Psalm 124

Margaret P. Douroux has offered word and melody for a setting of Psalm 124, If It Had Not Been for the Lord. (It can be found in The Faith We Sing page 2053. Though the song was written in 1980, it sings and sounds like one of the older spirituals.)

If it had not been for the Lord on my side,
Tell me where would I be, where would I be.

He kept my enemies away; he let the sun shine through a cloudy day.
He rocked me in the cradle of his arm
When he knew I had been battered and scorned,
So if it had not been for the Lord on my side,
Tell me where would I be, where would I be.

He never left me all alone; he gave the peace and joy I’d never known.
He answered when I knelt to really pray,
And in vict’ry the Lord brought me his way,
So if it had not been for the Lord on my side,
Tell me where would I be, where would I be.

Isn’t it interesting that we need to be reminded of all that God has done for us? God delivered the Israelites for their captivity in slavery. God led them through the waters and brought them out of the wilderness. God showed them the way to make this new land their own. These people knew their history. They knew the power and care of their awesome God--and even they needed to be reminded of God’s gracious presence in their lives. Some things never change.

When life is going well, I can convince myself that I am in control—that I’ve got it all covered. When life is not going so well, I fret and worry, wondering where God’s help is. So often it is not until the crisis is over that I can look back to see the ways that God was there to carry me through all the difficulties as well as the good times.

“If it had not been for the Lord on my side” . . . You can fill in the situations, the problems, the joys of your own life. We all have seen sorrows and joys. But know that through it all, God was there for you – for us.

God did not stop with the activity and care the Psalmist knew long ago. God gave a Son to be with us, so that we might know in even better ways the protective, providing, caring, and gracious way of God’s love. Christ comes into the world to show us that God is for us. We are never alone.

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124: 8)
Thanks and praise be to our God—the God who is on our side. Amen.

Dr. Mark Conner
District Superintendent, Western District