Psalm 124 | |
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"If it had not been the LORD who was on our side" | |
Song of Ascents | |
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Related | |
Language | Hebrew (original) |
Psalm 124 | |
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Book | Book of Psalms |
Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
Order in the Hebrew part | 1 |
Category | Sifrei Emet |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 124 is the 124th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 123. In Latin it is known as "Nisi quia Dominus". [1] It is one of fifteen psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). Using "conventional metaphors", [2] it recalls the dangers faced by Israel from which the nation has been rescued.
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican liturgies as well as Protestant psalmody. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set the psalm in the 1690s as Nisi quia Dominus erat, H. 217, for soloists, chorus and continuo, and it was paraphrased in two psalm songs by Protestant Reformers which were set as chorale cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach.
The following table shows the Hebrew text [3] [4] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) |
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1 | שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד לוּלֵ֣י יְ֭הֹוָה שֶׁהָ֣יָה לָ֑נוּ יֹאמַר־נָ֝֗א יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | A Song of Ascents; of David. 'If it had not been the LORD who was for us', Let Israel now say; |
2 | לוּלֵ֣י יְ֭הֹוָה שֶׁהָ֣יָה לָ֑נוּ בְּק֖וּם עָלֵ֣ינוּ אָדָֽם׃ | 'If it had not been the LORD who was for us, When men rose up against us, |
3 | אֲ֭זַי חַיִּ֣ים בְּלָע֑וּנוּ בַּחֲר֖וֹת אַפָּ֣ם בָּֽנוּ׃ | Then they had swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; |
4 | אֲ֭זַי הַמַּ֣יִם שְׁטָפ֑וּנוּ נַ֝֗חְלָה עָבַ֥ר עַל־נַפְשֵֽׁנוּ׃ | Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul; |
5 | אֲ֭זַי עָבַ֣ר עַל־נַפְשֵׁ֑נוּ הַ֝מַּ֗יִם הַזֵּידוֹנִֽים׃ | Then the proud waters Had gone over our soul.' |
6 | בָּר֥וּךְ יְהֹוָ֑ה שֶׁלֹּ֥א נְתָנָ֥נוּ טֶ֝֗רֶף לְשִׁנֵּיהֶֽם׃ | Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. |
7 | נַפְשֵׁ֗נוּ כְּצִפּ֥וֹר נִמְלְטָה֮ מִפַּ֢ח י֫וֹקְשִׁ֥ים הַפַּ֥ח נִשְׁבָּ֗ר וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ נִמְלָֽטְנוּ׃ | Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we are escaped. |
8 | עֶ֭זְרֵנוּ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. |
The psalm is recited following Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol. [5]
According to the Rule of St Benedict around 530 AD, this psalm was traditionally performed for the office of sext from Tuesday to Saturday. [6] In the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 124 is currently recited at the Vespers of the Monday of the third week. [7]
It also is the source of the ubiquitous versicle ℣: Our help is in the name of the Lord ℟: who created Heaven and Earth, especially used for introductions of any sort, which is the psalm's verse 8.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Psalm 123 (Psalm 124 in the Masoretic Text) is part of the eighteenth Kathisma division of the Psalter, read at Vespers on Friday evenings. During Lent, it is read every weekday evening at Vespers and at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. [8]
This Psalm is the basis of the Second Antiphon of the Anabathmoi sung at Matins on Sundays of Tones 2 and 6.
In 1524, the psalm was paraphrased in German by the Protestant reformers Justus Jonas and Martin Luther. Jonas wrote "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält", Luther "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit".
The 1650 Scottish Psalter offers two separate versions of this psalm in metrical form. The first which opens "Had not the Lord been on our side" is set in the common metre while the second version, "Now Israel may say, and that truly" is in 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 metre.
Two hymns in German were derived from Psalm 124 as metred paraphrases, Martin Luther's "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" and "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält" by Justus Jonas, both in 1524.
In 1694, Michel-Richard de Lalande composed a motet with regard to Psalm 124 (S. 42), for the services of Louis XIV, in the royal chapel of the Chateau of Versailles. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set in 1690s one "Nisi quia Dominuserat in nobis" H.217, for soloists, chorus and continuo.
Heinrich Schütz composed a setting of the hymn "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit", SWV 229, for the Becker Psalter , published first in 1628.
Johann Sebastian Bach created chorale cantatas from the two paraphrases of the psalm by reformers, Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 178 , first performed on 30 July 1724, [9] and Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14 , first performed on 30 January 1735. [10] Many composers wrote chorale preludes for the two hymns.
A setting of the psalm is part of the album Ascents , a collection of setting of Psalms 120-131 written and performed by Dennis Culp in the 1990s, and released in 2000. Psalm 124 is titled "My Help". A setting of the psalm is part of the album Fractures , a collection of psalms settings (16, 60, 68, 134, 34 and 124) by Sons of Korah, and released in 2017. The concluding Psalm 124 is titled "Out of the Snare".
The gravestone of the artist Florence St John Cadell bears a line from Psalm 124: "even as a bird out of the fowler's snare".
"Old Hundredth" is a hymn tune in long metre, from the second edition of the Genevan Psalter. It is one of the best known melodies in many occidental Christian musical traditions. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Louis Bourgeois.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14, in Leipzig in 1735 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 30 January 1735, a few weeks after his Christmas Oratorio. The cantata, in Bach's chorale cantata format, is based on Martin Luther's hymn "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit". Its text paraphrases Psalm 124, focussing on the thought that the believers' life depends on God's help and is lost without it.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25 in Leipzig for the 14th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 29 August 1723.
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält is a chorale fantasia for organ composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in the early 18th century, likely between 1705 and 1710. The Zahn 4441a hymn tune for Justus Jonas's 1524 hymn "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält", a paraphrase of Psalm 124, is the basis of the composition.
"Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein" is a Lutheran chorale of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther paraphrasing Psalm 12. It was published as one of eight songs in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal, the Achtliederbuch, which contained four songs by Luther, three by Speratus, and one by Justus Jonas. It was contained in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion. It is part of many hymnals, also in translations. The text inspired vocal and organ music by composers such as Heinrich Schütz, who set it as part of his Becker Psalter, and Johann Sebastian Bach, who based a chorale cantata on it. Mozart used one of its tunes in his opera The Magic Flute.
"Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Psalm 124. The hymn in three stanzas of seven lines each was first published in 1524. It was translated to English and has appeared in 20 hymnals. The hymn formed the base of several compositions, including chorale cantatas by Buxtehude and Bach.
Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge, BWV 120.2, is a wedding cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed and first performed it in Leipzig, most likely in 1729.
Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BWV 126, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed the chorale cantata in 1725 in Leipzig for the Sunday Sexagesimae, the second Sunday before Lent, and first performed it on 4 February 1725. It is based on the hymn "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort" by Martin Luther, published in 1542. The hymn text at Bach's time also included two stanzas by Justus Jonas and Luther's "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich".
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101, in Leipzig for the tenth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 13 August 1724. It is based on the seven stanzas of the hymn of the same name by Martin Moller (1584), which is sung to the tune of "Vater unser im Himmelreich", Luther's metred paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer. The tune is featured prominently in six of the work's seven movements.
There are 52 chorale cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach surviving in at least one complete version. Around 40 of these were composed during his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which started after Trinity Sunday 4 June 1724, and form the backbone of his chorale cantata cycle. The eldest known cantata by Bach, an early version of Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, presumably written in 1707, was a chorale cantata. The last chorale cantata he wrote in his second year in Leipzig was Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, first performed on Palm Sunday, 25 March 1725. In the ten years after that he wrote at least a dozen further chorale cantatas and other cantatas that were added to his chorale cantata cycle.
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 178, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the eighth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 30 July 1724.
"Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält" is a Lutheran hymn by Justus Jonas, a paraphrase of Psalm 124 in eight stanzas. It was first published in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion. The theme of the psalm is the need of help against raging enemies. It has been translated also as "Where the Lord God does not stand (stay) with us", "If God the Lord is not with us", "If God the Lord is not on our side", among others.
Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second Sunday after Easter. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig and first performed it on 8 April 1731. It is based on the hymn by Wolfgang Meuslin, a paraphrase of Psalm 23 written in 1530, sung to a melody by Nikolaus Decius.
"Vater unser im Himmelreich" is a Lutheran hymn in German by Martin Luther. He wrote the paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer in 1538, corresponding to his explanation of the prayer in his Kleiner Katechismus. He dedicated one stanza to each of the seven petitions and framed it with an opening and a closing stanza, each stanza in six lines. Luther revised the text several times, as extant manuscript show, concerned to clarify and improve it. He chose and possibly adapted an older anonymous melody, which was possibly associated with secular text, after he had first selected a different one. Other hymn versions of the Lord's Prayer from the 16th and 20th-century have adopted the same tune, known as "Vater unser" and "Old 112th".
Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale cantata cycle is the year-cycle of church cantatas he started composing in Leipzig from the first Sunday after Trinity in 1724. It followed the cantata cycle he had composed from his appointment as Thomaskantor after Trinity in 1723.
"Es woll uns Gott genädig sein" is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Psalm 67. The hymn in three stanzas of nine lines each was first published in Wittenberg in 1524. Its best known hymn tune, Zahn No. 7247, was published in Strasbourg in 1524. Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote settings of the hymn. It was translated to English and has appeared in dozens of hymnals.
"In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr" is a Lutheran hymn in seven stanzas, written by Adam Reusner and first published in 1533. He paraphrased the beginning of Psalm 31. It was first sung to the melody of a Passion hymn. The melody connected with the hymn in 1560 was derived from models dating back to the 14th century. A third melody from 1608 became a hymn tune for several other songs and translations to English. In the German Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch, the hymn appears as EG 257 with the second melody. Johann Sebastian Bach used the second and third melodies in chorale preludes, and the third also in cantatas and the St Matthew Passion.
"Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" is a Lutheran hymn in German. The text from c. 1550 is attributed to Albert, Duke of Prussia. The melody, Zahn No. 7568, goes back to a tune by Claudin de Sermisy, written in 1529 for a secular French song. The hymn has belonged to core Lutheran hymnody without interruption and is part of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 364.
"Ach lieben Christen seid getrost" is a Lutheran hymn in German with lyrics by Johannes Gigas, written in 1561. A penitential hymn, it was the basis for Bach's chorale cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114.