Originally posted: 12/08/2020
“Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive…” (124:1-3).
Remember when you were a kid, and during P.E. class or recess you had to choose sides for your team? The first one to be chosen was always the most talented, the most able and the most coveted player. And invariably you would hear someone cheer, “She’s on our side!”
This morning, as that scenario rolled across my mind, I sat dumbfounded, truly awestruck that we have the privilege to say, “He Is On Our Side!” And not because we chose Him… He chose us!
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. . In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, (Ephesians 1:3-5).
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… 19 We love, because He first loved us, (1 John 4:9-10, 19).
It is astounding to think on that truth; the Creator of the universe, so loved us as to choose us, to give His Son for us, to die for our sins to bring us into relationship with Himself, so that when we place our faith in Him, He Is On Our Side.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth, (124:8).
That thought should absolutely steal our very breath. And today, as we continue in these four “songs of ascents,” and humbly make our way into His Presence through faith in Jesus Christ, may we meditate with wonder on this Great Truth: the God Who made heaven and earth, the God of the entire universe, the God Who Is Sovereign over all His creation, He Is On Our Side!
Consider Him Who Is On Our Side
- He Is On Our Side to Save us from our enemy.
- “Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their anger was kindled against us,” (124:3).
- “Then they would have swallowed us alive,
- He Is On Our Side to Save us from the storm.
- “Then the waters would have engulfed us,
The stream would have swept over our soul;
5 Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul,” (124:4-5).
- “Then the waters would have engulfed us,
- He Is On Our Side to Save us from the trapper’s snare.
- Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth, (124: 6-8).
- Blessed be the Lord,
- He Is On Our Side to Surround us with His favor.
- As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever, (125:2).
- As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
- He Is On Our Side to Surround us with His righteousness.
- For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong, (125:3).
- For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,
- He Is On Our Side to Surround us with His goodness and peace.
- Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with the doers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel, (125:4-5).
- Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
- He Is On Our Side to Bring us to His joy.
- When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting… (1261-2:).
- When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
- He Is On Our Side to Bring us to His great things.
- …“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad, (126:2-3).
- …“The Lord has done great things for them.”
- He Is On Our Side to Bring us to His restoration.
- Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him, (126:4-6).
- Restore our captivity, O Lord,
- He Is On Our Side to Establish us in His purpose.
- Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain, (127:1).
- Unless the Lord builds the house,
- He Is On Our Side to Establish us in His rest.
- It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep, (127:2).
- It is vain for you to rise up early,
- He Is On Our Side to Establish us in His rewards.
- Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate, (127:3-4).
- Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
How do we respond to Him Who Is On Our Side?
I can’t help but think that our response must be to continually consider and meditate on the unbelievable, incomprehensible truth that He Is On Our Side.
- Let us pray and ask the Lord to solidify that reality deep within our soul, that we would daily depend upon the saving grace of Him Who Is On Our Side
- Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth, (124:8).
- Our help is in the name of the Lord,
- Let us pray and ask the Lord to solidify that reality deep within our soul, that we would daily trust the abiding security of Him Who Is On Our Side.
- Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever, (125:1).
- Those who trust in the Lord
- Let us pray and ask the Lord to solidify that reality deep within our soul, that we would daily rejoice in the great blessings of Him Who Is On Our Side.
- The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad, (126:3).
- The Lord has done great things for us;
- Let us pray and ask the Lord to solidify that reality deep within our soul, that we would daily surrender our plans and desires to Him Who Is On Our Side.
- Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain, (127:1).
- Unless the Lord builds the house,
Oh, may we just never get over it! He Is On Our Side! So much so that He proved His love and commitment by laying down His Life for us.
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13).
Oh, how much He has done for us; how much He has given for us; and how much He has to give. How can we not lay our lives down for Him in return? For in our laying down our life for Him, He Saves us by His Life, Surrounds us with His Life, Brings us to His Life and Establishes us in His Life. Oh, let us ask Him to empower us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him Who Is On Our Side.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it,” (Matthew 16:24-25).