flood. This is another image of overwhelming, irresistible force. Think of a flash flood in a desert wadi. One moment the ground is dry, the next a wall of water carries everything away. The "waters" represent chaos, judgment, and uncontrollable power. This is not just a surface-level threat; the stream would have "swept over our soul." This is an attack on our very being, our life-force. The enemy does not just want to defeat us politically or socially; he wants to extinguish our souls. The flood is a classic biblical image of judgment, from Noah's day onward. To be on the wrong side of God is to be exposed to this deluge with no ark in sight.

v. 5. Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul.”

David repeats and intensifies the image. These are not just any waters; they are "raging waters." The Hebrew has the sense of proud, arrogant, insolent waters. This is a key insight. The forces arrayed against us are filled with pride. They believe they are right. They are confident in their own power. They mock the people of God and God Himself. This is the pride of Babylon, the arrogance of Goliath, the insolence of Sennacherib. And this proud, raging torrent would have swept over our soul. The repetition drives the point home. Our destruction would have been total, our end catastrophic. This is the fate we deserve in ourselves, and the fate the world desires for us. The only thing that prevents this outcome is the glorious truth that begins the psalm: "Yahweh was on our side."

Application

We must learn to sing this psalm today. The church is constantly facing "men who rise up against us." We see it in hostile ideologies, in government overreach, and in cultural decay. The temptation is either to despair, thinking the raging waters are too strong, or to become proud ourselves, thinking we can win the fight in our own strength. This psalm corrects both errors. It forces us to look away from the strength of the enemy and away from our own weakness, and to look to the Lord. Our only hope, our only boast, is that Yahweh is on our side.

This is not a call to passivity, but a call to faith-fueled action. Because God is for us, we can stand. Because He is our defender, we do not need to be consumed by fear. We should read the headlines and see the "raging waters," and then we should let Israel now say, "Had it not been the Lord who was on our side..." This perspective breeds a rugged, joyful confidence. The same God who delivered Israel from Egypt, who saved Daniel from the lions, who rescued Peter from prison, is our God. Our help is in the name of Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. Therefore, we are not to be swallowed, and we will not be drowned. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.