There are some songs you only sing when you are on the road.
Not when you are sitting comfortably at home.
Not when life is smooth and predictable.
Not when everything is quiet and under control.
There are some songs that only come out when your feet are dusty,when your shoulders are tired, when the road has been longer than you expected.
Psalm 124 is one of those songs.
It belongs to a group of psalms called the Songs of Ascent—from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. These were the songs the people of Israel sang as they made their way up to Jerusalem for the great feasts.
That journey was not a small one. Some of them were shepherds who had spent long nights out in the fields, listening to the restless sounds of the dark.
Some were farmers who had wrestled with stubborn soil that did not always want to yield its harvest.
Some were merchants who had counted coins by candlelight, wondering if there would be enough for their families.
They came from different homes.
Different villages.
Different stories.
Some had known abundance.
Some had known loss.
Some came with laughter.
Some came with quiet sorrow tucked into their hearts.
But at certain times of the year, they all began walking in the same direction.
Toward Jerusalem.
Toward the temple.
Toward the place where they would worship the Lord together.
As they walked, they sang.
When the road grew steep, someone would begin Psalm 121:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.”
The others would join in.
Voices rising over the hills.
Feet moving in rhythm with the words.
But somewhere along the journey, another voice would begin Psalm 124.
Psalm 124 is not a gentle song.
It is not about green pastures.
It is not about still waters.
It is not about the beauty of Jerusalem.
It is about what almost happened.
It speaks of enemies rising up.
Of waters threatening to swallow them alive.
Of traps and snares and narrow escapes.
That raises a quiet question.
Why sing a song like that on the way to worship?
Why remember the dangers, the fears, the near disasters—when you are on your way to the house of the Lord?
Wouldn’t it be nicer to sing only about the good times?
The blessings?
The victories?
The peaceful seasons?
The pilgrims understood something we often forget.
A story that only remembers the good parts… is not the whole story.
If you only remember the easy seasons, you may start to believe you made it there on your own.
That is a dangerous illusion.
The deeper truth of the Christian life is this:
We are not here because we were strong.
We are here because we were helped.
We are not here because we always made the right decisions.
We are here because God was merciful when we made the wrong ones.
We are not here because the road was smooth.
We are here because the Lord walked it with us.
Psalm 124 is the song of people who know that.
It is the song of people who can look back over their lives and say:
“If the Lord had not been on our side…
we would not be here.”
So, before we rush into the future…
before we talk about plans and resolutions and new beginnings…
Psalm 124 invites us to do something much simpler.
It invites us to look back.
Then, to look up.
To remember the waters that almost swept us away.
To remember the traps that almost held us fast.
To remember the nights when we thought we would not make it.
Then to say, with quiet gratitude and rising confidence:
The Lord was there.
The Lord was faithful.
The Lord brought us through.
The question before us this morning is a simple one:
Where did your help really come from?
Even more important than that—
Where will your help come from now?
---000--- PART 1
“If the Lord Had Not Been on Our Side”
(Psalm 124:1–5)
Psalm 124 begins with a sentence that feels almost unfinished.
“If the Lord had not been on our side…”
It is as if the psalmist starts a thought and then pauses.
“If the Lord had not been on our side…”
What would have happened?
Then the people are invited to respond: “Let Israel now say…”
In other words, this is not a private meditation.
This is a shared memory.
This is a whole people looking back over their history together and saying: “If the Lord had not been on our side…
we would not be here.”
And then the psalm begins to fill in the picture.
“When people rose up against us, they would have swallowed us alive… when their anger was kindled against us.”
That is strong language.
Swallowed alive.
Raging waters.
Floods overwhelming the soul.
This is not a mild inconvenience.
This is not a bad day at work.
This is the language of near destruction.
The psalm is honest about that.
Faith in the Bible is not built on pretending life is easy.
It is not built on selective memory.
It does not ignore the hard seasons.
The psalmist says, in effect:
“There were times we almost didn’t make it.”
Times when the pressure was too much.
Times when the opposition was too strong.
Times when the waters rose higher than we thought we could survive.
If we are honest, most of us know something about those waters.
Some of us have known the waters of loneliness.
The kind that rise slowly, quietly, without anyone else noticing.
Some have known the waters of loss.
A chair at the table that is suddenly empty.
A voice that used to fill the house, now silent.
Some have known the waters of failure.
Choices we regret.
Words we wish we could take back.
Doors that closed because of our own mistakes.
Some have known the waters of fear.
Doctor’s offices.
Late-night worries.
Bills that don’t quite line up with the paycheck.
The psalm does not deny those waters.
It does not say, “The waters never came.”
It does not say, “The enemies never rose.”
It does not say, “Life was always easy.”
Instead, it says something much more honest.
It says: “If the Lord had not been on our side… the waters would have swept us away.”
In other words:
The danger was real.
The fear was real.
The loss was real.
But so was the Lord.
That is the heart of the psalm.
Not that trouble never came.
But that the Lord was there when it did.
Not that the road was smooth.
But that we were not alone on the road.
Not that we were strong.
But that God was faithful.
When you look back over your own life, you may begin to see the same pattern.
There were seasons when things almost fell apart.
Moments when one more problem would have been too much.
Days when you didn’t know how you would make it through.
But somehow, you did.
Not because you were stronger than everyone else.
Not because you were smarter than everyone else.
Not because you deserved an easier road.
But because, quietly, faithfully, steadily—
the Lord was on your side.
There were prayers you barely knew how to pray.
Still, He heard them.
There were mistakes you wish you could erase.
Still, He stayed with you.
There were nights when your faith was just a whisper.
Still, He held you.
So when the psalm says,
“If the Lord had not been on our side…”
it is not trying to frighten us.
It is trying to awaken gratitude.
It is saying:
Look back.
Look honestly.
Look at the places where things could have gone very differently.
Then say, with humble amazement: “If the Lord had not been on our side… I would not be here today.”
That realization changes the way we see everything.
It softens our pride.
It deepens our gratitude.
It steadies our hearts.
If the Lord was with us then…
He has not abandoned us now.
The God who stood with us in the raging waters is the same God who walks with us into whatever lies ahead.
---000--- PART 2
“The Snare Is Broken”
(Psalm 124:6–7)
After remembering the waters…
after remembering the danger…
after admitting how close things came to disaster…
the tone of the psalm begins to change.
It moves from what almost happened
to what God actually did.
Verse 6 says:
“Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.”
In other words:
It could have ended differently.
It could have gone another way.
We could have been swallowed.
We could have been consumed.
We could have been left with nothing.
But we were not.
Not because we were clever.
Not because we were fast.
Not because we were strong.
But because the Lord did not hand us over.
Then comes one of the most tender pictures in the psalm.
“We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowler;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.”
Notice what the verse does not say.
It does not say:
“We were too wise to get caught.”
“We saw the trap and avoided it.”
“We were better than the other birds.”
No.
The picture assumes something humbling.
The bird was in the snare.
Caught.
Trapped.
Unable to free itself.
If we are honest, that image is closer to the truth of our lives than we sometimes like to admit.
Because not all the dangers in our lives came from outside.
Some of the snares were of our own making.
There were choices we made
that tangled us up.
There were habits we returned to
that trapped us again.
There were words we spoke
that we could never take back.
There were seasons when we knew better…
and still did the wrong thing.
Once the snare closed,
we discovered something uncomfortable.
We were not strong enough to free ourselves.
We pulled.
We struggled.
We promised,
“This time I’ll do better.”
“This time I’ll change.”
“This time I’ll get it right.”
But the snare held tight.
Then—somewhere in the middle of our mess—
grace showed up.
Not because we deserved it.
Not because we had earned it.
Not because we finally proved ourselves worthy.
But because God is merciful.
The psalm says:
“The snare is broken,
and we have escaped.”
Notice who did the breaking.
The bird did not break the snare.
The snare was broken for the bird.
That is the story of the gospel.
We were not set free because we finally became strong enough.
We were not rescued because we finally cleaned up our lives.
We were set free because Christ stepped into the trap with us…
and broke it open.
At the cross, Jesus did not just stand at a distance and shout instructions.
He entered our snare.
He carried our guilt.
He took our shame.
He bore the weight of our failure.
And in His death and resurrection,
the snare was broken.
The chains of sin were broken.
The guilt that haunted us was broken.
The accusations that followed us were broken.
And now the psalm’s words become our testimony:
“The snare is broken, and we have escaped.”
Not because we were perfect.
But because Christ was faithful.
Not because we never fell.
But because He lifted us.
Not because we never wandered.
But because He came looking for us.
So when we look back over the year…
over the seasons of our lives…
we do not just see dangers we avoided.
We see traps we were pulled out of.
Mistakes we were forgiven for.
Places where grace met us when we least deserved it.
That is why the psalm begins to sound like praise:
“Blessed be the Lord…”
Because when you realize how close you came…
when you remember the snares you were caught in…
when you see how gently and faithfully God has carried you…
praise is no longer forced.
It becomes the only honest response.
Blessed be the Lord
who did not give us over.
Blessed be the Lord
who broke the snare.
Blessed be the Lord
who set us free.
---000--- PART 3
“Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord”
(Psalm 124:8)
After the memories…
after the dangers…
after the broken snare…
the psalm ends with a single, steady sentence.
“Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.”
That is the conclusion of the whole song.
Not a long speech.
Not a complicated explanation.
Just a simple, quiet confession.
“Our help is in the name of the Lord.”
Notice the psalm does not say:
“Our help was in the Lord.”
It says:
“Our help is in the name of the Lord.”
Present tense.
The God who helped us yesterday
is the same God who stands with us today.
The One who carried us through last year
is the One who walks with us into the next.
The psalm looks backward…
but it ends by pointing forward.
Remembering the past is not meant to trap us there.
It is meant to give us confidence for the road ahead.
When you look back and see the waters that didn’t drown you…
the enemies that didn’t swallow you…
the snares that didn’t hold you…
you begin to realize something.
You were never walking alone.
And if you were not alone then,
you are not alone now.
That is why the psalm ends the way it does.
“Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.”
The One who helps you
is not a small helper.
He is not a temporary solution.
He is not a fragile support system.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
The One who spoke galaxies into existence
is the One who steadies your heart.
The One who holds the oceans in His hands
is the One who holds your life together.
The One who set the stars in place
is the One who has carried you this far.
That changes the way we face the future.
The future is always uncertain.
We do not know what this next year will bring.
We do not know what conversations we will have to face.
What diagnoses may come.
What doors may open…
or what doors may close.
The road ahead is always, in some ways, a dark road.
And it is not wise to walk a dark road alone.
But the psalm gives us a quiet assurance.
You are not alone.
The Lord who helped you yesterday
is the Lord who walks beside you today.
The Lord who broke the snare behind you
is the Lord who goes before you.
The Lord who carried you through the waters
is the Lord who will meet you in whatever waters still lie ahead.
As we look forward, we do not put our trust in:
bank accounts
political systems
careers
possessions
other people’s approval
Those things may help for a moment.
But they cannot carry a soul.
The psalm gives us a simpler, deeper confession.
Not:
“My help is in my strength.”
Not:
“My help is in my plans.”
Not:
“My help is in my resources.”
But:
“Our help is in the name of the Lord.”
That name, for us, has a face.
That name is Jesus.
He is the help of God made visible.
The mercy of God made human.
The presence of God walking beside us on the road.
When we were caught in the snare,
He broke it.
When we were drowning in the waters,
He reached for us.
When we were lost,
He came looking.
Now, as we step into whatever lies ahead,
we do not step forward with fear.
We step forward with a quiet, steady confidence.
Not because we know the future.
But because we know the One
who holds it.
So the psalm leaves us with one simple, enduring confession:
We are still here
because the Lord was on our side.
We are still here
because the snare was broken.
We are still here
because our help
has always come
from the Lord.
---000--- CONCLUSION
“Look Back… Then Look Up”
Psalm 124 does something very simple.
It asks us to look back.
Then it asks us to look up.
It does not ask us to pretend life was easy.
It does not ask us to erase the hard parts.
It does not ask us to rewrite our story so that it looks cleaner or more impressive than it really was.
Instead, it says:
Look honestly.
Look carefully.
Look at the places where things almost fell apart.
Look at the waters that rose higher than you expected.
Look at the traps you didn’t see coming.
Look at the seasons when your strength ran out.
And then, after you have looked back…
look up.
Because the psalm is not really about the waters.
It is not really about the enemies.
It is not really about the snare.
It is about the Lord.
“If the Lord had not been on our side…”
That is the line that changes everything.
And if we are honest this morning, most of us can quietly say the same thing.
If the Lord had not been on our side…
Some of us would have lost our way completely.
Some of us would have drowned in our sorrow.
Some of us would have stayed trapped in our guilt.
Some of us would have given up a long time ago.
But we are still here.
Not because we were strong.
Not because we were wise.
Not because life was always kind.
We are still here because the Lord has been faithful.
He has carried us through waters we thought would drown us.
He has lifted us out of traps we thought would hold us forever.
He has stayed with us in seasons when even our own faith felt thin and fragile.
The greatest proof of that help is not a miracle you experienced…
not a bill that got paid…
not a problem that got solved.
The greatest proof of God’s help
is a cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem.
On that cross, Jesus entered the deepest snare of all—
sin, guilt, shame, and death itself.
And He broke it open from the inside.
The psalm’s confession becomes ours:
“The snare is broken, and we have escaped.”
Not because we were perfect.
But because Christ was faithful.
Not because we never fell.
But because He lifted us.
Not because we never wandered.
But because He came and found us.
So as we stand on the edge of the future—
whatever shape it takes—
we do not stand there alone.
The same Lord who helped us yesterday
is the Lord who walks with us tomorrow.
The same Christ who broke the snare behind us
is the Christ who goes before us.
So the question is not just:
Where did your help come from?
The deeper question is:
Where will your help come from now?
Will it come from your plans?
Your strength?
Your resources?
Your reputation?
Or will it come from the Lord?
Some of us came through waters this year.
Some came through fires.
Some came through valleys so dark we didn’t think morning would come.
But here we are.
Still breathing.
Still standing.
Still worshiping.
Because the Lord was on our side.
The psalm leaves us with this simple, steady confession:
“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
And if that is true—
if our help really is in the Lord—
then the future may be unknown,
but it is not frightening.
Because we are not walking into it alone.
The Lord who was on our side yesterday
is still on our side today.
He will be on our side tomorrow.
So we can say it quietly…
or we can say it with joy…
or we can say it with tears in our eyes…
We can say it with confidence:
Our help has always come from the Lord.
