“Our help is in the name of Yahweh,
Who made heaven and earth.”
This short psalm ends with the simple phrase that help comes in the name of Yahweh, who is the creator of heaven and earth.
Psalm 124
Yahweh helped us escape (Ps 124:6-124:7)
“Blessed be Yahweh!
He has not given us
As prey to their teeth!
We have escaped
As a bird
From the snare of the fowlers.
The snare is broken.
We have escaped!”
Yahweh should be blessed because he has not given them over to the teeth of their enemies as prey. They had escaped like a bird from a snare trap. The snare trap was broken so that they were able to escape.
A song of thanksgiving to Yahweh (Ps 124:1-124:5)
A song of ascents, of David
“If it had not been Yahweh
Who was on our side,
Let Israel now say.
If it had not been Yahweh
Who was on our side,
When our enemies attacked us,
Then they would have swallowed us up alive.
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.”
Psalm 124 is another short song or psalm of thanksgiving on the pilgrimage ascending to Jerusalem, like the others in this series. Notice the repetition of the opening verses that made it easier to remember while moving on pilgrimage. If Yahweh was not on their side, they would have been swallowed up alive. Their enemies or the flood waters would have destroyed them. They were blessed that Yahweh was on their side of the battle against man and nature.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 