Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us,
The stream would have [a]swept over our soul;
5 Then the raging waters would have [b]swept over our soul.”6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us [c]to be torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
This one was staring me in the face, even though it took reading it 5 times or so to sink in. “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side…” Then what? Well, for Israel, that would have been utter destruction when enemies rose up against them. Raging waters would have literally swept them away (more than once). They were caught, like a bird in a snare. The snare didn’t magically break, but God rescued them.
Now, as the angel told Joshua (chapter 5), the real question is whether we are on God’s side. Are we going to follow Him or choose our own way (Joshua 25)? When we answer that in the affirmative, it is no small thing that we can then say “The Lord is on our side, because we are on His side!” Answer for yourself this morning, “Had it not been the Lord who was on your side, what then?”
Think of all the things in your life that have changed, and then know that there are things you’ll never know–times God has protected you, guided you, give you wisdom and direction even when you didn’t realize it was Him at work. Say with the psalmist, “Blessed be the Lord!” for He is your “ever present help in time of need.”