Psalms 123 (DRB)

Chapter Text

123:1 A gradual canticle. If it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say:

123:2 If it had not been that the Lord was with us, When men rose up against us,

123:3 Perhaps they had swallowed us up alive. When their fury was enkindled against us,

123:4 Perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.

123:5 Our soul hath passed through a torrent: perhaps our soul had passed through a water insupportable.

123:6 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us to be a prey to their teeth.

123:7 Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken, and we are delivered.

123:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gradual", "canticle", "been", "lord", "israel", and "rose". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gradual" and "canticle", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local DRB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "gradual" and "canticle" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "gradual" and "canticle" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.