Psalms 124:1-8

This Ps. is sung at the Feast of Purim to commemorate the deliverance from Haman. It is a gladsome lyric, thanking Jehovah for escape from heathen destruction, and may well have been composed under the impulse of deliverance from the Babylonian exile. In its formation it illustrates a particular rhythmic effect, viz. the ascending scale of a series of phrases.

1. Now may Israel say] what Israel says is Psalms 124:1-5.

3. Quick] RV ’alive,’ as Assyria and Babylon did to many nations.

4. Stream] better, ’torrent,’ the winter torrent familiar in Palestine. Over our soul] overwhelming the very life of the nation.