There are moments in life when we look back and realize,
Had it not been for grace,
For that unseen hand steadying us through chaos,
We would not have made it.
Psalm 124 is David's song of remembrance and gratitude,
A poetic recognition that survival itself can be holy.
It is a psalm for those who have walked through storms and can now whisper,
It was the Lord who was on my side.
For us,
It speaks to the quiet triumph of the human spirit sustained by divine companionship.
In a world of uncertainty,
This psalm reminds us that we are never alone in our struggle or our healing.
Psalm 124 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
Blessed be the Lord who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers.
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Verse 1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
There is deep wisdom in remembering.
David opens with an invitation to recall how close we have come to losing our way and how divine presence steadied us.
In our modern life,
This is the practice of conscious gratitude.
When we pause and say,
If not for grace,
We reorient our focus from threat to preservation.
Reflection itself becomes a prayer of gratitude.
A moment to see that survival is evidence of divine companionship.
Verse 2 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Here David acknowledges human conflict and adversity.
Every person faces those who rise up.
Circumstances,
Voices,
Or inner critics that seem to conspire against peace.
This verse reminds us that we are not meant to face life's hostilities alone.
It teaches the strength of secure attachment,
Trusting that we are supported,
Both by divine love and by the community around us.
When fear tells us we are alone,
This verse whispers,
You have help.
Verse 3 They would have sallowed us alive when their wrath was kindled against us.
The image of being sallowed alive,
This captures the intensity of emotional overwhelm.
We all know what it feels like to be consumed by anger,
Shame,
Anxiety,
Whether our own or others.
Yet the psalm speaks from a place beyond that moment.
The danger did not destroy,
The rage did not define.
This is the awakening that comes after crisis,
Realizing we are still here,
Still breathing.
Healing begins with the acknowledgement,
I endured and I am safe now.
Verse 4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul.
Water is a powerful symbol for emotion.
When the waters rise,
They represent those times when our inner world floods with sorrow or confusion.
In therapy,
We might call this emotional flooding.
In faith,
We call it being overwhelmed by life.
Yet,
Even in that chaos,
There is the unseen grace that keeps us afloat.
To name the storm is to begin to see the show again.
Verse 5 Then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.
David repeats the image for emphasis.
Because sometimes pain echoes,
It comes in waves.
This repetition mirrors our own process of remembering trauma or fear.
Healing requires revisiting the flood.
But each time we do,
It loses power.
This verse is an acknowledgement of depth.
The water came close,
But it did not consume the soul.
In every breaking point,
There is a silent miracle.
We were carried through.
Verse 6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
This verse is the turning point.
Gratitude.
After the recounting of near disaster,
Comes a sigh of relief and praise.
Gratitude is more than a model act.
It is healing physiology.
It regulates the nervous system,
Grounding us in safety after threat.
Blessed be the Lord becomes both praise and therapy.
It shifts our awareness from fear to thanksgiving,
Transforming survival into song.
Verse 7 Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers.
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
The image of the bird is exquisite,
Light,
Fragile,
Yet free.
The snare represents all that binds us.
Anxiety,
Resentment,
Addiction,
Self-doubt.
When the psalm says,
The snare is broken,
It speaks of liberation inner and outer.
The release may not happen all at once.
Sometimes it begins with a single loosening,
One breath of faith,
One act of letting go.
It mirrors the process of unlearning fear,
Rediscovering joy.
The spiritual life,
In many ways,
Is a journey of remembering that we were made to fly.
Verse 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
This is both an ending and a grounding.
After the storms,
The threats,
The snares,
We arrive at trust.
The Lord who made heaven and earth represents ultimate stability,
The foundation beneath every change.
To say our help is in His name is to rest in a reality greater than circumstance.
This is the secure base from which all healing unfolds.
It is the deep knowing that love itself sustains existence.
Verse 9 Divine Helper,
Thank you for standing beside me when I could not stand alone.
When the waters rise,
Help me to remember the times you have already brought me through.
Break the snares that bind my heart and lift my soul into freedom and peace.
May I live in quiet gratitude,
Knowing that you are my constant help.
Maker of heaven,
Earth and my unfolding life.
Amen.
