Psalm 124:4,Psalm 124:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 124:1-5

The people of God, being here called upon to praise God for their deliverance, are to take notice, I. Of the malice of men, by which they were reduced to the very brink of ruin. Let Israel say that there was but a step between them and death: the more desperate the disease appears to have been the more does the skill of the Physician appear in the cure. Observe, 1. Whence the threatening danger came: Men rose up against us, creatures of our own kind, and yet bent upon our ruin. Homo homini... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 124:4

Then the waters had overwhelmed us ,.... People, comparable to waters for their multitude, Strength, force, and impetuosity; which bear down all before them, and against which there is no standing; which, like the waters of the flood, overflow and destroy all they pass over. These are the floods of ungodly men, which are very destructive and terrible; see Revelation 17:15 ; together with all those reproaches, afflictions, and persecutions, which come along with them; which the presence of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 124:4

Verse 4 4.The waters had then overwhelmed us. He embellishes by an elegant metaphor the preceding sentiment, comparing the dreadful impetuosity of the enemies of the Jews to an inundation, which swallows up whatever it meets with in its overflowing course. And he continues to preserve the character of a man affrighted. He names the waters, next the torrent, thirdly, the proud or impetuous waters. He says, over us, and over our soul, as if, by presenting the thing to the eye, he intended to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

Divine deliverance. The spirit which breathes in this psalm is one of keen thankfulness. Nothing calls out so deep and strong a sense of indebtedness to God (or to man) as a consciousness that we owe to him an escape from a great calamity. We bless the Lord with the most fervent gratitude as we realize that he has healed our disease and redeemed our life from destruction ( Psalms 103:1-4 ). We ought to be mindful of all his benefits, and accept them as they come , one after... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

But for the Lord. The psalm is a contemplation of the distress that must have come upon God's people but for the Lord's timely help. I. IT IS THE LANGUAGE OF ISRAEL 'S GRATITUDE . We cannot tell what were the exact circumstances which are referred to; but many times in Israel's history had there been the threatening of overwhelming calamity. In the old times, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Judah and Jerusalem, as during the invasion of Sennacherib, when they were carried... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

The believer's safeguard. "If Jehovah had not been on our side," etc. The last psalm was the sigh of an exile in Babylon waiting upon God for deliverance. This psalm is the joyful acknowledgment that the deliverance has been accomplished. The next (125.) describes the safety of the exiles restored to their native land, and girt round by the protection of Jehovah. I. GOD IS ON OUR SIDE WHEN HE SEEMS MOST AGAINST US . As he was on the side of the Israelites both... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:2-4

Jehovah's effective resistance. Perowne thinks that the figures of these verses remind of the earlier deliverance from Egypt. "The Egyptians did ' rise up' against them. Pharaoh and his chariots and his horsemen followed hard after them, and did seem as if about to swallow them up, when they were entangled in the wilderness. The waves of the Red Sea overwhelming their enemies might have suggested naturally the figure by which the might of those enemies was itself compared to swelling... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:4

Then the waters had overwhelmed us . A sudden and startling change of metaphor. In the quick transition of Oriental thought, the fire becomes a flood—an irresistible torrent-stream , carrying all before it (comp. Psalms 18:4 ; Psalms 144:7 ). The stream had gone over our soul ; i . e . "had mounted up over our heads, and stifled our breath of life." read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 124:4

Then the waters had overwhelmed us - Our destruction would have been as if the waves of the ocean had overwhelmed us.The stream had gone over our soul - The torrent would have swept us away. Compare Psalms 18:4, Psalms 18:16. read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 124:1-5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 124:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 124:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:2-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 124:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 124:4

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