Psalm 124 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 124 Short Summary:

Psalm 124 was written by King David of Israel. In it, he reminded his people that their nation was able to defeat their enemies ONLY because God was supporting them. He didn’t want the people to think their success was a result of their own strength. In fact, he wrote that their enemies would have overwhelmed them like a flood if God hadn’t held them back.

Psalm 124 Summary

AUTHOR:

• King David wrote Psalm 124.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Known New Testament References.

THEMES:

• The nation of Israel was protected from their enemies by God’s strength.

DEFINITIONS:

• Song of Ascents (124:1) – The exact meaning of this term is debated, but many believe it was a label applied to psalms the people of Israel sang as they were travelling to Jerusalem for the holy days. Jerusalem was on the top of a hill, so the people would have physically ascended as they walked up to the city.

• Fowler (124:7) – A bird hunter.

OUTLINE:

• THE LORD PRESERVES ISRAEL FROM THEIR ENEMIES (124:1-8):

  • David was keenly aware that without God’s help the nation of Israel would have been overrun by their enemies.

  • Their success and longevity were a product of God’s help.

  • David didn’t want his people to forget this fact, so he wrote this psalm to remind them.

  • He instructed the people to repeat after him in saying, “if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive” (124:2-3).

  • God was the damn that held back their enemies from rushing over them like a flood.

  • They would have been like prey in the mouth of a predator without God. Instead, they were like a bird that escaped the trap of a bird hunter.

  • “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (124:8).

APPLICATION:

• David didn’t want to worship God alone; he wanted the people around him to worship too.

• He knew his nation would be better off the more people recognized God’s blessings.

• Our faith shouldn’t be something that begins and ends with us, we should be looking for ways to strengthen the faith of others.

• Obviously, we can’t force our faith on other people, but we can be encouragers and assistants to other people’s faith.

• This is one of the reasons the community of the Church is important. Within the Church, we give encouragement to others and receive encouragement from others on a collective journey to Heaven.