Psalms in Poetic Form: PSALM 124

Click here to read PSALM 124 in poetic form.

Background

Psalm 124 is in the Deuteronomy Book of the Psalms (Psalms 107-150). These 44 Psalms, like the Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, show God’s Word as the source of salvation, deliverance, and healing. This would be fully carried out in the life of the coming Messiah, the living Word, Jesus Christ. Whereas Psalm 119 showed that God would raise the Messiah from the dead to eternal life, Psalm 124 is the fifth of 15 “songs of the degrees” (Psalms 120-134) regarding God keeping Hezekiah alive (see the notes on Psalm 120 for more details).

Psalm 124, written by David, shows the Messiah trusting in the Lord to rescue him and help him escape his enemies.

Structure

(Messiah’s trust in the Lord)

(Verses 1,2) The Lord Who was on our side

(Verses 3-6) Our soul rescued from the proud waters

(Verse 7) Our soul escaped as a bird from the fowlers’ snare

(Verse 8) The Lord is our help

Key Scriptures

Verse 7—“Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.” This could refer to the words of Sennacherib who seized Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah (II Chronicles 32:1-22). Archeologists discovered Sennacherib’s annals inscribed on a number of artifacts. Most notable are three clay prisms inscribed with the same text: the Taylor Prism which is in the British Museum, the Oriental Institute Prism, which is in the Oriental Institute of Chicago, and the Jerusalem Prism, which is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

The siege of Jerusalem is mentioned, where Sennacherib says he has Hezekiah captured “as a bird in a cage.” Yet the Lord rescued Hezekiah and his people, because they trusted in Him. The snare was broken, and this “bird in a cage” escaped!

Note Hezekiah’s deliverance and Sennacherib’s sad, bitter end. II Chronicles 32:21,22: “And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.”

FOR FURTHER STUDY

All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader. Also available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. Enjoy!

You can also hear the author read them aloud on YouTube.

The entire blog series is now available in the publication The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.