Psalms 124:1. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
There is a break here, the sentence is not finished, so finish it for yourselves. If the Lord had not been on your side, what then? You would have been condemned on account of sin. If the Lord had not been on your side as the Redeemer, you would have been left to perish through the natural depravity of your own heart. If he who is «mighty to save» had not been your Helper, just think, Christians, you who are today filled with joy, whose feet are treading Mount Tabor, think what you would have been if the Lord had not been on your side, and then praise and magnify that grace to which you owe so much.
Psalms 124:2-19. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
The word «quick» here means «living.» Before we were dead, they would have swallowed us up, for the anger of men against God's people is always exceedingly great. They called the Master of the house «Beelzebub», so they are not likely to be very warmly affected towards his disciples. Suppose that we had been given up to the devices of wicked men, where should we have been? My brethren, a man may live so circumspectly that, outwardly, he may be without fault; yet he may wake up, come morning, and find his character blasted, and it may remain so for years, for the tongue of slander is full of all manner of villainy; and, often, the more pure the alabaster of a man's character may be, the more black are the filthy spots which the world makes upon it. Be not too much cast down, O ye children of the living God, when ye are dishonoured among men, for so was it with the Lord God himself, who was slandered in the garden of Eden! Expect not, therefore, that you will escape the serpent's venom.
Psalms 124:4-19. Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Here, in this life, we may have troubles, not only from our own evil hearts, but also from Satan and from the world. Truly, if it had not been for the Lord, the proud waters had gone right over our souls. It is a wonder that we are alive, brethren; we can sing with Watts,
«Our life contains a thousand strings,
And dies if one be gone
Strange that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long!»
But it is a ten thousand times greater miracle that we are spiritually alive when there are so many in this world seeking to destroy us. This is a marvel of marvels; and the whole world itself contains no greater wonders than are to be found in that one little world of Mansoul.
Psalms 124:6. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
We were almost in their teeth, like David's lamb; but David's Son plucked us out of the jaws of the lion, and out of the paws of the bear. Now the psalmist uses another figure. First he spoke of the proud waters, then of the wild beasts, and now he mentions the fowlers.
Psalms 124:7-19. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. What a blessed conclusion is it to our experience when we can sing of what the Lord has done, and so are encouraged by the all of what he will yet do! Let us write this text upon our banners, and lift them up in the face of every adversary, «Our help is in the name of the Lord.» As John Wesley said, «The best of all is, God is with us,» that is the best of all to the Christian, so good an «all» that he is blessed with that even if he hath nothing besides.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 123, 124, 125.