Notes on the Book of Psalms, Psalm 124
The cxxiv. PSALM.
David mindes Israel in their prosperitie of their adversitie, to make them mindful of God, praiseful to God, and evermore dependent on God, as his Church and people ought ever to be, in their transmutations of estates and fortunes.Psalm cxxiv.
See the title of the 120 Psalm, A song of degrees of David.the Authors name superadded here.
1, 2, 3 NOw that the Lord hath been pleased to bring us to the happie condition we are in,1IF it had not been the Lord who was on our side; now may Israel say: we should do well to look back, we the Israel and and Church of God,2If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: and consider from the beginning to this day, ever since we were a people chosen of the Lord out of the world to name his name upon,3Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us. what a world of enemies we have had, and perils we have waded through before and since we came into this land, where we have been a continual eye-sore not onelyonly to the natives remaining in it, but to all the mightie nations and Gentile people bordering round about it, who severally and joyntly by combination of great men and Potentates, have sundry times and wayes subtilly projected, and violently attempted our utter abolition, which to speak humanely was inavoidable, had not the Lord our good God miraculously from time to time delivered us from their furie, and preserved us a people to this day, maugre all they could do (as he shall his Church spite of the wicked world its power and malice) who else long ere this had been no people nor nation, but destroyed again and again, by those many mightie barbarous enemies of ours that on all hands from all quarters have assailed us, with most mortal and bloudie purposes greedy to prey upon us; and with that odds of strength, that they were able to have devoured us, and as it were swallowed us alive, as easily as the great fish does the little ones, or the savage and ravenous beast tears his prey in pieces, if God had not overpowered them, and been for us against them when we were altogether unable to make resistance, which now we should do well to weigh seriously, and in all humilitie to acknowledge thankfully to his praise and glorie.
4Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul.4, 5 Yea, to consider that when all mankind was as it were against us, and we were like sheep in the midst of Wolves and Bears, that with mightie power and rage have broken in upon us like an unresistable torrent,5Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. able to over-run the whole land and destroy man, woman, and child, as easily as the sea, or some mightie river drowns the countrey when it breaketh the banks, and with pride and confident disdain made sure to do it, and no doubt had done it long ere this, but that God would not let them, but still preserved and wonderfully delivered us from being swept away with a total destruction as was intended, and easie else to have been effected by them.
6 O let us lay it seriously to heart,6Blessed be the Lord: who hath not given us, as a prey to their teeth. and heartily bless and praise the Lord our God, for so long preserving, and so many sundry times delivering us by no less than miraculous power from the crueltie, and outrage of such barbarous bloudie enemies, and that hath not been provoked by our sinful ingratitude, himself to give us for a prey to their destructive malice, as in justice he might.
7 But hath brought us notwithstanding all their power,7Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are escaped. malice, and treacherie, wherewith we have been long insnared and indangered on all hands into a state of libertie and freedom, not onelyonly given us our lives for a prey, but a libertie from them, yea, a superioritie above them, insomuch as now we are asmuch too strong for them, as they were wont to be too strong for us, and have them asmuch at an under as they had us, their strength is become weakness, and by his goodness our weakness is become strength, too strong for them.
8 Let the power and goodness of God have the praise and glorie of what is done and wrought for us,8Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. both as to our preservation and exaltation, and as in time past we have found him, so for time to come let us believe in him, as ought the Church and people of God to do in all ages of the world: Let us and they magnifie his power and goodness in all estates and times, not despairing in adversitie, nor presuming in prosperitie, but in the one hopefully, and in the other humbly believe in him as our all-sufficient and onelyonly deliverer and preserver, not fearing, nor Idolizing an arm of flesh or second causes, but rely on, and seek to the onelyonly true God that made all things, and disposeth all things, and is able to help above all power to hurt, if we believe; and to hurt above all power to help, if we presume.