The Lord is on Our Side
When someone rises up against you in anger who do you wish was by your side? When sorrow over suffering threatens to sweep you away which friend do you want beside you? When shame over sin threatens to undo you which person do you want to remind you of God’s forgiving love? When an addiction threatens to ensnare you who do you want to admonish you with the truth? Hopefully you have good, trustworthy, godly friends who came to your mind, but there is one person who stands above the others, the Friend of all friends to whom Psalm 124 points. Before we turn our attention to this psalm we need to understand its broader context.
The Lord had commanded Israel to keep three festivals a year in the city of Jerusalem (see Deut. 16:16). It’s likely that the fifteen Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134) were sung by the Israelites on their way to Jerusalem to keep the annual feasts, both before and after the exile. Therefore, it’s appropriate that the collection begins with the pilgrims far away from the temple in Jerusalem. They face temptations both from without (the devil and the world) and from within (their own flesh). These psalms present a picture of every believer’s journey to the new Jerusalem. They teach us about our journey as elect exiles on this earth and more importantly, about the Elect Exile who left His home in glory to fulfill His Father’s plan. They are arranged in a significant order—seven psalms on either side of the climactic one, Psalm 127, which highlights two of God’s promises to David (a place and progeny). Since the Songs of Ascents aid us in our worship of God we should study them often. In this brief article we will consider what the fifth one (Psalm 124) has to teach us.
Our Hurdles
David had felt the hot breath of his enemies and heard the raging roar of arrows flying past him: “people rose up against us” and “would have swallowed us up alive” and “then over us would have gone the raging waters” (Psalm 124:2-5). Yet he wasn’t destroyed. He was too wise to think it was his swift maneuvering or his strategic location that had saved him. He knew with confidence that the Lord was on his side!
Our Help
David had also seen the white teeth of those seeking to defeat him and experienced the snare in enemy territory (Psalm 124:6-7).He was too wise to think it was his stinky breath or steady steps that had saved him. He knew with confidence that the Lord was his help: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (v. 8). The Creator of the world, and the Creator of David, delivered him time and again from those who wanted to steal, kill, and destroy him.
Think of the pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual feast, raising their eyes to the city of David, the one to whom God had promised a position, place, peace, and progeny. Like David, they too had known the threat of defeat, but their hope was in the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Or think of the pilgrims returning to Jerusalem after the exile. Think of how they had experienced the enemy in the form of the Babylonians, how they had been tempted to believe they were defeated. But their hope was also in the One who made heaven and earth.
Like David and the pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem or returning to Jerusalem after the exile, we also face danger and suffering. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ has come to our side to save us. Most importantly, He has come to deliver us from God’s anger that’s been kindled against us because of our rebellion against Him. If Jesus was not on our side, the wrath of God would consume us and we would be separated from Him forever in hell. But Jesus has been our help by living a life of perfect obedience on our behalf and by dying a cursed death in our place, turning God’s wrath away from us and bringing reconciliation between God and humankind.
As Christ’s ambassadors we have the amazing privilege to be messengers of reconciliation. When others rise up against us in anger we can move toward them in love. When floodwaters threaten to sweep us away we can stand steadfast in the faith. When sin threatens to undo us we can put on the full armor of God. And when addiction threatens to ensnare us we can cry out to our Helper in time of need. Through every danger and distress we can confidently declare, “Our help is in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 124:8).
