The Songs of Ascents

A Sermon Series

by

Jim Bordwine, ThD

Psalm 124

Introduction

In preparation for our study of the next Psalm in this sermon series, I began surveying the book of Psalms looking for the various descriptions of the rolls filled by God in relation to His people. I did this because our next Psalm, Psa. 124, presents a particular view of God's activities as they relate to those who worship and serve Him. As I began looking at the Psalms, I quickly discovered a number of images of God portrayed in this section of Scripture. In the first Psalm, for example, God is pictured as the Law-Giver. The one who gives heed to the Law of God is promised tremendous blessings, such as stability, fruitfulness and a general prosperity. In Psa. 2, God is pictured as the Ruler of this world against whom the wicked rage ineffectively. The third Psalm presents the LORD as the One who protects us when adversaries threaten us.

As you continue looking at the Psalms, you see that God is the source of righteousness and peace (Psa. 4); He is the One who hears the petitions of the humble while opposing the proud (Psa. 5); the One who comforts us in times of deep distress (Psa. 6); the One who aids the righteous (Psa. 7); the glorious Creator (Psa. 8); the One who lives forever (Psa. 9); and the One who cares for the afflicted (Psa. 10). In one Psalm after another, we find these magnificent images of God presented to us in the words of the writers. When compared to other parts of the Bible, the Psalms are, by far, the richest source of perspectives on our relationship with God. Every Psalm reveals some aspect of God's character which brings encouragement to His people and enables them to persevere in this world in spite of the conditions we sometimes face.

Even in our most recent study in the Psalms of Ascents, we have seen God portrayed for us in a number of unique ways. These Psalms, up to this point, have been brief, but they have conveyed wonderful truths about God and how He relates to us as His people. He has been presented as the God who cares for His people, in Psa. 120. In that Psalm, the writer speaks of crying out to the LORD in a time of trouble; he says that the LORD answered him and it was that assurance which enabled the writer to endure the afflictions of the wicked. In Psa. 121, God is presented as our powerful Helper. The writer in this Psalm acknowledged the LORD as his Helper and noted that He is the Maker of heaven and earth. This God does not slumber, the writer declared, but is ever aware of the plight of His people. In Psa. 122, God is presented as the One whose presence makes us glad. You'll recall that it was the mere mention of God's house that brought deep satisfaction to the worshiper. And in our last selection, Psa. 123, God is described as the One who is majestically enthroned in the heavens. The writer gives us a stunning image of God highly exalted above the earth, yet willing to show grace to His lowly people.

These are magnificent images of God. Every one of them inspires us, everyone of them makes us long to know this God more fully and to worship Him more perfectly. Everything revealed about God in these Psalms is encouraging, everything said about Him brings us a sense of peace. This pattern continues today as we look at Psa. 124.

Our text:

Psalm 124:1 A Song of Ascents, of David. “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 swept over our soul; 5 Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul.” 6 Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us 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.

01. What does this Psalm teach us about God?

What image comes to mind as you hear this Psalm? The image is that of escape, or sudden deliverance from some threat which was just about to overcome the writer and those envisioned in these words. Once again, we cannot be certain about which particular historical event, if any, is being depicted in this Psalm. Some have suggested this Psalm was composed as a result of the decree of Cyrus which allowed the Jews to return to their land; others have noted how the language recalls the conditions of Israel's exodus from captivity in Egypt. What is most likely, however, is that this Psalm, like so many others, is intended to teach a general truth about God's relationship to His people; it is a compilation of what this writer gleaned from the history of Israel. The Psalm is written in such a way that the reader need not know about any specific event in order to appreciate the image given here.

This Psalm presents God as the great Defender of His people. The writer clearly portrays Israel as in some desperate circumstance, expecting at any moment to be overwhelmed by his adversaries. And then into that hopeless situation comes the LORD and everything changes. God's arrival, as it were, causes misfortune to turn into blessing, and the threat of death becomes the promise of life. That is what happens when God comes to Defend His people.

The writer, you'll notice, calls upon Israel to make the necessary confession: “Had it not been the LORD who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive and the waters would have engulfed us and the raging waters would have swept over our soul.” This is a picture, as I said, of absolute desperation; this is a picture of the end for these people. They were outnumbered, overpowered, and just on the verge of destruction when the LORD appears as their Defender. And in Him, there is deliverance from even the most dangerous of circumstances; in Him, there is escape from even the most deadly of enemies. All the might of this enemy was directed against the people of God, but that might fell short of its objective when the LORD appeared on the side of His people.

This Psalm makes it clear that it is only the LORD's appearance that saved the people. They had no other hope, no other way of handling this threat, no other way to avoid destruction. They could be saved only if the LORD became their Defender, only if God Himself took up their cause and stood between them and those who sought to destroy them. In this context, the LORD's presence and His willingness to fight for His people were the only factors which turned annihilation into deliverance. There is no hint that the people were able to bring about this escape, no hint that they had any hope of standing before their enemies. God and only God prevented them from succumbing to the assault.

The LORD God is a Warrior. He uses His power to defend and deliver those who belong to Him. When an enemy came against Israel, they came against Israel's Defender and He fought for His people. In response to the need of the hour, the LORD frustrated the designs of Israel's enemy. Note how the writer announced “Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.” (v. 6) The viciousness of the enemy is easily discerned from this description, but so too is the LORD's unwillingness to allow the plan of the attacker to be carried out. When the writer says “blessed be the LORD,” he uses a term (barak) which means “to salute, to kneel before, to praise.” The idea behind this word is that of recognizing the exceptional achievement or status of another.

In the case of our Psalm, the writer is saying that the LORD is to be “saluted” or “praised” as the One who came to the defense of Israel. This implies the uniqueness of the LORD's role; and this unique role is indicated as the Psalm opens and the people are urged to confess “had it not been the LORD who was on our side, we would have been swallowed alive.” From beginning to end, this Psalm is written to emphasize the fact that the LORD is the Defender of His people. No matter how strong the enemy which comes against them, no matter how bleak circumstances appear, the LORD can provide escape for His own. This Psalm teaches us, therefore, that we are to turn to the LORD as our Defender; we are to think of Him as our Defender; we are to count on Him to be our Defender.

As the other Psalms in this series have taught us, it is God's nature to relate to His people in various ways-in this present case, it is God's nature to be a Defender of His people. The safety and well-being of His people is no small thing. God does not take delight in seeing His people threatened by an enemy and He takes no pleasure in knowing that His people are living in fear. They are, after all, His people, they are His possession. He will defend and deliver them for the sake of His great name.

Notice how the writer ends this Psalm: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” The names of God are revelations of His character. The names of God tell us what He is like and what can be expected from Him. In this case, it is the name LORD or Yahweh in which the people trust. Yahweh is known as the personal name of God. It is the name by which He revealed Himself to Moses before bringing His people out of Egypt. This name had always had redemptive significance, therefore, to the people of Israel. From their earliest days, the LORD had been their Defender and they continued to trust in that truth in these present circumstances.

02. What does this Psalm teach us about those who worshiped God?

The first thing we learn is that this writer and those who sang this song realized that there had been times in Israel's history when the nation simply could not have survived had the LORD not come to their aid. Consider the terms used by the writer. He says that without the LORD's help, their enemies “would have swallowed us alive” due to the intensity of their anger toward the people of God. A word is used here (bala) which literally means “to eat up.” Used figuratively, as it is in our text, the word is meant to convey the threat of absolute destruction. Further, the writer says that Israel would have been “engulfed” by waters and swept away in the stream. Again, he uses vivid images to explain the desperate situation of the people. The word rendered “engulfed” (shataph) means “to drown” or “be washed away.” And the word translated “swept” (abar) is a term which describes the removal of whatever is in the path of an advancing force. The idea here is that no resistance would have been sufficient to stop the enemies of Israel once they set their minds on the nation's destruction.

We know from the record of the Bible that there were many times when Israel was threatened on such a scale as that which is described here. There were times, such as at the exodus, when the images here were almost literally true. Over many centuries, the pious Jews learned that what God had taught them all along was true-He was their Defender and apart from His intervention, they as a nation would cease to exist.

The second thing this short Psalm teaches us about those who sang it and used it in preparation for their worship of God is that they knew that the LORD was worthy of recognition for serving as Israel's Defender throughout the nation's history. This point comes out clearly in v. 6: “Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.” Remember that the writer uses a word here (barak), translated “blessed,” which means “to salute, to kneel before, to praise.” As I explained earlier, this term is used when some exceptional achievement is recognized. These worshipers, fully aware of what God had done for them and the nation, fully aware that had the LORD not been Israel's Defender the nation would have perished, understood that their duty was to “bless” Him; their duty was to extol His great name and offer words of praise to Him and make known their gratefulness.

The duty to praise the LORD followed directly from His many demonstrations of saving the people in a time of danger. This component figured prominently in their worship. As they made their way to Jerusalem, they sang this song and in it were reminded that the LORD had acted as Israel's never-failing Defender. Being reminded of that truth, they entered God's presence with praise and thanksgiving. The history of the nation was testimony to God's faithfulness and in worship, the people were able to bless Him for His goodness.

The helplessness of the people is emphasized when the writer compares God's deliverance of them to a bird escaping the snare of the trapper (v. 7). Clearly, the writer had no thoughts of Israel being a strong and self-sufficient nation having no need of the LORD's help. Just the opposite is true. Israel was as defenseless as the bird which gets caught in the trapper's snare. This is hardly a picture of a fearless, powerful people. It is, instead, a picture of a dependent people, a people dependent upon the LORD who alone could deliver them in time of danger.

As they sang this song, therefore, the worshipers concluded with that wonderful last line: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (v. 8) This was the thought on their minds as they made their way to Jerusalem; this is what they were thinking as they prepared to worship God. The Creator is our Defender; the Master of all is the One who will come to our aid. This short review of their history prepared these worshipers to enter God's presence and offer praise.

03. What does this Psalm teach us about our worship of God?

When you come to this place for worship, do you consider that you are coming to appear before your great Defender? Do you consider that you are coming before the One who watches over you day and night through all the years of your life? Do you realize that when you come here to worship, you are assembling before the One who stands ready to deliver you from peril, to provide you with His protection and to go to battle against those who threaten you? When we gather here, it is not simply to worship the God who provides for us, but also to worship the God who is zealous for us. God is the Defender of His people.

One of the clearest messages in this Psalm is that the LORD delivers us just when the circumstances seem most desperate. Just when Israel was ready to be swallowed up, just when the raging waters of destruction were about to engulf the people, the LORD appeared and turned pending death into escape. This Psalm paints a picture of near-annihilation and then the LORD appears and vanquishes the enemy. The plight of the people was such that only God's power could deliver them, and only God's might could bring about their escape.

But, you may be thinking, we live in the modern world. The people of God no longer exist as a single nation on the earth. The best we can do, you may be thinking, is appreciate this Psalm for its historical value or for the general truth it teaches us about God's concern for His people. And in response I would say: have you not read the Scriptures? Have you not read of the enemy who aimed to devour us forever? Have you not read of God's declaration of our defense right at the time when this vicious enemy thought he had gained the upper hand on us? I'm talking about the serpent, the crafty serpent who thought he had destroyed the creatures of God, who thought he had succeeded in ruining us forever. And then the LORD appeared and announced: “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life...” (Gen. 3:14)

Even before we knew Him, the God who made heaven and earth was our Defender. Even before we knew we needed His aid, He confronted our enemy and cursed him. Even before we saw the light of day, God declared war on the serpent who had invaded Eden and who had struck the first blow. And our Defender said to him: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Gen. 3:16) This is the first announcement that God would not leave us defenseless. This is the first announcement that God would separate His people and provide for them a Deliverer. The rest of Scripture is the story of this Savior's coming and His ultimate vanquishing of our most dreaded enemy.

The deliverance brought about for the elect of God is far more glorious than any victory of any battle ever fought on this earth. The deliverance accomplished for us was the deliverance of our souls from hell. Jesus Christ, the God-Man, became our Defender and He came for us when we had no hope and no chance of escape. He came for us even before we knew Him and acknowledged Him. The Savior came and He did battle with our chief adversary and He prevailed. Again, the Scriptures say: “[Since we were of flesh and blood] He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Heb. 2:14, 15) And in another place: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

Is this Psalm relevant to us? Yes, it is relevant to us in the most meaningful way possible. We know that God has become the Defender of our souls against the one who sought to destroy us forever. And we gather here each week to worship God knowing what He did for us, knowing that He came for us and fought for us and surrendered Himself for us to disarm our enemy and pay the price which was justly demanded of us. In that one act of giving Himself, Jesus Christ overcame that serpent once and for all, and also reconciled us to God after that enemy brought about our fall into rebellion.

When the people of Israel remembered what God had done for them, they blessed the LORD, which means they praised Him and they offered to Him their gratitude in recognition of His unique role as their Defender. I ask you, therefore, how ought we to respond to our Defender? What should be our purpose when we gather here in the company of the redeemed each week? What should be on our minds? What should be filling our hearts? Should we not come here with overflowing gladness as we contemplate assembling before God who became our Defender in Christ? Should we not come here anxious to bless the LORD our God for what He has done for us? Should we not sing His praises with loud voices and should we not desire to be here with the LORD giving thanks and offering praise?

Should we not eagerly come to the sacrament which declares to us every week that Jesus is our Defender and that He fought for us and gave Himself in our place? That bread we eat together points to the giving of the body of our Defender in our place. In order to deliver us, He had to die for us. And as we eat that bread, we are reminded of just how essential is our relationship to the Savior-it is as essential as the relationship between the food we eat and the life we continue to live on this earth. And when we drink that wine, we are reminded of the blood which flowed from our Defender as He suffered up on that cross. That blood had to be shed so our sins could be paid for. We drink the wine and it is like life to us because it represents the Savior's precious blood spilled so that we might live forever.

Taking the bread on that last night, our Defender said: “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And taking the cup, He said: “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” And with that image implanted in the minds of His disciples, He went to the cross and there destroyed death by giving His life, and there gained the victory by surrendering Himself.

Let's pray...

The sacrament is given...

Conclusion

Psalm 125, among other things, speaks of the security of those who worship the LORD. Read Psa. 125 this week and meditate on the promise of safety which is found in that Scripture. Notice, in particular, why we are secure.