Commentary of the Old and New Testaments

Psalms 124

By Joseph Benson

 

Verses 3-6
Psalms 124:3-6. They had swallowed us up quick — They had speedily and utterly destroyed us, as Korah and his company were, Numbers 16. The proud waters had gone over, &c. — Our enemies, compared to proud waters for their great multitude, swelling rage, and mighty force. The Lord hath not given us a prey to their teeth — A metaphor taken from wild beasts, which tear and devour their prey with their teeth. It is here intimated that the enemies of God’s people have no power whatever against them, but what is given them from above. God, however, sometimes suffers them to prevail very far against them, that his own power may appear the more illustrious in their deliverance.

Verse 7-8
Psalms 124:7-8. Our soul is escaped as a bird, &c. — This is the third image by which the marvellous deliverance of Israel is illustrated. Having compared it to that of a person snatched, by a miracle, from the fury of surrounding and overwhelming torrents, and to that of a lamb rescued from the jaws of a wolf or lion, he here illustrates it by the escape of a bird, through breaking the snare, before the fowler came to seize and kill it. Our help is in the name of the Lord — David, who had directed us (Psalms 121:2) to depend upon God for help, as to our personal concerns, saying, My help is in the name of the Lord, here directs us to the same dependance as to the concerns of the public, observing, Our help is so. It is a comfort to all that have the good of God’s Israel at heart, that Israel’s God is he that made the world, and therefore will have a church in it, which he can secure in times of the greatest danger and distress. In him therefore let the church’s friends place their confidence, and they shall not be put to confusion.

 

Book Navigation Title Page Table of Contents Argument Introduction ► Chapter 1 ► Chapter 2 ► Chapter 3 ► Chapter 4 ► Chapter 5 ► Chapter 6 ► Chapter 7 ► Chapter 8 ► Chapter 9 ► Chapter 10 ► Chapter 11 ► Chapter 12 ► Chapter 13 ► Chapter 14 ► Chapter 15 ► Chapter 16 ► Chapter 17 ► Chapter 18 ► Chapter 19 ► Chapter 20 ► Chapter 21 ► Chapter 22 ► Chapter 23 ► Chapter 24 ► Chapter 25 ► Chapter 26 ► Chapter 27 ► Chapter 28 ► Chapter 29 ► Chapter 30 ► Chapter 31 ► Chapter 32 ► Chapter 33 ► Chapter 34 ► Chapter 35 ► Chapter 36 ► Chapter 37 ► Chapter 38 ► Chapter 39 ► Chapter 40 ► Chapter 41 ► Chapter 42 ► Chapter 43 ► Chapter 44 ► Chapter 45 ► Chapter 46 ► Chapter 47 ► Chapter 48 ► Chapter 49 ► Chapter 50 ► Chapter 51 ► Chapter 52 ► Chapter 53 ► Chapter 54 ► Chapter 55 ► Chapter 56 ► Chapter 57 ► Chapter 58 ► Chapter 59 ► Chapter 60 ► Chapter 61 ► Chapter 62 ► Chapter 63 ► Chapter 64 ► Chapter 65 ► Chapter 66 ► Chapter 67 ► Chapter 68 ► Chapter 69 ► Chapter 70 ► Chapter 71 ► Chapter 72 ► Chapter 73 ► Chapter 74 ► Chapter 75 ► Chapter 76 ► Chapter 77 ► Chapter 78 ► Chapter 79 ► Chapter 80 ► Chapter 81 ► Chapter 82 ► Chapter 83 ► Chapter 84 ► Chapter 85 ► Chapter 86 ► Chapter 87 ► Chapter 88 ► Chapter 89 ► Chapter 90 ► Chapter 91 ► Chapter 92 ► Chapter 93 ► Chapter 94 ► Chapter 95 ► Chapter 96 ► Chapter 97 ► Chapter 98 ► Chapter 99 ► Chapter 100 ► Chapter 101 ► Chapter 102 ► Chapter 103 ► Chapter 104 ► Chapter 105 ► Chapter 106 ► Chapter 107 ► Chapter 108 ► Chapter 109 ► Chapter 110 ► Chapter 111 ► Chapter 112 ► Chapter 113 ► Chapter 114 ► Chapter 115 ► Chapter 116 ► Chapter 117 ► Chapter 118 ► Chapter 119 ► Chapter 120 ► Chapter 121 ► Chapter 122 ► Chapter 123 ► Chapter 124 ► Chapter 125 ► Chapter 126 ► Chapter 127 ► Chapter 128 ► Chapter 129 ► Chapter 130 ► Chapter 131 ► Chapter 132 ► Chapter 133 ► Chapter 134 ► Chapter 135 ► Chapter 136 ► Chapter 137 ► Chapter 138 ► Chapter 139 ► Chapter 140 ► Chapter 141 ► Chapter 142 ► Chapter 143 ► Chapter 144 ► Chapter 145 ► Chapter 146 ► Chapter 147 ► Chapter 148 ► Chapter 149 ► Chapter 150