Our Help is in the name of the Lord Psalm 124.

Praise the Lord and Happy New Year Church. I am very glad and grateful to God for yet another
year to Love Him Supremely and Love others joyfully. What a might God we serve. The last 5
days have been a time for us as a family to hope in God having three sick children and seeing
them fighting for their lives has taught me as a parent to trust in the Lord. Last week, we learnt
from God’s Word that our Hope is God alone. I pray He will fill us with full Joy and Peace.

Introduction

A few days into the year, God wants to remind us that our help is in His name. This Psalm is part
of the fifteen Palms of ascent. Psalm 124 teaches that our help is in God’s name and that we can
surely depend on Him. I pray that as the year begins we shall continually depend on God for his
help. Let’s pause a minute and ponder on the last time you had to totally depend on God’s help.
In that time, where if God had not bailed you out you would be done?

In 2016, I had been kicked out of the Church where I had served for eighteen years, we had
Benjamin on the way, I was thrown in Luzira for 3 days and had an eight month court case. I can
honestly say, hadn’t the Lord been on my side I would have sunk. It’s easy to think we can
depend on God only in bad times but the fact of the matter is we depend on God all the time.
You and I need God and Jesus, every day, all the times and always.

I can only imagine like in Psalm 124 what would have happened to me hadn’t the Lord come to
my rescue. Imagine what would happen if the Lord had not come to your rescue in that tight
place. Let’s think about this Psalm as a huge prison break. Because the writer speaks about
escaping from a hazard and calamity, and he does not escape by His might, strength or power but
because of God’s help.

Psalm 124 teaches that you and I can and must depend on God. And we learn to do the following
as we learn to depend on God for His help; Know the difference God makes in your life; Praise
God for His protection and deliverance; continually tell others about how God helped you.

1. Confirm that God makes a difference in your life. Vs. 1-5. The most repeated word here
is “if”. The reason it is repeated is for emphasis. The Psalmist is trying to ask the
Children of Israel what would have happened if the Lord had not been on their side. Let’s
also think in the same mind, if God had not come to your rescue what would have
happened?

Consider the figure of speech here; he talks about evil men; the flood. The evil men
would have swallowed them alive; the flood would have engulfed them. Hadn’t the Lord
been on our side all this would have been over? When God is on your side there is a huge
difference. These first verses prompt us to ask two questions; where would we be without
God? Second question is if God is for you who can be against you?
 Imagine how your life would be without God, protect, deliver or save you? (John 15:5),
do ever ponder that without God and Jesus in your life you are utterly nothing?
(Galatians 6:3), says don’t deceive yourself that you are something without God. Now
that you know you are nothing without God, how would your life be without God?

There is such a joy and comfort to know that the almighty God is on your side. When
God is in your life and on your side, He is able to give you all that you need in your life.
Just imagine, if He gave us Jesus, what isn’t he able to do for us? Our help is in the name
of the Lord.

2. Praise God for deliverance and protection (Vs. 6-7). The writer now shifts from what
would have happened to actually what did not happen. God is able to deliver from both
potential dangers (men and floods) but also from present dangers (traps). Imagine being
caught by a fierce animal (lion) or may be a dog. And the animal is determined to tear
you to pieces. At that moment God comes to your rescue.

In (Isaiah 43:2) God has promised us protection that is why we praise Him. And He has
pledged to keep us from all harm (Psalm 121:7-8). Praise God for His protection day and
night. God is able to protect us from every trap. Imagine a rat trap, get your fingers and
also imagine a fish with the hook. Three great escapes, jaws of wild animals, floods and
now even the traps.

Aren’t we happy that all that the writer talked about did not actually happen? Praise God
who is able to save us all the time.

3. Continually tell others about how God has graciously helped you. Vs. 8. Our help is in
the name of the Lord. This verse connects to Psalm 121:1 when we wake up and lift our
eyes to all the needs we have, our help comes from God. Praise the Lord. It is the Lord
who is able to do all things and for His glory. You and I need to acknowledge that it’s
God who does all these (Psalm 115:1) Not us at all.

When you tell others what God has done, they too will learn to depend on God and serve
Him. Like (Psalm 20:7), some people trust in chariots and others horses, but our help is
in the name of the Lord.

So what?

Let’s all testify that God brings a whole big difference in our lives. Praise God that because He is
on our side, men cannot swallow us alive, floods cannot run us over and we ever be trapped by
sin forever. I pray that as we welcome 2020, we can continually depend on God. We need all the
time and always.

Let’s Pray.