Psalms 124:1-8: a reflection

1If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say, 2if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us, 3then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us, 4then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul. 5Then the proud waters would have gone over our soul. 6Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped. 8Our help is in the LORD’s name, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124 looks back on a danger God's people barely escaped, and it begins with a phrase repeated for emphasis: If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say, if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have swept us away. Looking back on their deliverance, the people credit it not to their own strength but to God: if the LORD had not been on our side, we would not have survived.

Notice the honest recognition at the heart of the psalm. When the danger had passed, the people did not congratulate themselves on their own escape; they recognized that they owed their survival entirely to God. If the LORD had not been on our side, they say, we would have been swallowed up, overwhelmed, lost. Their deliverance was God's doing, and they name it as such: Blessed be the LORD; our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

That is a good practice to learn: looking back on the dangers we have escaped and crediting God. We often survive close calls, come through troubles, escape dangers, and then move on without a thought of who brought us through. The psalm calls us to a grateful backward look: if the LORD had not been on our side. Consider the troubles you have come through, the dangers you barely escaped, and recognize God's hand in your deliverance. Do not take your survival for granted as your own achievement. Say, with the psalm, if the LORD had not been on our side, and let it move you to gratitude. Our help is in the name of the LORD.

Lord, the psalmist looked back on a danger barely escaped and said, if the LORD had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed up. Teach me that grateful backward look. When I come through troubles and escape dangers, keep me from moving on without a thought of who brought me through. Help me recognize your hand in my deliverance, and to say, if the LORD had not been on my side. Our help is in your name, who made heaven and earth. Thank you for the dangers you have carried me through.