If Not for the Lord

 The Nation of Israel had faced many challenges as they came out of Egypt,  even as Israel trekked through the wilderness  and ultimately settled in the Promised land and through it all they faced adversaries which were greater in strength than they. Through each and all the challenges it was the Lord God who brought them victory. 

King David wrote Psalm:124 which attributes the providence of God and his gracious protection for the victories which Israel had won.

Psalm:124  is designated as a Psalm of Ascent written by King David. The Psalms of Ascent are thought , by some Biblical Scholars , to have been sung as a progression  during the Fall Holy Day season, starting with Psalm:120 on the Day of Atonement  ending with Psalm:134 on  first evening of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) which were enjoined under the Old Covenant. (Leviticus:23 and Deuteronomy:16)

Also, the period of time between the Fall Holy Days the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hasannah) and of the Day of Atonement (Youm Kippur) completes  a time called the Days of Awe, which was a time to remember the great acts of God in the life of the people of Israel and to reflect upon them and worship the Lord God.


Psalm:124 is found in Book Five of the book of Psalms.  The Book of Psalms is divided into five books each of the five Books mirrors on the first five Books of the Bible. 

Book Five of the Psalms parallels Moses' Book of Deuteronomy, which is a recounting or retelling of the works of God in the life of Israel and the giving of the Law and establishment of the Covenant between God and Israel.

David used this concept of recounting to readdress and remind the people of Israel that it is God who has blessed them with victory over their enemies and has graciously blessed them..

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."

 If it had not been the Lord

David makes it clear to all who it is that is responsible for the victories that Israel has been given, "If it had not been the Lord".

David, from the very onset of the Psalm, declares that it is God who has blessed Israel and these victories and had not come through their own efforts and abilities. David, then admonishes his people to acknowledge this truth and the God who embodies it,  "let Israel say" .

Israel should remember who it is that has defeated their enemies, from the armies of Egypt to the Canaanite nations who held the Promised Land, It is the Lord who has done theses great things on their behalf and it was God who opened the way into the Promised Land and removing all the pagan strongholds which had stood before Israel.

When Men Rose Up

David address that the enemies of Israel were men who "rose up against” the people of God. This phrase address not just the natures of Israel's enemies but the true reason for their coming against Israel. 

 It was out of their carnal nature which motivated Israel's enemies, that they sought power and control and wanted to exult the "gods” of their own making, which reflects only the truth about themselves.

A person's or nation's  "god" is a mirror image of the persons or nation's own self. Everything that a person's or nation's "god" is  tells you much about the person  or nation's . the "gods" of the nations were like the nations that warred against Israel. 

Would Have Been Swallowed 

If the Lord God had not graciously taken the "side" of Israel, they would have ceased to survived as a nation but would have been, consumed or "swallowed up" by their enemies when "wrath" was directed at Israel. But the Lord preserved Israel in spite of those who came against them. 

The wrath and anger that is expressed against and for Israel is not just directed toward the Israelite people alone, but above them it is directed toward the God that they worshiped, the God who set them free and gave them the land of Canaan this God  the is true object of the nation’s anger. To swallow up Israel is to eradicate the worship of the God of Heaven, the God who created all things.

 Like an Overwhelming Water

If the Lord God had not been for Israel they would have been swept away and forgotten. David tells Israel ,that the power of the nations would have been like a ragging torrent that would have taken them away. Israel would be gone but for the providence of the Lord God.

Praise God

David' s response to the protection shown to Israel by the Lord is to worship to acknowledge that without God's blessing of protection defeat would have come upon them, they as a people would have been destroyed by their adversaries. David credits the preservation of his people to the Lord whom he served.

"Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth” this speaks of the strength of the those who came against Israel, that God has not let them defeat his people and for this David give all the praise to the Lord.

Escape From the Snare

Not only has victory come from the Lord but beyond that Israel was taken out  of the reach of their enemies. God has broken the traps that had been  deliberately set for them. These traps at first may have been cleverly set, but God breaks them and Israel, and like a bird in flight, is out of the reach of those who sought their harm.

"We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped".

Our Help

David closes the Psalm with the reminder and acknowledgement that it is God alone who has help Israel and delivered them. That God has accomplished for his people every deliverance from the plots which have arisen out of the arrogant heart of Israel’s' foes and that the God of Israel's help is the very one who created all things,  that his power is over and above all else.

"Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

 For Us

The words of this Psalm however, are not just for the people of Israel in ages past ago but for us today. In our lives today as Christians we too can face challenges that arise.

These challenges can threaten us to the point, that we feel as if we are about to be "swallowed up" or "swept away". There are times when snares are so cleverly laid that without the help of the great God we would be ensnared and taken by powers and even circumstances far more powerful than we.

God On Your Side

When the enemies of our lives threaten, whatever the guise this enemy may assume, whatever form it takes, health problems, loss of employment, lost relationships, loneliness or another challenge it will attempt to distract us from one who has given us so great a salvation; Jesus Christ.

Whatever we face this day or the next, we have a Savior who is steadfast and is standing with us and we need not fear. Jesus is "on you side".

This Savior wants you, and we all , to know that he has made an eternal commitment to each and all, that whatever you or any of us face he is there, you are never alone, he will not abandon you.

" will I never leave you;  will never I forsake you" Heb:13:5

Whatever plots arise against us, no matter how great the enemy, whatever that enemy might be, we can face the challenge for the Lord Jesus is with you.

Knowing that Jesus has made an eternal commitment to stand with us we need not fear , this  should cause us to be confident in him.  Jesus is our help in and through any and all challenges which arise in our lives.

"So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere men do to me?"(6)

If God Be For Us
 

The people of Israel faced  multiple threats from the nations around them, many of whom were greater and more powerful than Israel, yet victory was given them not due to their power of strength of arms but through the great God who was and is greater than any and all which might come against us, whether they be powers seen or unseen which arise out of the world around us.

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."1Jhn:4:4

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Rm: 8:31

 Giving Him Praise

 Knowing that our Lord is with us should bring a response of worship and giving praise to Jesus, whatever we face our Lord is with us Jesus is our victory and deliverance over all that we face.

"Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Rm: 7:25a

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."1Crth:15:57

Our Lord is us and through Jesus Christ has given the great victory over all that arise against us. Jesus is with us and we will not be swallowed up in defeat.

Our Lord God through Jesus has brought us victory even over the greatest enemy of all; death. Through Jesus even death has and is defeated, and our response should be that of worship and thanksgiving.

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ".1Crth:15:54c-57

Praise God for the victory over all our enemies for we would have been swallowed up alive if not for the Lord...

Benediction: May we each and all trust always in our Lord for the victory in all challenges, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen

 

Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma