September 2 — Psalm 124

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say—if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like 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.”

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and Thou forgavist the iniquities of my sins.”

This is how I remember beginning the services of my Lutheran church when I was a kid. It is an immediate confession and a promise of forgiveness from the get-go of our worship lives. We all need help from time to time — and this was the message of our last devotion. Today let’s look at how it is we should ask for help.

In the Psalm, the writer says his help is in the Lord — and he adds a reason why he reaches out to the Lord for this help: because the Lord made everything. The Lord created all things. As such, if there is someone we should look to for help, it is the Lord. The Psalmist states:

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say….then they would have swallowed us up alive”

That is the positive truth which we come to worship the Lord, which we come to the Lord in prayer, in which we live our lives.

The theme of dependence on the Lord in a hostile and difficult world is a recurring feature of the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134). Psalm 124 is like 121 which is like Psalm 23 in many ways — in particular, the psalm as a testimony to G-d’s providence in the life of believers through Jesus Christ. We just need to live lives where we worship the Lord often, we pray daily, and we live in the confident trust of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Let us Pray:

Helper and defender of Israel, rescue the peoples of the world from destructive anger, and set us free to love and serve each other in the peace of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.