Psalms 124:5 - Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then the proud waters had gone over our soul - Over us. The word proud here is applied to the waters as if raging, swelling, rolling, tumultuous; as if they were self-confident, arrogant, haughty. Such raging billows, as they break and dash upon the shore, are a striking embIem of human passions, whether in an individual, or in a gathering of men - as an army, or a mob. Compare Psalms 65:7. This is again an amplification, or an ascent of thought. See the notes at Psalms 124:2. It is, however, nothing more than a poetical embellisment, adding intensity to the expression.