28693795 psalm-124-commentary

PSALM 124 COMME TARYWritten and edited by Glenn Pease

PREFACE

The object of this commentary is to bring together the comments of a number of

authors in one place to make the study of this Psalm easier for the Bible student.

Sometimes I do not have the author's name, and if it is known and told to me, I will

give credit where it is due. If there is any author who does not wish his wisdom to be

included in this study, I will remove it when that author expresses his wish to have it

removed. My e-mail is [email protected]

I TRODUCTIO

1. Barnes, “psalm, one of the “Songs of Degrees,” is, like Psa_122:1-9, ascribed to

David. See the Introductory otes to that psalm. There is nothing in the one before

us to render it improbable that it was composed by him, but it is now impossible to

ascertain on what occasion it was written. It would be appropriate to be sung on the

return from Babylon, and there is no improbability in the supposition that it may

have been used on that occasion. But there is nothing in it to prove that it was

composed then, or to make it applicable to that occasion alone. Very many were the

occasions in the Jewish history when such a psalm was applicable; very many have

been the occasions in the history of the Christian church; very many, also, in the

lives of individual believers. The idea in the psalm is, that deliverance from trouble

and danger is to be ascribed wholly to God; that the people of God are often in such

circumstances that there is no human help for them, and that the praise of their

deliverance is due to God alone.”

2. Spurgeon, “A Song of degrees of David. Of course the superfine critics have

pounced upon this title as inaccurate, but we are at liberty to believe as much or

as little of their assertions as we may please. They declare that there are certain

ornaments of language in this little ode which were unknown in the Davidic

period. It may be so; but in their superlative wisdom they have ventured upon so

many other questionable statements that we are not bound to receive this

dictum. Assuredly the manner of the song is very like to David's, and we are

unable to see why he should be excluded from the authorship. Whether it be his

composition or no, it breathes the same spirit as that which animates the

unchallenged songs of the royal composer.”

3. The title informs us that this sacred march was composed by king David; and we

learn very clearly from the subject, that the progression referred to was the

triumphant return of the king and his loyal army to Jerusalem, upon the overthrow

of the dangerous rebellion to which the great mass of the people had been excited by

Absalom and his powerful band of confederates. --John Mason Good.

4. “This psalm is ascribed to David. o reference is made to any specific danger and

deliverance. There is a delightful universality in the language, which suits it

admirably for an anthem of the redeemed, in every age and in every clime. The

people of God still live in a hostile territory. Traitors are in the camp, and there are

numerous foes without. And the church would soon be exterminated, if the malice

and might of her adversaries were not restrained and defeated by a higher power.

Hence this ode of praise has never become obsolete. How frequently have its strains

of adoring gratitude floated on the breeze! What land is there, in which its

outbursting gladness has not been heard! It has been sung upon the banks of the

Jordan and the ile, the Euphrates and the Tigris. It has been sung upon the banks

of the Tiber and the Rhine, the Thames and the Forth. It has been sung upon the

banks of the Ganges and the Indus, the Mississippi and the Irrawady. And we

anticipate a period when the church, surmounting all her difficulties, and victory

waving over her banners, shall sing this psalm of praise in every island and

continent of our globe. The year of God's redeemed must come. The salvation of

Christ shall extend to the utmost extremities of earth. And when this final

emancipation takes place, the nations will shout for joy, and praise their Deliverer

in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.” -- . McMichael.

1. If the LORD had not been on our side—

let Israel say-

1. Calvin, “Some expositors think that this Psalm describes the very sad and

calamitous condition of the Church when the, residue of the people were carried

away into Babylon. This opinion is, however, without any good foundation for the

complaints made, apply with equal propriety to the persecutions which the Church

suffered under the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes. It is another objection to this

interpretation, that the Psalm bears in its inscription the name of David, and

historically recounts the deliverance which the people had obtained from extreme

danger by the power of God. To get quit of this difficulty they observe, that what

had not yet come to pass is described prophetically; but this is a forced conjecture,

for the Prophets usually speak of things to come in a different manner. It is more

probable that David here sets forth a known history, and exhorts the faithful to

reflect upon the divine succor which they had already actually experienced. I dare

not, however, limit what is here spoken to David's time. It is indeed true that the

heathen nations often waged war against the people of God, armed with such power

as to come rushing upon them with the impetuosity of a deluge; but as David does

not specify any particular instance, he is not, I conceive, to be understood as

celebrating only some one deliverance, but in general all the instances in which God

had succored his Church. The heathen at many different times, as is well known,

rose up against the Church, with such mighty hosts, that she was brought almost to

the verge of destruction. David then represents as in a mirror the uncertain and

changeable condition of the Church, just such as it had been from the beginning, to

teach the faithful that its stability had not been owing to its own intrinsic strength,

but that it had been preserved by the wonderful grace of God; and to habituate

them to call upon God in the midst of dangers.”

2. Clarke, “If God had not, in a very especial manner, supported and defended us,

we had all been swallowed up alive, and destroyed by a sudden destruction, so that

not one would have been left. This might refer to the plot against the whole nation of

the Jews by Haman, in the days of Mordecai and Esther; when by his treacherous

schemes the Jews, wheresoever dispersed in the provinces of Babylon, were all to

have been put to death in one day. This may here be represented under the figure of

an earthquake, when a chasm is formed, and a whole city and its inhabitants are in

a moment swallowed up alive.”

3. Gill, “implies that he was on their side; was for them, with them, and among

them, and took their part against their enemies; see Psa_118:6; which if he had not

done, their case would have been miserable and deplorable; or if any other had took

their part, and not he, let them be who they would, angels or men. If God is on the

side of us, it matters not who is against us; but if he is not on our side, or against us,

it signifies nothing who is for us; see Rom_8:31. It suggests that the case of Israel

now was so very forlorn and distressed, that none but the Lord himself could help

them. Jehovah is on the side of his people in a spiritual sense, or otherwise it would

be bad for them: God the Father is on their side; his love and relation to them

engage him to be so; hence all those good things that are provided for them, and

bestowed on them; nor will he suffer any to do them hurt, they being as dear to him

as the apple of his eye; hence he grants them his gracious presence, supports them

under all their trials and exercises, supplies all their wants, and keeps them by his

power, and preserves them from all their enemies; so that they have nothing to fear

from any quarter: Christ is on their side; he is the surety for them, the Savior of

them; has took their part against all their spiritual enemies, sin, Satan, the world,

and death; has engaged with them, and conquered them; he is the Captain of their

salvation, their King at the head of them, that protects and defends them here, and

is their friend in the court of heaven; their Advocate and interceding High Priest

there, who pleads their cause against Satan, and obtains every blessing for them: the

Spirit of Jehovah is on their side, to carry on his own work in them; to assist them in

their prayers and supplications; to secure them from Satan's temptations; to set up

a standard for them, when the enemy comes in like a flood upon them; and to

comfort them under all their castings down; and to work them up for, and bring

them safe to, heaven: but were not this the case, what would become of them? may

Israel say; this was a public case the psalmist here records, in which all Israel were

concerned; and whom he calls upon to take notice of it, and directs them what to say

on this occasion.”

4. Henry sees a focus on, “..goodness of God, by which they were rescued from the

very brink of ruin: “The Lord was on our side;and, if he had not been so,we should

have been undone.” 1. “God was on our side; he took our part, espoused our cause,

and appeared for us. He was our helper, and a very present help, a help on our side,

nigh at hand. He was with us, not only for us, but among us, and commander-in-

chief of our forces.” 2. That God was Jehovah; there the emphasis lies. “If it had not

been Jehovah himself, a God of infinite power and perfection, that had undertaken

our deliverance, our enemies would have overpowered us.” Happy the people,

therefore, whose God is Jehovah, a God all-sufficient. Let Israel say this, to his

honor, and resolve never to forsake him.”

5. Spurgeon goes on, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may

Israel say. The opening sentence is abrupt, and remains a fragment. By such a

commencement attention was aroused as well as feeling expressed: and this is ever

the way of poetic fire -- to break forth in uncontrollable flame. The many words in

italics in our authorized version will show the reader that the translators did their

best to patch up the passage, which, perhaps, had better have been left in its broken

grandeur, and it would then have run thus: --

"Had it not been Jehovah! He was for us, oh let Israel say! Had it not been Jehovah!

He who was for us when men rose against us."

The glorious Lord became our ally; he took our part, and entered into treaty with

us. If Jehovah were not our protector where should we be othing but his power

and wisdom could have guarded us from the cunning and malice of our adversaries;

therefore, let all his people say so, and openly give him the honor of his preserving

goodness. Here are two "ifs," and yet there is no "if" in the matter. The Lord was

on our side, and is still our defender, and will be so from henceforth, even for ever.

Let us with holy confidence exult in this joyful fact: We are far too slow in declaring

our gratitude, hence the exclamation which should be rendered, "O let Israel say."

We murmur without being stirred up to it, but our thanksgiving needs a spur, and it

is well when some warm hearted friend bids us say what we feel. Imagine what

would have happened if the Lord had left us, and then see what has happened

because he has been faithful to us. Are not all the materials of a song spread before

us? Let us sing unto the Lord.”

5B. “Such abrupt and unfinished expressions in the beginning of the psalm indicate

the great joy and exultation that will not suffer the speaker to finish his sentences.”

Robert Bellarmine.

6. Gill, “The Lord...on our side. Jehovah is on the side of his people in a spiritual

sense, or otherwise it would be bad for them. God the Father is on their side; his

love and relation to them engage him to be so; hence all those good things that are

provided for them and bestowed on them; nor will he suffer any to do them hurt,

they being as dear to him as the apple of his eye; hence he grants them his gracious

presence, supports them under all their trials and exercises, supplies all their wants,

and keeps them by his power, and preserves them from all their enemies; so that

they have nothing to fear from any quarter. Christ is on their side; he is the Surety

for them, the Savior of them; has taken their part against all their spiritual enemies,

sin, Satan, the world, and death; has engaged with them and conquered them: he is

the Captain of their salvation, their King at the head of them, that protects and

defends them here, and is their friend in the court of heaven; their Advocate and

interceding High priest there, who pleads their cause against Satan, and obtains

every blessing for them. The Spirit of Jehovah is on their side, to carry on his work

in them; to assist them in their prayers and supplications; to secure them from

Satan's temptations; to set up a standard for them when the enemy comes in like a

flood upon them; and to comfort them in all their castings down; and to work them

up for, and bring them safe to heaven: but were this not the case, what would

become of them!”

7. Edward Thomas Gibson, “The psalm is typico prophetic. It sets forth the

condition of the church in this world, surrounded by enemies, implacable in their

hatred, maddened by rage, and bent on her destruction. It gives assurance of her

preservation, and continuous triumph, because Jehovah is her God. It foretells the

future, full, and final destruction of all her enemies. It reechoes the song sung on the

shores of the Red Sea. In it are heard the notes of the ew Song before the great

white throne.”

8. These three things will I bear on my heart, O Lord: "The Lord was on our side,"

this for the past: "The snare is broken," for the present; "Our help is in the name of

the Lord," this for the future. I will not and I cannot be fainthearted, whether in my

contest with Satan, in my intercourse with the world, or in the upheavings of my

wicked heart, so long as I hold this "threefold cord" in my hand, or rather, am held

by it. --Alfred Edersheim.

9. Dr. Joe Temple, “Permit me to paraphrase these verses: We simply would not

have come as far as we have. Can you give that testimony? Look back over your

spiritual experience. Can you stand on this Step of Declaration and say, "If it had

not been for the Lord, I just simply could not have come this far." I wonder if you

can say, "I remember one such experience. I remember how dreadful it was. I

remember, if it had not been for the Lord, I could not have come through it. I would

not have advanced very far."

2. if the LORD had not been on our side

when men attacked us,

1. Calvin, “It is not without cause that he twice repeats the same sentence. So long as

we are in danger our fear is immoderate; but no sooner are we delivered than we

lessen the greatness of our calamity, and Satan, deceiving us by this artifice, leads us

to obscure the grace of God. Since then, after having been wonderfully preserved by

the Lord, we for the most part devise all sorts of imaginary circumstances, in order

to efface from our minds the remembrance of his grace, David, by introducing the

people as struck with amazement, purposely dwells upon the amplification of the

danger. In these words a bridle is put upon us, to keep us meditating upon our

dangers, lest the sense of God's grace should vanish from our minds. The common

translation, Had not the Lord been on our side, does not sufficiently express David's

meaning; for he affirms that the deliverance and the salvation of the people

proceeded from nothing else than God's succor, and at the same time shows that this

succor was both certain and evident. Two things then are here to be distinctly

noticed; first, that the Lord had been at hand to afford aid to his servants, and had

taken their part; and secondly, that being already in a desperate condition, they

could not by help from any other quarter, or in another manner, have escaped from

danger. Thus we are taught, that men then only ascribe the glory of their

preservation to God, when they are persuaded of his being so favorably inclined

towards them as to defend them and maintain them safe. In the second clause there

is extolled in high terms the infinite power of God, of which he had given abundant

proof in delivering the people, to teach us that such a manner of preserving does not

belong to man. By the noun Mda, adam, which when it is collective signifies men in

general, David seems to denote a vast number of enemies. The people of God, as if

he had said, had not to contend merely against a few men, or against one nation, but

were assailed by almost the whole world; it being abundantly manifest that all

mankind were the enemies of the Jews.”

2. Barnes, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side - Repeating the idea,

since the mind was full of it, and carrying the thought forward. This is one of the

instances of an ascent of thought in these psalms, from which it has been supposed

that the title “Songs of Degrees” was given to this collection. When men rose up

against us - When we were assailed by our enemies. On what occasion this occurred,

it is now impossible to determine.”

3. Gill, “This he repeats both for the confirmation of it, and to excite the attention of

the Israelites to it; as well as to observe that it was not once only, but again and

again, many times the Lord appeared to be on their side. when men rose up against

us; wicked men; though no hard epithet is given in the text, however just. The

enemies of God's people are only called "men" by them, to show their meekness and

patience; it is in the singular number, "when man rose up"; hence Aroma interprets

it of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and R. Obadiah of Haman: but it might be better

interpreted of the man of sin, the man of the earth; who, at the head of his

antichristian party, has rose up against the saints, oppressed them, and threatened

them with utter ruin, 2Th_2:4. Though it is best to understand it of a body of men;

of men not mean, but mighty; not few, but numerous; and who united as one man

against the people of God, and rose up against them in an hostile manner; being full

of enmity to them, and bent upon their ruin.”

4. Spurgeon, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up

against us. When all men combined, and the whole race of men seemed set upon

stamping out the house of Israel, what must have happened if the covenant Lord

had not interposed? When they stirred themselves, and combined to make an

assault upon our quietude and safety, what should we have done in their rising if the

Lord had not also risen? o one who could or would help was near, but the bare

arm of the Lord sufficed to preserve his own against all the leagued hosts of

adversaries. There is no doubt as to our deliverer, we cannot ascribe our salvation to

any second cause, for it would not have been equal to the emergency; nothing less

than omnipotence and omniscience could have wrought our rescue. We set every

other claimant on one side, and rejoice because the Lord was on our side.”

5. Martin Luther, “If it had not been the LORD, etc. This repetition is not in vain.

For whilst we are in danger, our fear is without measure; but when it is once past,

we imagine it to have been less than it was indeed. And this is the delusion of Satan

to diminish and obscure the grace of God. David therefore with this repetition

stirreth up the people to more thankfulness unto God for his gracious deliverance,

and amplifies the dangers which they had passed. Whereby we are taught how to

think of our troubles and afflictions past, lest the sense and feeling of God's grace

vanish out of our minds.”

3. when their anger flared against us,

they would have swallowed us alive;

1. Henry, “The people of God, being here called upon to praise God for their deliverance,

are to take notice, I. Of the malice of men, by which they were reduced to the very brink of

ruin. Let Israel say that there was but a step between them and death: the more desperate

the disease appears to have been the more does the skill of the Physician appear in the cure.

Observe, 1. Whence the threatening danger came: Men rose up against us, creatures of our

own kind, and yet bent upon our ruin. Homo homini lupus - Man is a wolf to man. o

marvel that the red dragon, the roaring lion, should seek to swallow us up; but that men

should thirst after the blood of men, Absalom after the blood of his own father, that a

woman should be drunk with the blood of saints, is what, with St. John, we may wonder at

with great admiration. From men we may expect humanity, yet there are those whose

tender mercies are cruel. But what was the matter with these men? Why their wrath was

kindled against us (Psa_124:3); something or other they were angry at, and then no less

would serve than the destruction of those they had conceived a displeasure against. Wrath is

cruel and anger is outrageous. Their wrath was kindled as fire ready to consume us. They

were proud; and the wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. They were daring in their

attempt; they rose up against us, rose in rebellion, with a resolution to swallow us up alive. 2.

How far it went, and how fatal it would have been if it had gone a little further: “We should

have been devoured as a lamb by a lion, not only slain, but swallowed up, so that there

would have been no relics of us remaining, swallowed up with so much haste, ere we were

aware, that we should have gone down alive to the pit. We should have been deluged as the

low grounds by a land-flood or the sands by a high spring-tide.” This similitude he dwells

upon, with the ascents which bespeak this a song of degrees, or risings, like the rest. The

waters had overwhelmed us. What of us? Why the stream had gone over our souls, our lives,

our comforts, all that is dear to us. What waters? Why the proud waters. God suffers the

enemies of his people sometimes to prevail very far against them, that his own power may

appear the more illustrious in their deliverance.”

2. Calvin, “When he says, (Psalm 124:3,) They had swallowed us up alive, he not only

expresses barbarous cruelty, but also disproportion of strength. He describes then in

the first place how violent was the onset of the enemy, and secondly, how feeble and

inadequate the Jews were to withstand them, since these cruel beasts had no need of

swords for slaughter, but without a battle or an effort of strength, could easily

devour that un-warlike and defenseless flock.”

3. Barnes, “ There was no other help, and ruin - utter ruin - would have soon come upon

us. The word quick here means alive; and the idea is derived from persons swallowed up in

an earthquake, or by the opening of the earth, as in the case of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

um_16:32-33. Compare Psa_106:17. The meaning here is, that they would have been

destroyed as if they were swallowed up by the opening of the earth; that is, there would

have been complete destruction. When their wrath was kindled against us - Hebrew, In the

kindling of their wrath against us. Wrath is often represented in the Scriptures as burning

or heated - as that which consumes all before it.”

4. Gill, “Or "alive"; as the earth swallowed up Korah and his company; or as the

fish swallowed up Jonah; or rather as ravenous beasts swallow their prey; to which

the allusion is. The people of God are comparable to sheep and lambs, and such like

innocent creatures: and the wicked to lions, tigers, wolves, bears, and such like

beasts of prey that devour living creatures; when their wrath was kindled against

us; which is cruel and outrageous; there is no standing against it, nor before it; it is

like a fierce flame of fire that burns furiously, and there is no stopping it; none but

God can restrain it.”

5. Spurgeon, “Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled

against us. They were so eager for our destruction that they would have made only

one morsel of us, and have swallowed us up alive and whole in a single instant. The

fury of the enemies of the church is raised to the highest pitch, nothing will content

them but the total annihilation of God's chosen. Their wrath is like a fire which is

kindled, and has taken such firm hold upon the fuel that there is no quenching it.

Anger is never more fiery than when the people of God are its objects. Sparks

become flames, and the furnace is heated seven times hotter when God's elect are to

be thrust into the blaze. The cruel world would make a full end of the godly seed

were it not that Jehovah bars the way. When the Lord appears, the cruel throats

cannot swallow, and the consuming fires cannot destroy. Ah, if it were not Jehovah,

if our help came from all the creatures united, there would be no way of escape for

us: it is only because the Lord liveth that his people are alive.”

6. Then they had swallowed us up. The word implies eating with insatiable appetite;

every man that eateth must also swallow; but a glutton is rather a swallower than an

eater. He throws his meat whole down his throat, and eats (as we may say) without

chewing. The rod of Moses, turned into a serpent, "swallowed up" the rods of the

Egyptian sorcerers. The word is often applied to express oppression (Psalms 35:25):

"Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We

have swallowed him up": that is, we have made clear riddance of him; he is now a

gone man for ever. The ravenous rage of the adversary is described in this language.

--Joseph Caryl.

7. “May a man say, that thus the godly shall always prevail and be never

overthrown by their enemies, but overcome them rather? Experience doth teach us

that they are fewer in number than the wicked are, that they are weaker for power

and strength, that they are more simple for wit and policy, and that they are more

careless for, diligence and watchfulness than their adversaries be: how, then, comes

it to pass that they have the upper hand?

Answer. The Prophet Ezra doth declare it unto us in the 8th chapter of his

prophecy, and the 10th verse thereof, it is in few words "because the Lord is with

them and for them."

For, first, he is stronger than all, being able to resist all power that is devised against

him and his, and to do whatsoever he will both in heaven and earth.

1. He is wiser than all, knowing how to prevent them in all their ways, and also

how to bring matters to pass for the good of his people.

He is more diligent than all, to stand, as it were, upon the watch, and to take his

advantage when it is offered him, for "He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber

nor sleep."

Lastly, he is happier then all to have good success in all his enterprises, for he doth

prosper still in all things which he doth take in hand and none can resist a thought

of his; yea, the very "word which goeth out of his mouth doth accomplish that which

he wills, and prosper in the thing where unto he doth send it." In war, all these four

things are respected in a captain that will still overcome: first, that he be strong;

secondly, that he be wise; thirdly, that he be diligent; and, lastly, that he be

fortunate; for the victory goeth not always with the strong, nor always with the wise,

nor always with the diligent, nor always with the fortunate; but sometimes with the

one of them, and sometimes with the other: Out look, where all four do concur

together there is always the victory, and therefore seeing all of them are in God, it is

no marvel though those whose battles he doth fight, do always overcome and get the

victory. --Thomas Stint, 1621.

4. the flood would have engulfed us,

the torrent would have swept over us,

1. We see David reflecting on what might have been. How is that beneficial? Just

think back to a trip you made, and how wonderful it was to return home after many

days and miles on the road with all of its dangers. Have you been so grateful that

you made it through all the dangers you may have seen others endure. I have seen

cars on the road with emergency vehicles all around it, and cars or trucks on fire,

and other cars in the deep ditch, especially on snowy stormy days. Troubles abound

on the roads, and to come home safely is to be filled with praise to God for his

providential protection. We can look back and say that could have been us had God

not been on our side looking out for us. What might have been is a strong

motivation to thank and praise God for what actually was rather than what might

have been. We are so blessed by things that never happen. It is something of a

paradox that many of our greatest blessings are things that could have happened

but did not. We thank God for what is, but we often forget to thank him for what

isn't. We forget what might have been without his presence in our lives. We might

have lived where great natural disasters have happened and died a horrible death.

We might have been born in a land of great poverty and starved to death at an early

age. We might have inherited a deadly disease that ended our lives before they got

started. We could go on and on, for there is no end to the bad things than might

have been, but were not, by the grace of God.

2. Calvin, “He embellishes by an elegant metaphor the preceding sentiment,

comparing the dreadful impetuosity of the enemies of the Jews to an inundation,

which swallows up whatever it meets with in its overflowing course. And he

continues to preserve the character of a man affrighted. He names the waters, next

the torrent, thirdly, the proud or impetuous waters. He says, over us, and over our

soul, as if, by presenting the thing to the eye, he intended to strike terror into the

people. And certainly this impassioned language ought to have all the effect of a

graphic representation, that the faithful might the better feel from what a profound

gulf they had been rescued by the hand of God. He only truly attributes his

deliverance to God, who acknowledges himself to have been lost before he was

delivered. The adverb them is here either demonstrative, as if the Psalmist had

pointed to the thing with the finger, or it is taken for long ago. The former

signification is, however, more suitable to the present passage.”

3.Gill, “, comparable to waters for their multitude, Strength, force, and impetuosity;

which bear down all before them, and against which there is no standing; which,

like the waters of the flood, overflow and destroy all they pass over. These are the

floods of ungodly men, which are very destructive and terrible; see Rev_17:15;

together with all those reproaches, afflictions, and persecutions, which come along

with them; which the presence of God only can bear up his people under, and carry

them through. Tstream had gone over our soul; and so deprived them of life; the

whole force of the enemy; which, like a stream, flows in with great strength and

rapidity, when a breach is made and spreads itself, Arama interprets it of the

stream of the Egyptians, and restrains it to them, their armies and forces; but it

rather designs others, and the enemies of God's people in general, which threaten

their ruin, even their very souls and lives: it may be applied to the stream of

corruptions, the flood of temptation and flow of persecutions, such as the flood the

dragon cast out of his mouth after the woman; which, were it not for divine grace

and assistance, would destroy the saints, who have no might against this great force,

2Ch_20:12.”

4. Spurgeon, “Then the waters had overwhelmed us. Rising irresistibly, like the ile,

the flood of opposition would soon have rolled over our heads. Across the mighty

waste of waters we should have cast an anxious eye, but looked in vain for escape.

The motto of a royal house is, "Tossed about but not submerged": we should have

needed an epitaph rather than an epigram, for we should have been driven by the

torrent and sunken, never to rise again. stream had gone over our soul. The rushing

torrent would have drowned our soul, our hope, our life. The figures seem to be the

steadily rising flood, and the hurriedly rushing stream. Who can stand against two

such mighty powers? Everything is destroyed by these unconquerable forces, either

by being submerged or swept away. When the world's enmity obtains a vent it both

rises and rushes, it rages and rolls along, and spares nothing. In the great water

floods of persecution and affliction who can help but Jehovah? But for him where

would we be at this very hour? We have experienced seasons in which the combined

forces of earth and hell must have made an end of us had not omnipotent grace

interfered for our rescue.”

5. Martin Luther, “A familiar, but exceedingly apt and most significant figure.

Horrible is the sight of a raging conflagration; but far more destructive is a river

overflowing its banks and rushing violently on: for it is not possible to restrain it by

any strength or power. As, then, he says, a river is carried along with great

impetuosity, and carries away and destroys whatever it meets with in its course;

thus also is the rage of the enemies of the church, not to be withstood by human

strength. Hence, we should learn to avail ourselves of the protection and help of

God. For what else is the church but a little boat fastened to the bank, which is

carried away by the force of the waters? or a shrub growing on the bank, which

without effort the flood roots up? Such was the people of Israel in the days of David

compared with the surrounding nations. Such in the present day is the church

compared with her enemies. Such is each one of us compared with the power of the

malignant spirit. We are as a little shrub, of recent growth and having no firm hold:

but he is like the Elbe, overflowing, and with great force overthrowing all things far

and wide. We are like a withered leaf, lightly holding to the tree; he is like the north

wind, with great force rooting up and throwing down the trees. How, then, can we

withstand or defend ourselves by out' own power?”

5. the raging waters

would have swept us away.

1. Barnes, “Then the proud waters had gone over our soul - Over us. The word

proud here is applied to the waters as if raging, swelling, rolling, tumultuous; as if

they were self-confident, arrogant, haughty. Such raging billows, as they break and

dash upon the shore, are a striking emblem of human passions, whether in an

individual, or in a gathering of men - as an army, or a mob. Compare Psa_65:7.

This is again an amplification, or an ascent of thought. It is, however, nothing more

than a poetical embellishment, adding intensity to the expression.”

2. Gill, “The wicked, who, through their pride, persecute the poor saints: these

proud tyrants and persecutors would prevail over them, to their ruin and

destruction; who, for their number, force, and strength, and especially for their

pride and haughtiness, are like to the strong, boisterous, and swelling waves of the

sea, were they not stopped and bounded by him who has said, Thus far shall ye go,

and no farther, Job_38:11.”

3. Spurgeon, “Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. The figure represents

the waves as proud, and so they seem to be when they over leap the bulwarks of a

frail bark, and threaten every moment to sink her. The opposition of men is usually

embittered by a haughty scorn which derides all our godly efforts as mere

fanaticism or obstinate ignorance. In all the persecutions of the church a cruel

contempt has largely mingled with the oppression, and this is overpowering to the

soul. Had not God been with us our disdainful enemies would have made nothing of

us, and dashed over us as a mountain torrent sweeps down the side of a hill, driving

everything before it. ot only would our goods and possessions have been carried

off, but our soul, our courage, our hope would have been borne away by the

impetuous assault, and buried beneath the insults of our antagonists. Let us pause

here, and as we see what might have been, let us adore the guardian power which

has kept us in the flood, and yet above the flood. In our hours of dire peril we must

have perished had not our Preserver prevailed for our safe keeping.”

4. --Robert Herrick, 1591-1674.

"When winds and seas do rage,

And threaten to undo? me,

Thou dost their wrath assuage,

If I but call unto thee.

A mighty storm last night

Did seek my soul to swallow;

But by the peep of light

A gentle calm did follow.

What need I then despair

Though ills stand round about me;

Since mischief's neither dare

To bark or bite without thee?"

5. The history of the Jews reveals that they never could have survived all the hatred

of them without the protecting providence of God. They went through so many

efforts to wipe them off the face of the earth, and the enemies with that plan did a

nearly good job of it, but God always came to their rescue and delivered them. He

even almost wiped them out himself in judgment, but in mercy he spared them from

total destruction. Jews only exist today because of the grace of God. This same truth

applies to the Christian world as well, for many attempts have been made to wipe

the very memory of Jesus from history and kill all of his followers, but the Lord

spared them and made them multiply instead. He made the blood of the martyrs the

seed of the church. The more enemies tried to eliminate them, the more the Lord

multiplied them to become the most popular faith on the planet. This Psalm is about

the Jews, but it applies equally to Christian.

6. Praise be to the LORD,

who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

1. Calvin, “The Psalmist now exhorts the godly to a grateful acknowledgment of the

divine goodness, and as it were puts words into their mouth. Here also he shows by

another similitude, that it would have been all over with them had not God succored

them; affirming that they were delivered not otherwise than if some one had

plucked the prey from the teeth of a wild and cruel beast. Of the same import is the

third similitude, That they were on all sides entrapped and entangled in the snares

of their enemies, even as little birds caught in the net lie stretched under the hand of

the fowler; and that when they were delivered, it was just as if one should set at

liberty birds which had been taken. The amount is, that the people of God, feeble,

without counsel, and destitute of aid, had not only to deal with blood-thirsty and

furious beasts, but were also ensnared by bird-nets and stratagems, so that being

greatly inferior to their enemies as well in policy as in open force, they were besieged

by many deaths. From this it may be easily gathered that they were miraculously

preserved.”

2. Barnes, “Blessed be the Lord - The Lord be praised; or, We have reason to praise

the Lord because we have been delivered from these calamities. Who hath not given

us as a prey to their teeth - The figure is here changed, though the same idea is

retained. The imago is now that of destruction by wild beasts - a form of destruction

not less fearful than that which comes from overflowing waters. Such changes of

imagery constantly occur in the Book of Psalms, and in impassioned poetry

everywhere. The mind is full of a subject; numerous illustrations occur in the

rapidity of thought; and the mind seizes upon one and then upon another as best

suited to express the emotions of the soul. The next verse furnishes another instance

of this sudden transition.”

3. Gill, “Here begins the church's thanksgiving for deliverance from all their

enemies, their proud persecutors; and from all afflictions and troubles by them;

which they could never have been delivered from, had not the Lord appeared for

them; and therefore it is but just that he should have all the glory of it, and be

blessed and praised on account thereof; who hath not given us as a prey to their

teeth; the teeth of wicked men are like spears and arrows, like swords and knives, to

devour good men; their passions are strong, and their desires very vehement after

their ruin; and, if suffered, the saints would fall an easy prey to them: but God will

not give them up to them, either to Satan the devouring lion, or to any of his

emissaries; nay, when they have seized them, and got them in their mouths, they

shall be snatched from them, as the lamb out of the mouth of the lion and the bear

by David; see Psa_57:4, 1Pe_5:8.”

4. Henry, “God is the author of all our deliverances, and therefore he must have the

glory of them. We rob him of his due if we do not return thanks to him. And we are

the more obliged to praise him because we had such a narrow escape. We were

delivered, 1. Like a lamb out of the very jaws of a beast of prey: God has not given

us as a prey to their teeth, intimating that they had no power over God's people but

what was given them from above. They could not be a prey to their teeth unless God

gave them up, and therefore they were rescued, because God would not suffer them

to be ruined. 2. Like a bird, a little bird (the word signifies a sparrow), out of the

snare of the fowler. The enemies are very subtle and spiteful; they lay snares for

God's people, to bring them into sin and trouble, and to hold them there. Sometimes

they seem to have prevailed so far as to gain their point. God's people are taken in

the snare, and are as unable to help themselves out as any weak and silly bird is;

and then is God's time to appear for their relief, when all other friends fail; then

God breaks the snare, and turns the counsel of the enemies into foolishness: The

snare is broken and so we are delivered. Isaac was saved when he lay ready to be

sacrificed. Jehovah-jireh - in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.”

5. Spurgeon, “Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.

Leaving the metaphor of a boiling flood, he compares the adversaries of Israel to

wild beasts who desired to make the godly their prey. Their teeth are prepared to

tear, and they regard the godly as their victims. The Lord is heartily praised for not

permitting his servants to be devoured when they were between the jaws of the

raging ones. It implies that none can harm us till the Lord permits: we cannot be

their prey unless the Lord gives us up to them, and that our loving Lord will never

do. Hitherto he has refused permission to any foe to destroy us, blessed be his name.

The more imminent the danger the more eminent the mercy which would not

permit the soul to perish in it. God be blessed for ever for keeping us from the curse.

Jehovah be praised for checking the fury of the foe, and saving his own. The verse

reads like a merely negative blessing, but no boon can be more positively precious.

He has given us to his Son Jesus, and he will never give us to our enemies.”

6. Two figures are again employed, in order to show how imminent was the

destruction, had there been no divine interposition. The first is that of a savage

beast which was formerly used. But an addition is made, to describe the urgency of

the danger. The wild beast was not only lying in wait for them; he was not merely

ready to spring upon his prey; he had already leaped upon it: he had actually seized

it: it was even now between his teeth. What a graphic description! A moment's

delay, and all help would have been in vain. But Jehovah appears on the ground. He

goes up to the ferocious beast, and takes out the trembling prey from between his

bloody jaws. The danger is imminent; but nothing is too hard for the Lord. "My

soul is among lions." "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." "He shall send

from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up."

The second figure is that of a fowler. The fowler has prepared his snare in a skilful

manner. The bird enters it, unconscious of danger: the net is thrown over it; and in

an instant its liberty is lost. There it lies, the poor bird, its little heart throbbing

wildly, and its little wings beating vainly against the net. It is completely at the

mercy of the fowler, and escape is impossible. But again the Lord appears, and his

presence is safety He goes up to the net, lifts it from the ground; the bird flies out,

lights on a neighboring tree, and sings among the branches. "Surely he shall deliver

thee from the snare of the fowler." God rescues his people from the craft and

subtlety of their enemies, as he does from their open violence. -- . McMichael.

7. We have escaped like a bird7. We have escaped like a bird7. We have escaped like a bird7. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare;

the snare has been broken,

and we have escaped.

1. Barnes, “We have escaped; our life has been preserved. By the breaking of the

snare, or the gin. The bird is entangled, but the net breaks, and the bird escapes. It

was not strong enough to retain the struggling bird, and the captive broke away. So

we seemed to be caught. The enemy appeared to have us entirely in his power, but

escape came to us as it does to the bird when it finds the net suddenly break, and

itself again at large.”

2. Clarke, “This is a fine image; and at once shows the weakness of the Jews, and the

cunning of their adversaries. Haman had laid the snare completely for them;

humanly speaking there was no prospect of their escape: but the Lord was on their

side; and the providence that induced Ahasuerus to call for the book of the records

of the kingdom to be read to him, as well indeed as the once very improbable

advancement of Esther to the throne of Persia, was the means used by the Lord for

the preservation of the whole Jewish people from extermination. God thus broke the

snare, and the bird escaped; while the poacher was caught in his own trap, and

executed. See the Book of Esther, which is probably the best comment on this

Psalm.”

3. Gill, “The people of God are like little birds, being harmless and innocent, singing

forth the praises of God for his goodness to them; as also because weak and unable

to resist their foes; and worthless in themselves, like sparrows, as the word (i) here

used signifies; and are fearful and timorous, and flee at the least apprehension of

danger, Psa_102:7. Satan, and wicked men under his influence, are like fowlers who

lay snares for them, to draw them into sin, into immorality and error, in order to

bring them to ruin and destruction; hence we read of the snare of the devil and of

wicked men, 1Ti_3:7, 2Ti_2:26; and who form plans and lay schemes to oppress and

destroy them; but through the wisdom given them to discern these devices and

stratagems, and through the power of divine grace, accompanying them, they escape

what was intended for their hurt, and particularly in the following manner: the

snare is broken, and we are escaped; measures concerted by wicked men are

broken, their schemes are confounded, their devices are disappointed, so that they

cannot perform their enterprise; and by this means the saints escape the evils

designed against them, the afflictions of the world, and the temptations of Satan.”

4. Spurgeon, “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers. Our soul

is like a bird for many reasons; but in this case the point of likeness is weakness,

folly, and the ease with which it is enticed into the snare. Fowlers have many

methods of taking small birds, and Satan has many methods of entrapping souls.

Some are decoyed by evil companions, others are enticed by the love of dainties;

hunger drives many into the trap, and fright impels numbers to fly into the net.

Fowlers know their birds, and how to take them; but the birds see not the snare so

as to avoid it, and they cannot break it so as to escape from it. Happy is the bird that

hath a deliverer strong, and mighty, and ready in the moment of peril: happier still

is the soul over which tim Lord watches day and night to pluck its feet out of the net.

What joy there is in this song, "our soul is escaped." How the emancipated one sings

and soars, and soars and sings again. Blessed be God, many of us can make joyous

music with these notes, "our soul is escaped." Escaped from our natural slavery;

escaped from the guilt, the degradation, the habit, the dominion of sin; escaped

from the vain deceits and fascinations of Satan; escaped from all that can destroy;

we do indeed experience delight. What a wonder of grace it is! What a miraculous

escape that we who are so easily misled should not have been permitted to die by the

dread fowler's hand. The Lord has heard the prayer which he taught us to pray,

and he hath delivered us from evil.

The snare is broken, and we are escaped. The song is worth repeating; it is well to

dwell upon so great a mercy. The snare may be false doctrine, pride, lust, or a

temptation to indulge in policy, or to despair, or to presume; what a high favor it is

to have it broken before our eyes, so that it has no more power over us. We see not

the mercy while we are in the snare; perhaps we are so foolish as to deplore the

breaking of the Satanic charm; the gratitude comes when the escape is seen, and

when we perceive what we have escaped from, and by what hand we have been set

free. Then our Lord has a song from our mouths and hearts as we make heaven and

earth ring with the notes, "the snare is broken, and we are escaped." We have been

tempted, but not taken; cast down, but not destroyed; perplexed, but not in despair;

in deaths oft, but still alive: blessed be Jehovah! This song might well have suited

our whole nation at the time of the Spanish Armada, the church in the days of the

Jesuits, and each believer among us in seasons of strong personal temptation.”

5. “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers, etc. I am quite sure

that there is not a day of our lives in which Satan does not lay some snare for our

souls, the more perilous because unseen; and if seen, because perhaps unheeded and

despised. And of this, too, I am equally sure, that if any one brings home with him at

night a conscience void of offense towards God and man, it is in no might nor

strength of his own, and that if the Lord had not been his guide and preserver he

would have been given over, nay, he would have given himself over, as a prey to the

devourer's teeth. I believe there are few even of God's saints who have not had

occasion, in some season of sore temptation, when Satan has let loose all his malice

and might, and poured in suggestion upon suggestion and trial upon trial, as he did

on Job, and they have been ready to faint, if not to fall by the ways then, perhaps, in

a moment when they looked not for it, Satan has departed, foiled and discomfited,

and with his prey snatched out of his hands, and they, too, have had gratefully to

own, "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; tie snare is

broken, and we are escaped." Yes! depend upon it, our best and only hope, "is in

the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." --Barton Bouchier.

8. Our help is in the name of the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

1. Calvin, “David here extends to the state of the Church in all ages that which the

faithful had already experienced. As I interpret the verse, he not only gives thanks

to God for one benefit, but affirms that the Church cannot continue safe except in so

far as she is protected by the hand of God. His object is to animate the children of

God with the assured hope, that their life is in perfect safety under the divine

guardianship. The contrast between the help of God, and other resources in which

the world vainly confides, as we have seen in Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots,

and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God," is to be

noticed, that the faithful, purged from all false confidence, may betake themselves

exclusively to his succor, and depending upon it, may fearlessly despise whatever

Satan and the world may plot against them. The name of God is nothing else than

God himself; yet it tacitly conveys a significant idea, implying that as he has

disclosed to us his grace by his word, we have ready access to him, so that in seeking

him we need not go to a distance, or follow long circuitous paths. or is it without

cause that the Psalmist again honors God with the title of Creator. We know with

what disquietude our minds are agitated till they have raised the power of God to its

appropriate elevation, that, the whole world being put under, it alone may be pre-

eminent; which cannot be the case unless we are persuaded that all things are

subject to his will. He did not show once and in a moment his power in the creation

of the world and then withdraw it, but he continually demonstrates it in the

government of the world. Moreover, although all men freely and loudly confess that

God is the Creator of heaven and of earth, so that even the most wicked are

ashamed to withhold from him the honor of this title, yet no sooner does any terror

present itself to us than we are convicted of unbelief in hardly setting any value

whatever upon the help which he has to bestow.”

2. Barnes, “great Creator; the true God. Our deliverances have led us up to him.

They are such as can be ascribed to him alone. They could not have come from

ourselves; from our fellow-men; from angels; from any or all created beings. Often

in life, when delivered from danger, we may feel this; we always may feel this, and

should feel this, when we think of the redemption of our souls. That is a work which

we of ourselves could never have performed; which could not have been done for us

by our fellow-men; which no angel could have accomplished; which all creation

combined could not have worked out; which could have been effected by no one but

by him who “made heaven and earth;” by him who created all things. See Col_1:13-

17.”

3. Clarke, ““In the name of the Word of the Lord.” So in the second verse, “Unless

the Word of the Lord had been our Helper:” the substantial Word; not a word

spoken, or a prophecy delivered, but the person who was afterwards termed Ὁ

Λογος του Θεου, the Word of God. This deliverance of the Jews appears to me the

most natural interpretation of this Psalm: and probably Mordecai was the author.”

4. Gill, “This is the conclusion the church draws from the scene of Providence in her

favor; this is the instruction she learns from hence, that her help is in the Lord only,

and not in any creature; and that it is right to put her trust and confidence in the

Lord for it, and only to expect it from him whose name is in himself; and is a strong

tower to flee unto for safety, Pro_18:10. The Targum is, "in the name of the Word

of the Lord;'' in the Messiah; in whom the name of the Lord is, his nature and

perfections; and in whom help is found, being laid upon him, Exo_23:21; who made

heaven and earth; and therefore must be able to help his people, and to do more for

them than they are able to ask or think: for what is it he cannot do that made the

heavens and the earth, and all that is in them? see Psa_121:1.”

5. Spurgeon, “Our help, our hope for the future, our ground of confidence in all

trials present and to come. Is in the name of the Lord. Jehovah's revealed character

is our foundation of confidence, his person is our sure fountain of strength. Who

made heaven and earth. Our Creator is our preserver. He is immensely great in his

creating work; he has not fashioned a few little things alone, but all heaven and the

whole round earth are the works of his hands. When we worship the Creator let us

increase our trust in our Comforter. Did he create all that we see, and can he not

preserve us from evils which we cannot see Blessed be his name, he that has

fashioned us will watch over us; yea, he has done so, and rendered us help in the

moment of jeopardy. He is our help and our shield, even he alone. He will to the end

break every snare. He made heaven for us, and he will keep us for heaven; he made

the earth, and he will succour us ripen it until the hour cometh for our departure.

Every work of his hand preaches to us the duty and the delight of reposing upon

him only. All nature cries, "Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah

there is everlasting strength." "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

The following versification of the sense rather than the words of this psalm is

presented to the reader with much diffidence: --

Had not the Lord, my soul may cry,

Had not the Lord been on my side;

Had he not brought deliverance nigh,

Then must my helpless soul have died.

Had not the Lord been on my side,

My soul had been by Satan slain;

And Tophet, opening large and wide,

Would not have gaped for me in vain.

Lo, floods of wrath, and floods of hell,

In fierce impetuous torrents roll;

Had not the Lord defended well,

The waters had overwhelmed my soul.

As when the fowler's snare is broke,

The bird escapes on cheerful wings;

My soul, set free from Satan's yoke,

With joy bursts forth, and mounts, and sings.

She sings the Lord her Savior's praise;

Sings forth his praise with joy and mirth;

To him her song in heaven she'll raise,

To him that made both heaven and earth.

6. “The Lord who made heaven and earth. As if the Psalmist had said, As long as I see

heaven and earth I will never distrust. I hope in that God which made all these

things out of nothing; and therefore as long as I see those two great standing

monuments of his power before me, heaven and earth, I will never be discouraged.

So the apostle: 1Pe 4:19, "Commit the keeping of your souls to him in well doing, as

unto a faithful Creator." O Christian! remember when you trust God you trust an

almighty Creator, who is able to help, let your case be never so desperate. God could

create when he had nothing to work upon, which made one wonder; aud he could

create when he had nothing to work with, which is another wonder. What is become

of the tools wherewith he made the world? Where is the trowel wherewith he arched

the heaven? and the spade wherewith he digged the sea? What had God to work

upon, or work withal when he made the world? He made it out of nothing. ow you

commit your souls to the same faithful Creator. -- Thomas Manton.

7. “Our help is in the name of the Lord, etc. These are the words of a triumphing and

victorious faith, "Our help standeth in the name of the Lord, which made heaven

and earth": as if he said, the Maker of heaven and earth is my God, and my helper.

We see whither he flieth in his great distress. He despairs not, but cries unto the

Lord, as one yet hoping assuredly to find relief and comfort. Rest thou also in this

hope, and do as he did. David was not tempted to the end he Should despair; think

not thou, therefore, that thy temptations are sent unto thee that thou shouldest be

swallowed up with sorrow and desperation: if thou be brought down to the very

gates of hell, believe that the Lord will surely raise thee up again. If so thou be

bruised and broken, know it is the Lord that will help thee again. If thy heart be full

of sorrow and heaviness, look for comfort from him, who said, that a troubled spirit

is a sacrifice unto him: (Psalms 51:17) Thus he setteth the eternal God, the Maker of

heaven and earth, against all troubles and dangers, against the floods and

overflowings of all temptations, and swalloweth up, as it were with one breath all

the raging furies of the whole world, and of hell itself, even as a little drop of water

is swallowed up by a mighty flaming fire: and what is the world with all its force

and power, in respect of him that made heaven and earth!” --Thomas Stint.

8. Isaac Watts, who turned this Psalm into a hymn, wrote,

Had not the Lord, may Israel say, had not the Lord maintained our side

When men, to make our lives a prey, rose like the swelling of the tide.

The swelling tide had stopped our breath, so fiercely did the waters roll;

We had been swallowed deep in death, proud waters had overwhelmed our soul.

We leap for joy, we shout and sing, who just escaped the fatal stroke,

So flies the bird with cheerful wing, when once the fowler’s snare is broke.

For ever blessed be the Lord, who broke the fowler’s cursed snare,

Who saved us from the murdering sword and made our lives and souls his care.

Our help is in Jehovah’s name, who formed the earth and built the skies,

He that upholds that wondrous frame guards his own saints with watchful

eyes.