“On Our Side”
Genesis 6:9-14;17-22
Psalm 124:1-8
What a powerful declaration of God’s deliverance... God’s protection; His covenantal love for His people - including you and me!
Originally, Psalm 124 was a “Song of Ascent” - which means it’s part of a collection of the Psalms sung by God’s people as they journeyed to Jerusalem, making their annual pilgrimage to the Temple. These songs were intended to remind those pilgrims... and to us... that we serve a faithful God, who has promised to see us through whatever obstacles or enemies or hardships encounter. Our God is mighty to save, and fully able to deliver and redeem us. This Psalm is intended to remind us of God’s saving power.
Of course, the Psalm is attributed to David, as in the shepherd-boy who became King of Israel... and David begins by acknowledging that, if it hadn’t been for the Lord, acting on behalf of His people, they would have been destroyed, overcome... overwhelmed.
David calls the people of Israel to remember… to remember the Covenantal grace of God’s deliverance.
In fact, to remember is an act of grace! To recall the goodness of God... the intended and expressed protection of God over his people... is an important part of faith - both for the people of David’s time - and for us today.
As modern-day believers, we’re called to acknowledge the love and protection of God in our own lives... remembering, time and again, how much of our blessings, safety, and salvation are rooted, grounded, and dependent on God’s providence.
How many times in your life can you look back and testify... that, if it were NOT for God, if not for God’s grace, God’s love, God’s mercy and deliverance... things could have gone very differently for you? God protects us in ways we often don’t even recognize in the moment.
And we acknowledge such all the time! How many times have you and I said, “I don’t know how people make it through life without faith; without Jesus; without a relationship with God in Christ?” When we do that we’re voicing the same thought... the same realization that Psalm 124 expresses so vividly: “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side...” we wouldn’t be where we are at this moment.
Of course, the threats to God’s people were great. The Psalmist outlines some of the threats: enemies who were ready to destroy God’s People - armies and kingdoms bent on destruction. Acts of nature (the consequence of living in a fallen world), particularly waters: floods and torrents ready to sweep God’s People away, and raging waters that could have overwhelmed.
We think of Noah, and the days of Noah, when he and his family were delivered from God’s judgment upon the world, because they were faithful to follow God’s commands when no one else would. And God was faithful to His Word, His covenant, and Noah and his family were delivered from God’s wrath.
Or Peter who was walking on water towards Jesus, but removed his gaze... focusing on the waters, the waves, and began to sink! Only when his eyes were fixed on Jesus was he able to tread above the overwhelming, suffocating world that was just beneath his feet.
These images are vivid and reflect real dangers. God’s People often faced literal and figurative floods—whether from nature or from nations rising against them.
And we’re no different: we also face threats, challenges, disappointments. Sometimes they come in the form of illness, financial strain, relational conflict. At other times, the threats are fear, doubt, anxiety, sin.
Like God’s People so long ago, we need God’s help and deliverance.
And the Good News for us... is God is always faithful. He always keeps his promises!
In verse 6 the Psalmist praises God: “Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!” God’s intervention is THE reason His people survived! Their deliverance had absolutely nothing to do with luck or strength or intestinal fortitude or preparedness: It was solely because God, in His mercy, acted. Which reminds me of Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us!”
The “enemy” can set traps... those who oppose us can plan our destruction. Yet, God breaks the snare and allows His people to escape. What a beautiful way to describe God’s power, breaking through the chains that hold us, whether they are chains of sin, fear, or even death!
Of course, the Gospel demands that we acknowledge God’s ultimate deliverance. Jesus. Through Christ, God defeated Hell and the grave - overcoming sin’s “teeth” and “snare” while purchasing our salvation... enabling us to forever praise the name of the God who keeps his promises... His covenant... forever.
We can say with confidence, “The snare is broken, and we have escaped!” By God’s grace, He made a way, in Christ... for us to receive and know life that’s eternal, abundant, and free.
And we say, “If the Lord had not been on our side...”
The last verse of this Psalm brings the message home, tying everything together: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
In every season of life, we can (and should!) declare with confidence that our help is in the name of the Lord. Whether we’re facing opposition, feeling overwhelmed, or walking through uncertain times, “Our help is in the name of the Lord!”
What a comforting reassurance, to be reminded that we are never alone in the challenges we face in this life. IN FACT: We’ve already been delivered. That’s the Good News of the Gospel.
I pray that this Psalm encourage us to live with a deep sense of gratitude for God’s saving grace... and a renewed confidence in the assurance His presence brings. The same God who helped Israel is with us today. He is truly “on our side.” We can trust in Him completely. Amen
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