Anakalypsis / Unveiling the Word
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⚙ Annotations & References ▾
Themes 2 ▾
Sovereignty of God 1 Providence 1
Speakers 1 ▾
David human 1-8
Historic voices 4 ▾
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1× 8 John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible 1× 1-7 Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament 1× 1, 6 Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary 1× 1, 6
Manuscript witnesses 5 ▾
Codex Sinaiticus Aleph c. AD 330-360 Codex Vaticanus B c. AD 300-325 Codex Alexandrinus A c. AD 400-440 Aleppo Codex (Crown of Aleppo) c. AD 930 Leningrad Codex (Codex Leningradensis) AD 1008
Cross-references 72 ▾
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What is Psalms 124 about?

Remembering how near destruction had come, this Song of Ascents by David looks back on the LORD's rescue. Had the LORD not been on Israel's side when men rose against them, the flood would have swept them away and the waters gone over their soul; but the snare is broken and they have escaped like a bird set free. Twice the congregation is called to say it: if it had not been the LORD who was on our side. Their help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth, the sure ground of every deliverance in the story of His people.

Historical backdrop

These are the songbook of a nation, sung across a thousand years of Israel's worship, from Moses in the wilderness to the exiles returned from Babylon. They were carried from the tabernacle to Solomon's temple to the second temple rebuilt under Persia, set to the lyre and the harp and the clash of cymbals in the courts of the LORD.

Matthew Henry on Psalms 124
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Psalms 124
The Church Fathers on Psalms 124

Psalms 124

Psalms Chapter 124
124
1If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side, Let Israel now say,
2If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side, When men rose up against us;
3Then they had swallowed us up alive, When their wrath was kindled against us:
4Then the waters had overwhelmed us, The stream had gone over our soul;
5Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6Blessed be Jehovah, Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8Our help is in the name of Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.
← Chapter 123 Chapter 125 →
What is Psalms 124 about?

Remembering how near destruction had come, this Song of Ascents by David looks back on the LORD's rescue. Had the LORD not been on Israel's side when men rose against them, the flood would have swept them away and the waters gone over their soul; but the snare is broken and they have escaped like a bird set free. Twice the congregation is called to say it: if it had not been the LORD who was on our side. Their help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth, the sure ground of every deliverance in the story of His people.