“And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction.” ~ Daniel Defoe
https://ebible.com/esv/psalms/124
This is one of the few Psalms of Ascent where the writer is named. It’s attributed to King David who definitely knew about affliction and God’s deliverance both in big and small ways.
Twice, he says these words, “If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side…”
Because it’s emphasized twice, it is safe to say the main idea being highlighted in this Psalm is God fights for his people!
The men who rose up against Israel could have been one of many enemies. Maybe he is speaking of the Philistines, maybe the Ammonites, maybe the Syrians, or even members of David’s own household. But the terms “swallowed us up” and “the torrent gone over us” show the dire need of God’s intervention. Without it, David and his warriors would have experienced defeat and captivity. Instead, a way of escape was created by God and David took it.
The truth is that everyone of us suffer this same dire need–no matter our circumstances. Throughout our lifetimes we will experience situations that seem to come out of nowhere and threatened to sweep us away with the torrent. In those moments, we need God’s wisdom and His merciful hand to help us navigate out of the storm back into the sight of a clear horizon.
But, we need not forget that the main point of deliverance in which we need Father’s rescue is from the sin that is inherent in us all. When we are saved, we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Our citizenship changes. No longer are we dead in our sins, but we are made alive in Christ. However, that is just the beginning stages of the freedom that Jesus offers us. We then embark on a journey of becoming continually freed from the effects of sin, the spiritual warfare we encounter, and the division it all has brought into our souls.
The Greek word often used for anxious in the New Testament is merimnaó. It means divided into parts or pulled apart in opposite directions. It is the opposite of peace. The beautiful thing about the work of sanctification is that it is a continual healing of what has brought about anxiousness or division into our souls. And, it’s not conducive on external circumstances being calm and steady. As a matter of fact, we usually discover the division in the midst of a torrential rain.
This season has certainly afforded anxious circumstances for most of us. But, how many of us have allowed Father to make a way of escape through a deeper surrender to Him–an escape that brings a sense of balance and wholeness in the places within that have needed it.
There is another Psalm that David wrote where he prayed this exact thing, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24
This is the safest prayer one can pray. Do you know why? Because God loves to answer that prayer for his children. So much so, that when sincerely prayed, it ensures his deliverance on our behalf.
“If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side…”