Psa 124:1-5 | MHM | STEP | Praise for God’s Deliverance This psalm calls God’s people to praise Him for saving them from great danger. The writer wants everyone to remember how close they came to disaster because of the hatred and anger of other people. Sometimes, people can be very cruel—even those who should show kindness. The enemies of Israel were so angry that they wanted to destroy them completely. The danger was so great that it felt like being swallowed alive or drowned by a flood. But God sometimes allows His people to face such trouble so that His power in rescuing them will be even clearer. v. 1–5 : The psalmist says, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: then the proud waters had gone over our soul (Psalm 124:1-5 ). The danger came from people—other humans—who were so angry that they wanted to destroy God’s people completely. Their anger was like a fire or a flood, and if God had not helped, Israel would have been wiped out. The psalmist uses strong images to show how serious the threat was, but also to highlight how great God’s rescue was.

‏ Psalms 124:1-5

Praise for God’s Deliverance

This psalm calls God’s people to praise Him for saving them from great danger. The writer wants everyone to remember how close they came to disaster because of the hatred and anger of other people. Sometimes, people can be very cruel—even those who should show kindness. The enemies of Israel were so angry that they wanted to destroy them completely. The danger was so great that it felt like being swallowed alive or drowned by a flood. But God sometimes allows His people to face such trouble so that His power in rescuing them will be even clearer.

v. 1–5: The psalmist says, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: then the proud waters had gone over our soul (Psalm 124:1-5 ^a). The danger came from people—other humans—who were so angry that they wanted to destroy God’s people completely. Their anger was like a fire or a flood, and if God had not helped, Israel would have been wiped out. The psalmist uses strong images to show how serious the threat was, but also to highlight how great God’s rescue was.

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