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Pentecost Season · Proper 16 · Year A

Psalm 124

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

August 23, 2026

King David in Prayer in an Initial B, Zanobi Strozzi
King David in Prayer in an Initial B, Zanobi Strozzi, c. 1450The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Inside a great blue letter B cut from a choir book, the aged King David kneels in a pink robe with his hands joined, looking up to God.If it had not been the Lord who was on our side … We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers … Our help is in the name of the Lord.Zanobi StrozziA Florentine painter and illuminator who worked beside Fra Angelico on the great choir books of San Marco.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkThe Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, one of the largest art museums in the world.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 16:13-20Mt 16:13-20
EpistleRom. 12:1-8Rom 12:1-8
Old TestamentExod. 1:8-2:10Ex 1:8-2:10Alt. OTIsa. 51:1-6Is 51:1-6
PsalterPs. 124Ps 124Alt. PsalmPs. 138Ps 138

Overview & Insights

"Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8)

A song of ascents in which Israel gives thanks that had the Lord not been on their side the flood of enemies would have swept them away, confessing that their help is in the name of the Lord.

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Take it further: Psalm 124

Commentary

Commentary on Psalm 124Commentary on Ps 124 Working Preacher

The Lutheran home commentary on the appointed psalm by a named seminary scholar.

Psalm 124 - If the LORD Had Not Been on Our SidePs 124 - If the LORD Had Not Been on Our Side Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the community's rescue from the snare.

Psalm 124:1 CommentariesPs 124:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on Israel's deliverance.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 124 (Hebrew and English)Ps 124 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

The Hebrew of the psalm alongside English with linked Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 124 (Catena)Ps 124 (Catena) Catena

Early church readings of the psalm of rescue as a song of the redeemed.

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