Add parallel Print Page Options

Psalm 124[a]

God, the Rescuer of the People

A song of ascents. Of David.

Had not the Lord been with us,
    let Israel say,(A)
Had not the Lord been with us,
    when people rose against us,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 124 A thanksgiving which teaches that Israel’s very existence is owed to God who rescues them. In the first part Israel’s enemies are compared to the mythic sea dragon (Ps 124:2b–3a; cf. Jer 51:34) and Flood (Ps 124:3b–5; cf. Is 51:9–10). The Psalm heightens the malice of human enemies by linking them to the primordial enemies of God’s creation. Israel is a bird freed from the trapper’s snare (Ps 124:6–8)—freed originally from Pharaoh and now from the current danger.