5 June 2021

Psalm 124:1 (NLT) “What if the Lord had not been on our side?”

In this Psalm David calls on the people of God to reflect on the question, “What if the Lord had not been on their side? In this Psalm we see that men rose up against them. David speaks of being swallowed by wrath and being overwhelmed by floodwaters. He pictures the danger of being completely devastated and destroyed by the depth of a flood. David acknowledges what would have happened “if” the Lord had not been on their side. It would have been bad—awfully bad, indeed! They would not have survived.

David confirms this in 1 Samuel 17:37 (NLT) “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

David makes is truly clear that “if it has not been for the Lord” he would not have made it. Psalm 94:17 “Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.”

Psalm 127 (NLT) “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”

Psalm 56:9 (NLT) “My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!”

In verse 8 of Psalm 124, we see David’s confident attitude: *“Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” The experience has strengthened, and confirmed David’s faith and he ends the psalm with a confident confession of faith.

We need to be able to make such a powerful confession. This will require trials. These trials will put our faith to the test.

Paul also understands this principle in Romans 8:31 (NLT) “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Remember, when the toughest of problems strike, remind yourself that God is on your side.

Have a great day.