Psalms
Summary
Psalm 124 is a vivid acknowledgment of national deliverance, declaring that if the LORD had not been on Israel's side, they would have been entirely consumed by their enemies. The psalmist uses dramatic imagery: the raging waters and the fowler’s snare: to describe the peril they faced. It celebrates the fact that the snare has been broken and the people have escaped. The psalm concludes with a powerful affirmation: "Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."
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.