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Psalm 124 · a question people ask

Who were the men, and what was the flood? Does the psalm say what happened?

In the text

No. The title, "A Song of Ascents. By David" (124:1), names no event, and the psalm says only that "men rose up against us" (124:2). Its waters, stream and "proud waters" (124:4-5) come in a row of pictures, with being swallowed up alive (124:3), prey for teeth (124:6) and a bird in a snare (124:7), and the psalm doesn't say what any of them stood for. These notes don't name the enemies, an event or a time.

The verses

“A Song of Ascents. By David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say, if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us, then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul. Then the proud waters would have gone over our soul. Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped.”
Psalm 124:1-7 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 124

Psalm 124: If it had not been the LORD

Psalm 124 is an if and three thens. "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side" comes twice (124:1-2), then three verses of what would have happened, each opening in Hebrew with a word the Hebrew Bible has nowhere else. None of it happened: "The snare is broken, and we have escaped" (124:7), and the psalm ends, "Our help is in the LORD’s name" (124:8).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions