The Song of the Humble Heart

Ronnie Martin

1 If the LORD had not been on our side—

let Israel say—

2 if the LORD had not been on our side

when people attacked us,

3 then they would have swallowed us alive

in their burning anger against us.

4 Then the water would have engulfed us;

the torrent would have swept over us;

5 the raging water would have swept over us.

6 Blessed be the LORD,

who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net;

the net is torn, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

–Psalm 124

Big Idea: Our help is in the Lord—yesterday, today, and always.

1. Imagine If the Lord Had Not Helped

• Psalm 56:8-11: 8 You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me?

• The psalmist recalls Israel’s past affliction and repeats, “If the Lord had not been on our side,” highlighting both trauma and relief.
• God alone knew their enemies, stood against their enemies, and rescued His people from destruction.
• Believers also have stories where God’s help preserved them—sometimes in ways they didn’t expect—grounded ultimately in Christ (Rom 8:31–32).

2. Invite the Lord to Be Your Helper

• We often feel the pain of times when God seemed silent—fear, grief, loss, injury, or damaged reputation remain real wounds.
• As Eugene Peterson notes, no life is “safe,” but hope remains because nothing can separate us from Christ’s love. An unsafe life becomes secure in God’s sovereign care.
• “I don’t know one thing about the future. I don’t know what the next hour will hold. There may be sickness, accident, personal or world catastrophe. Still, despite my ignorance and surrounded by tinny optimists and cowardly pessimists, I say that God will accomplish his will, and I cheerfully persist in living in the hope that nothing will separate me from Christ’s love.” Eugene Peterson
• Jesus fully sympathizes with our weaknesses (Heb 4:15–16), inviting us to approach the throne of grace boldly to receive mercy and help.
• Hebrews 4:15-16: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

3. Application

• Spend some time recounting all the ways God has been your help in the past and the present.
• But the hope is that it will help you see that this Psalm is the song of the humble heart.