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Illustration for Psalm 124: The LORD Was on Our Side

Psalm 124

The LORD Was on Our Side

GratitudePraise

If God hadn't been on our side — what would have happened? We would have been swallowed up! This psalm celebrates how God rescued His people. We are like a bird who escaped from the hunter's trap. Our help is in the name of the LORD!

  1. 1If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel say—
  2. 2if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us,
  3. 3they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us;
  4. 4the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us;
  5. 5the raging waters would have swept us away.
  6. 6Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
  7. 7We have escaped like a bird from the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.
  8. 8Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

What it means

This psalm asks a question worth sitting with: what would have happened if God had not been there? They picture themselves as a small bird that got out of a trap — the net broke, and away they went. Some of your rescues you will only notice looking back.

A little prayer

God, thank You for being on my side. Thank You for the times You rescued me when I did not even realise it. Like a bird out of a trap, I am free because of You. Amen.

Memory verse

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 124:8 (BSB)

It names the help precisely, at the end of a psalm about how close it was.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. The psalm imagines what would have happened if God had not been there. Is that a helpful thing to imagine?
  2. It says they escaped like a bird from a broken snare. What breaks a trap?
  3. The psalm is a group song — 'if the LORD had not been on our side'. What has your family come through together?
  4. Who was on your side when you needed it?

Try this

The broken snare

Tie a loose knot around a finger and work out how to get free without pulling. Talk about the difference between escaping and being let out, and read verse 7.

You will need: A piece of string.

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)