1A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel now declare— 2if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, 3when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, 4then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us, 5then the raging waters would have swept us away. 6Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. 7We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away. 8Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The deliverance of the church. (1-5) Thankfulness for the deliverance. (6-8) 1-5 God suffers the enemies of his people sometimes to prevail very far against them, that his power may be seen the more in their deliverance. Happy the people whose God is Jehovah, a God all-sufficient. Besides applying this to any particular deliverance wrought in our days and the ancient times, we should have in our thoughts the great work of redemption by Jesus Christ, by which believers were rescued from Satan. 6-8 God is the Author of all our deliverances, and he must have the glory. The enemies lay snares for God's people, to bring them into sin and trouble, and to hold them there. Sometimes they seem to prevail; but in the Lord let us put our trust, and we shall not be put to confusion. The believer will ascribe all the honour of his salvation, to the power, mercy, and truth of God, and look back with wonder and thanksgiving on the way in which the Lord has led him. Let us rejoice that our help for the time to come is in him who made heaven and earth.