Psalms 124

Psalms 107:150

Gordon Churchyard

Psalms 124

Psalms For Climbing;

Psalms 120:134

Jesus said, "We will go up to Jerusalem" (Luke 18:31).

The Story of Psalms 120:134

These 15 psalms are called "Songs of Ascent" in many Bibles. "Ascent" means "going up". This translation calls it "climbing". But what are we climbing? Bible students give us 4 answers:

• One line in the psalm "climbs" on the line in front of it. This means that it repeats the line. Read the start of Psalms 124 for an example.

• There were 15 steps from where the women stood to where the men stood outside the *temple. The *temple was God's house in Jerusalem. As the men climbed the steps, they sang one psalm on each step. This is why most of the psalms for climbing are short.

• Jerusalem was on the top of a hill called "Zion". The *Jews often went to Jerusalem to worship God at the *temple. "Worship" means "Tell God how *wonderful that he is. And tell him that you love him". The *Jews sang these psalms for climbing as they went up to Jerusalem.

• Hezekiah was a king of the *Jews. He was so ill that he thought he would soon die. He prayed for a longer life. God made the clock "climb" back 10 degrees. This was about an hour. It was a sign that Hezekiah would live another 15 years. Hezekiah made a book of 15 psalms, 10 of them new, the other 5 by David and Solomon. The story is in Isaiah chapter 38.

We do not know which of these is the true answer. It may be something else! Perhaps answers 3 and 4 are the true answers.

Who wrote the psalms for climbing? Some are by David, and one or two are by Solomon. Solomon was David’s son. The other psalms for climbing may be by Hezekiah or one of his friends like Isaiah; or by Ezra or Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah were leaders of the *Jews 500 years after Solomon built the *temple, or 250 years after Hezekiah was king. This was when the *Jews made the Book of Psalms. The psalms for climbing were part of this Book of Psalms.

Psalms 124

(This is) a song for climbing by David.

v1 If the *LORD was not fighting for us – now Israel say it –

v2 - v5 if the *LORD was not fighting for us when men attacked:
• they would have eaten us alive because they were so angry,
• waters would have rushed over us
and a deep river would be over our heads,
• the angry waters would have gone over our heads and drowned us.

v6 We will say good things to the *LORD.
He did not let them eat us.

v7 We are free and still alive, like a bird that got out of a *trap.
The *trap became broken and we are free.

v8 The name of the person that sent us help is the *LORD.
He made *heaven and earth.

What Psalms 124 means

Some Bible students think that David wrote this psalm when he was fighting the Philistines. The Philistines lived west of David’s people, Israel. David thought that the Philistines would win, but they did not. God gave David and his people help. Later, Hezekiah and Nehemiah may have used this psalm. God gave them all help to beat their enemies.

A *trap is something to catch an animal or bird in. David felt that Israel was in a *trap. But God made them free! Their enemies wanted to eat Israel, but God did not let them. This means that they wanted to kill them. But God did not let them. It is a word-picture. Another word-picture is the river. If God had not sent help, the river would have drowned Israel. The enemy was not a river. But the river was a picture of what the enemy could do.

This is how the *Jews said the psalm. A man at the front said the beginning of verse 1. He then said, "Now Israel say it". And they repeated what he said, and then the rest of the psalm.

Something to do

In verse 6 is "say good things to". Most people translate this "*bless". "*Bless" also means "do good things to". Look at the Psalms for Climbing, and find other places where we could use the word "*bless".
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
wonderful ~ great and surprising.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
trap ~ thing that you catch animals or birds in.
heaven ~ the home of God.
bless ~ say good things, or do good things, to someone.
bless ~ say good things, or do good things, to someone.