Studies in Psalms – Psa 124:4-8 “If God be for Us, Who can be Against Us?” – Part 2

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Psa 124:4-8 “If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Part 2

[Study aired July 25, 2019]

Psa 124:4  Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: 
Psa 124:5  Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. 
Psa 124:6  Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 
Psa 124:7  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 
Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 

Last week’s study with the first three verses of Psalm 124 started off with the thought that this “Song of degrees of David” reminds us of our vulnerability in the flesh which is a shadow of our vulnerability in the spirit (Rom 1:20) where “men [rise] rose up against us” and that there is no doubt we would be destroyed spiritually if the Lord did not protect us. We looked at the verses which remind us He is our stronghold and the one who is preventing us from being “swallowed up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us” of verse 3.

Psa 61:3  For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 

Pro 18:10  The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. [how we run into it and are made safe is describe in these verses (Jas 4:7-10)]
Pro 18:11  The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. 

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 

We believe that “our help is in the name of the LORD [in His voice, and in His words], who made heaven and earth”, and through judgment which is upon the house of God, we are being healed by that word which convicts us and judges us, as we are sanctified together as the body of Christ. 

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 

Jer 51:16  When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. [Isa 28:17]

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

In this study, we will look at the remaining five verses of this psalm reminding us that God is our helper on whom we can continue to cast our cares upon as we go through our various trials in this life which He makes a way for us to be able to bear. There are many confirming verses pointing to our Father who loves us and commands us to commit our ways unto him as unto a faithful Creator so that we can be strengthened, settled and established in the Lord “after that ye have suffered a while”.

1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

Psa 37:5  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Pro 16:3  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. 

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth [Php 2:13] the will of God abideth for ever.

In order to overcome the adversary, we are told that we must “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”, and that particular verse is surrounded by the most important context that tells us that our spiritual sobriety in the Lord, our vigilance, or diligence, is accomplished when we cleave unto the Lord and cast all our cares upon our Father who cares for us. Doing that will make it possible for us to stedfastly resist the adversary who is constantly seeking whom he may devour. That is the war that is going on in each of our heavens every day, 24/7, and the Lord is constantly at peace and in control making a way where there sometimes appears to be none in the flesh, or in the sea.

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [Heb 12:4]
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 
Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up [Isa 66:2].

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 

Mar 4:38  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 
Mar 4:39  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [Psa 107:30] 
Mar 4:40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 

Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Isa 43:16  Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 
Isa 43:17  Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 
Isa 43:18  Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 
Isa 43:19  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

We can’t humble ourselves, as these verses demonstrate (Job 28:11, Pro 30:19, Psa 89:9), but if we are the workmanship of His hands, we will be experiencing those humbling moments, together, at the hand of God which will keep us and not let the proud waves of man’s heart within and without “swallow us up quick” as they could so easily do (Psa 124:5).

Job 28:11  He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. 
Job 28:12  But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 
Job 28:13  Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. 
Job 28:14  The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. 
Job 28:15  It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 
Job 28:16  It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 
Job 28:17  The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 
Job 28:18  No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. 
Job 28:19  The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. 
Job 28:20  Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? 
Job 28:21  Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 
Job 28:22  Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 
Job 28:23  God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 
Job 28:24  For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; 
Job 28:25  To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 
Job 28:26  When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: 
Job 28:27  Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 
Job 28:28  And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

These four categories of which we read in Proverbs 30:18-20, in the negative sense, are talking about the pride of life within the first man Adam, whose thoughts are proud and lofty, symbolized by the unclean eagle that can’t know that “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9). 

Pro 30:18  There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 
Pro 30:19  The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. 
Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. 

Secondly, the proud serpent or the deceitful heart of the crooked serpent which continues to rule over our hearts even when we declare that we are “upon the rock” is also in discussion and must be destroyed through a process, by the brightness of His coming into our lives (1Co 10:12, Rev 13:11, Eph 6:13). 

Thirdly, the proud ship in our seas, when spoken of in the negative, is when we believe we are the masters of our own destiny where we must have that experience of evil as a ship in the midst of the sea, being answered according to the idol of our hearts as we are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14). Only when Christ is in our midst, as we recently talked about on Aaron’s study, can we then have the calm that comes with knowing our Lord and His Christ (Psa 107:30, Php 4:7). 

Finally, the fourth category shows us the whole of mankind has to experience this pride of life and especially see how we do not know how to conduct ourselves in regard to our relationship with Christ and the body of Christ. This is what must occur at first, demonstrating, as the next verse shows, that the natural way of our religious relationship with Christ unfolds as “a man with a maid”, is adulterous: “such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness”. That adulterous heart is the heart of our first Adam that needs to be cleansed of all such adultery, and will be in the appointed time by the life of Christ within us who will cleanse us of all our pride and adultery and false doctrine, and will be destroyed by His power.

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

Psa 51:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 
Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 
Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 

2Co 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 
2Co 6:15  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 
2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 
2Co 7:2  Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. 

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Psa 124:4  Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: 
Psa 124:5  Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. 

The proud waters spoken of in these verses we can only overcome through Christ (Col 1:27, Rom 8:37) are within us (1Jn 2:16), and that pride comes before the fall (Pro 16:18). 

With Christ in us, we can confidently look at these first two verses we are reading in this study, and say, “This is speaking of me, of my soulH5315 that is being washed with the water of the word so the pride of life within me is decreasing and being destroyed as Christ increases (Eph 5:22-26, Joh 3:30).”

This pride of life is in all men’s hearts, and Christ tells us nothing can defile us which comes from without [outside of ourselves (Mar 7:15)] including the proud hearts which surround us in this life manifesting that pride as a result of the powers and principalities God allows to control the proud nations both within and without.

Isa 30:27  Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: 
Isa 30:28  And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. 

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

God is training us up to know how to walk in and out and among so great a people in the night, changing our hearts, softening them so that the pride of life is no longer controlling our life, and we also grow in wisdom knowing how to walk in this world and interact with the pride of life with which we constantly deal (Pro 13:20 et al). This story of Solomon refers to “a dream by night” where God works with us and worked with Solomon when he saw himself as “a little child” (Psa 77:2-6, Mat 18:3).

1Ki 3:5  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 
1Ki 3:6  And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 
1Ki 3:7  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 
1Ki 3:8  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 
1Ki 3:9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
1Ki 3:10  And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 
1Ki 3:11  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness [in the night like Solomon with his dream, and the dream is one for the body of Christ] into his marvellous light: 

Lev 26:13  I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt [out of darkness], that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. 

Psa 77:2  In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 
Psa 77:3  I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 
Psa 77:4  Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 
Psa 77:5  I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 
Psa 77:6  I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. 

Psa 124:6  Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 

Israel was delivered in the most profound and miraculous way, for our sakes to observe and contemplate and consider that God, first of all, can and does deliver us and then calls us to remember that deliverance and give thanks to Him for it (Deu 5:15, after describing those spiritual conditions that God is forming within His workmanship in order to deliver us 2Pe 1:1-8, we read 2Pe 1:9).

Deu 5:15  And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 
2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 
2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 
2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 
2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

We are not worthy of that deliverance, and yet God says, for His sake these things will happen (Joh 1:27), and ultimately for the sake of all humanity who will come to learn of His great mercy and tenderness toward those who were predestined to be delivered from the bondage of sin in this age, in advance of the great unwashed masses so to speak.

Joh 1:27  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 

We therefore say, “Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.” The teeth may physically gnash on us, but if God is our helper, the vision we will receive through Christ and His body will be what it takes so we do not perish spiritually but endure to the end (outwardly Act 7:54, inwardly first for God’s elect Luk 13:28, Pro 29:18).

Act 7:54  When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Luk 13:28  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you 

Act 7:55  But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 
Act 7:56  And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 

Pro 29:18  Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. 

Psa 124:7  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 

Nobody understands this process of how “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers” and yet God shows those who are His children in this age the bondage which is in Adam and how only He can make war with that beast so that we can say, “The snare is broken, and we are escaped.

These verses in Revelation 13 explain the process of how “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped“.

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 
Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 
Rev 13:9  If any man have an ear, let him hear [Rev 1:3].
Rev 13:10  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 
Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 
Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 
Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 
Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding [Rev 1:3] count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. 

Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 

If God is our helper and our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth, who is it that is going to separate us from the love of God?

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 
Heb 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 
Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 
Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 
Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 

God has given the elect in this age the answer to how we can overcome and why we can say with confidence day by day as we die daily and live out our lives to His glory “If God be for us, who can be against us?

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