Commentary - Psalm 124:6-8

Bird's-eye view

This concluding section of Psalm 124 is a corporate explosion of grateful praise. Having just contemplated the terrifying "what if" scenario where the Lord was not on their side, the people of God now erupt in worship for the reality of their deliverance. The psalm pivots from the hypothetical horror to the actual rescue. The imagery is stark and visceral: they were like helpless prey in the teeth of a predator, or a small bird caught in a trapper's snare. In both cases, escape was impossible by their own strength. The deliverance was entirely God's doing. The psalm therefore concludes not with a celebration of their own resilience, but with a profound and foundational confession of faith: their help is found in the character and absolute power of Yahweh, the one who made all things and therefore governs all things.

This is a song for the rescued. It teaches us to look at the dangers we have passed through with sober realism, not to frighten ourselves, but to magnify the God who brought us through. The teeth were real, the snare was set, and our doom was certain apart from Him. The praise that follows such a realization is deep, heartfelt, and rightly directed. It culminates in one of the great summary statements of the Christian's confidence, anchoring our security not in our circumstances, but in the name of the sovereign Creator of the universe.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 124 is one of the "Songs of Ascent" (Psalms 120-134), a collection of psalms that were likely sung by Hebrew pilgrims on their journey up to Jerusalem to worship at the temple for the great feasts. This context is crucial. A pilgrimage was a journey, often through dangerous and hostile territory. These songs were the soundtrack for a people on the move, a people facing real-world threats. Psalm 124, attributed to David, fits this perfectly. It begins by posing a terrifying counterfactual: "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side..." (Ps 124:1). The psalm then vividly describes the utter destruction that would have ensued. This final section (vv. 6-8) is the triumphant conclusion after staring into that abyss. It is the corporate sigh of relief, the shout of victory, and the settled confession of a people who know they have been supernaturally protected on their way to the place of worship. It is a song for those who have arrived safely and know exactly whom to thank.

Key Issues

The Broken Snare

There are two basic postures a man can take toward the dangers of the world. The first is to pretend they are not there, to whistle past the graveyard with a flimsy, self-generated optimism. The second is to look them square in the face, to acknowledge their teeth and their cunning, and then to look higher to the God who is infinitely more powerful. The Bible always commends the second posture. This psalm is a master class in it. The people of God do not say, "Our enemies were not so bad." They say, "Our enemies would have swallowed us alive." They do not say, "We cleverly found a way out." They say, "The snare was broken, and we escaped." The realism about the threat is precisely what fuels the doxology for the deliverance. When we downplay the danger, we diminish the glory of the rescue. But when we see the fangs and the trap for what they are, our "Blessed be Yahweh" is no mere religious platitude. It is the grateful cry of the truly rescued.

Verse by Verse Commentary

6 Blessed be Yahweh, Who has not given us to be prey for their teeth.

The psalm pivots here from contemplation to declaration. The response to the hypothetical horror of verses 1-5 is this robust doxology. To bless Yahweh is to declare His worthiness, to speak well of Him, to praise Him for who He is and what He has done. The reason given is specific and graphic. Our enemies are depicted as savage predators, and we are the intended prey. The image is one of being torn to pieces, of a violent and bloody end. The key phrase is "has not given us." This is the language of divine sovereignty. Our deliverance was not an accident. It was not that the predator lost its appetite, or that we were too fast. God Himself intervened. He withheld us from the jaws of the enemy. He is the one who decides what is given and what is not. Our enemies may have had the power and the intent to destroy us, but they did not have the divine permission. Our safety rests entirely in God's sovereign refusal to hand us over.

7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped.

A new metaphor is introduced, but it teaches the same lesson. We are now a small, fragile bird. The enemy is a cunning trapper, a fowler. The snare represents the clever, hidden, and deadly traps laid for us by the world, the flesh, and the devil. A bird in a snare is utterly helpless. The more it struggles, the tighter the trap becomes. It cannot reason its way out; it cannot break the net with its own strength. Notice the sequence here. It is not "we broke the snare and escaped." It is "The snare is broken and we have escaped." The breaking of the snare is an external event, an act of sheer power from outside the trap. God reaches down and snaps the trap. Only then, as a direct result, are we able to fly free. Our escape is entirely contingent on His prior, decisive action. This is a perfect illustration of salvation. We were caught in the snare of sin and death, and Christ, through His cross and resurrection, broke the snare. We do not contribute to the breaking; we are simply the beneficiaries of it.

8 Our help is in the name of Yahweh, Who made heaven and earth.

This is the grand conclusion, the foundational creed upon which all security rests. After celebrating a specific deliverance, the psalmist broadens the lens to the ultimate principle. Where is our help located? It is "in the name of Yahweh." In Scripture, the "name" of God is not a magical phrase. It is a shorthand for His entire revealed character, His attributes, His power, and His authority. To trust in His name is to trust in Him as He has revealed Himself to be: merciful, gracious, just, faithful, and sovereign. And lest we think of Him as some limited, local deity, the psalmist immediately defines which Yahweh he is talking about. He is the one "Who made heaven and earth." This is the bedrock. Our helper is not one power among many; He is the source of all power. He is the Creator of the very reality in which our enemies operate. The one who set the stars in their courses and the mountains in their places is more than capable of dealing with our comparatively small problems. If He can manage a universe, He can break a snare. This is the ultimate argument against all fear and despair. Our help is located in the person and power of the omnipotent Creator.

Application

This psalm is a weapon for the church. We live in a world full of predators and trappers. There are cultural forces that want to devour our children's faith. There are ideologies that lay subtle snares for our minds. There is the persistent trap of our own sinful flesh. And behind it all is the ancient trapper, the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. It is the height of foolishness to think we can navigate this world on our own wits and strength.

Like the pilgrims of old, we must learn to sing this song. We must look back at the deliverances God has already granted us, the snares from which He has already freed us, and let that history fuel our present worship and trust. When we do this, we can say with confidence, "Blessed be the Lord, who did not give me over to my lust, who did not let that financial disaster destroy me, who did not allow that slander to silence His work in me."

And our confidence for the future must be anchored in the same place: "Our help is in the name of Yahweh, who made heaven and earth." This is not wishful thinking. It is a statement of ultimate reality. The one who made the teeth of the lion and the wood for the snare is the one who is on our side. The entire created order is His. Therefore, no weapon, no trap, no enemy can ultimately succeed against those who take refuge in His name. The great snare of death itself has been broken by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because He got out of the ultimate trap, we can be confident that He will get us out of every lesser one on our way home to Him.