Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary

Psalm 124

· To get the maximum benefit from this study, please open your Bible and read Psalm 124 first.

There are several reasons why God’s people are his. They are his people because he created them. They are his people because he chose them. They are his people because of the promises that he has made to them. But especially, they are his people because he has saved them.

The fact that God had saved his people was part of Israel’s national history. The *Jewish people had worked as slaves in ancient Egypt. They could not leave Egypt, and their situation seemed hopeless. But God saved them. He did powerful and wonderful things to help them. The king of Egypt was a powerful ruler. But God proved that he is much stronger than any human ruler.

God did not just do one thing to rescue his people. He rescued them many times. He rescued them when they were hungry in the desert. He looked after them there for 40 years. He rescued them when armies attacked them. And then he brought them into their own land, that is, the country called Israel.

David, who wrote Psalm 124, knew about these incidents. They happened long before he was born. But the fact that God saves his people was not just for an ancient time. It also happened during David’s own life. And it happened many times.

During David’s life, many foreign nations were Israel’s enemies. Their armies attacked Israel many times. One of the most powerful of these nations was called the Philistines. Their soldiers included strong champions, for example, Goliath (1 Samuel chapter 17). And their armies entered Israel often. On one occasion, they even controlled Bethlehem, where David’s family lived (2 Samuel 23:14). But during David’s life, God rescued Israel from its enemies.

Foreign armies were not the only danger for Israel during David’s life. Before David ruled, Saul was king. Saul refused to obey God, and Saul caused many troubles in Israel. But God saved Israel.

So the people in Israel had the right to sing! God was for them! Cruel men attacked them, but God was for them!

Often we do not really realise how cruel people can be. They would hurt anyone for their own benefit. Sometimes they cause trouble when they do not even expect to benefit from it. David, the poet, compared actions of such people to the fiercest wild animals. People like that want to destroy everything. They are like a terrible flood that leaves nothing behind.

There may be no limit to their cruelty, but there is a limit to their power. That is because God is more powerful than any man. David reminds us that God is the maker of heaven and earth. And God is the helper of his people. When God rescues his people, their strong enemy can do nothing. The enemy’s prison is weaker than a broken trap when God rescues his people (Acts 5:17-20; Acts 12:1-19; Acts 16:22-30).

Next part: A lesson from Psalm 124

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