Psalm 124:6 NKJV
Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
God’s Deliverance
My Notes
Scripture
Psalm 124:6 (NKJV) “Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.”
David shifts from describing peril to offering praise. The imagery changes from floods to wild beasts—enemies with sharp teeth, ready to devour the godly. Yet the psalmist declares: Blessed be the Lord! He alone prevented His people from being torn apart. This verse reminds us that our deliverance is not accidental, nor is it due to human strength. It is the Lord who rescues, and He must receive the glory.
The metaphor of prey in the jaws of beasts underscores how close Israel came to destruction. Their enemies were poised to consume them, but God intervened. This teaches us that no harm can befall God’s people unless He permits it—and He will never abandon His own. Even when Satan, the roaring lion, seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8 NKJV), the Lord snatches His people from danger, just as David rescued the lamb from the lion and the bear (1 Samuel 17:34–35 NKJV).
Looking back, we often realize how many times God has preserved us. At the moment, we may have felt despair or thought ourselves forsaken. Yet hindsight reveals His hand of protection. The more imminent the danger, the more glorious His mercy. What seemed like a narrow escape was, in truth, His deliberate deliverance.
This verse begins the church’s thanksgiving. It is right and just to bless the Lord for every rescue, for every unseen protection, for every time He kept us from being prey to the enemy. He has given us to His Son Jesus, and He will never give us to our foes.
Meditation Questions
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What moments in my life felt like being “between the jaws” of danger, yet God delivered me?
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How can I cultivate a habit of blessing the Lord for both seen and unseen protections?
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In what ways does remembering God’s past deliverance strengthen my trust in His present care?
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How does the truth that God will never give me to the enemy shape my confidence in Him?
Key Takeaways
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Deliverance belongs to the Lord; He alone deserves the glory.
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Enemies may threaten like wild beasts, but God restrains their power.
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No harm can come unless God permits—and He will never forsake His people.
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Looking back reveals countless instances of divine protection, even when unnoticed at the time.
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The more imminent the danger, the more glorious the mercy of God.
Prayer
Abba, Blessed be Your name forever. You have not given me as prey to the teeth of the enemy. When danger was near, and destruction seemed certain, You intervened. Thank You for every rescue, both seen and unseen. Help me to remember Your deliverance and to give You glory for all my escapes. Strengthen my faith to trust that You will never give me to my foes, for I belong to Jesus. Father, I thank you for this. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Cross References (NKJV)
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Psalm 57:4 – “My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.”
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1 Peter 5:8 – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
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1 Samuel 17:34–35 – “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth.’”
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Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
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John 10:28–29 – “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
Proverb for Today
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Keep:
šāmar – keep, watch, preserve
shine:
‘ôr – be or become light
countenance:
pānîm – face
peace
šālôm – completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
Bill
Posted on 12/18/2025 by Bill Stephens
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Summary of Commentaries:
The commentaries on Psalm 124:6 emphasize thanksgiving to God for deliverance from enemies likened to wild beasts with tearing teeth. Spurgeon highlights God’s mercy in preventing His people from being devoured, noting that danger magnifies His saving grace. Enduring Word stresses gratitude for divine protection, realized more clearly in hindsight. Barnes points to vivid poetic imagery of destruction. Gill underscores God’s refusal to surrender His people to Satan or persecutors. Henry reminds that narrow escapes demand heartfelt praise to the Lord.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.” Leaving the metaphor of a boiling flood, he compares the adversaries of Israel to wild beasts who desired to make the godly their prey. Their teeth are prepared to tear, and they regard the godly as their victims. The Lord is heartily praised for not permitting his servants to be devoured when they were between the jaws of the raging ones. It implies that none can harm us till the Lord permits: we cannot be their prey unless the Lord gives us up to them, and that our loving Lord will never do. Hitherto, he has refused permission to any foe to destroy us, blessed be his name. The more imminent the danger, the more eminent the mercy which would not permit the soul to perish in it. God be blessed forever for keeping us from the curse. Jehovah be praised for checking the fury of the foe, and saving his own. The verse reads like a merely negative blessing, but no boon can be more positively precious. He has given us to his Son Jesus, and he will never give us to our enemies.
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Enduring Word
Blessed be the LORD: As in other places in the Book of Psalms, the thought is not bestowing a blessing upon Yahweh, but thanking, praising, and announcing Him as blessed. It is a powerful expression of thanks and praise. (Guzik)
i. “When we look back on life, as the psalmist does here, we become aware of the myriad instances of Divine protection. We were not so vividly conscious at the time; we might even have had fits of depression and counted ourselves bereft. But if we narrowly consider the perils from which we have been rescued, when we were about to be swallowed up quickly, we become convinced that He was there.” (Meyer)
ii. “The redeemed are astonished, upon looking back, at the greatness of the danger to which they had been exposed.” (Horne)
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth: David again described their danger poetically – first as being delivered from a beast with grinding teeth, then as deliverance from a trap (snare) set for birds. With God’s help, the people of God were safe from destruction and loss of liberty. (Guzik)
i. Prey to their teeth: “This is not quite the same figure as that of Psalm 124:3. In these jaws we feel the slower agonies of defeat, like the tearing and grinding of the prey.” (Kidner)
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Albert Barnes
Blessed be the Lord – The Lord be praised; or, We have reason to praise the Lord because we have been delivered from these calamities.
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth – The figure is here changed, though the same idea is retained. The image is now that of destruction by wild beasts – a form of destruction not less fearful than that which comes from overflowing waters. Such changes of imagery constantly occur in the Book of Psalms, and in impassioned poetry everywhere. The mind is full of a subject; numerous illustrations occur in the rapidity of thought, and the mind seizes upon one and then upon another as best suited to express the emotions of the soul. The next verse furnishes another instance of this sudden transition.
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John Gill
Blessed [be] the Lord,…. Here begins the church’s thanksgiving for deliverance from all their enemies, their proud persecutors, and from all afflictions and troubles by them; which they could never have been delivered from, had not the Lord appeared for them; and therefore it is but just that he should have all the glory of it, and be blessed and praised on account thereof;
who hath not given us [as] a prey to their teeth; the teeth of wicked men are like spears and arrows, like swords and knives, to devour good men; their passions are strong, and their desires very vehement after their ruin; and, if suffered, the saints would fall an easy prey to them: but God will not give them up to them, either to Satan the devouring lion, or to any of his emissaries; nay, when they have seized them, and got them in their mouths, they shall be snatched from them, as the lamb out of the mouth of the lion and the bear by David; see Psalm 57:4, 1 Peter 5:8.
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Matthew Henry
That their hearts might be the more enlarged in thankfulness to him (v. 6): Blessed be the Lord. God is the author of all our deliverances, and therefore, he must have the glory of them. We rob him of his due if we do not return thanks to him. And we are the more obliged to praise him because we had such a narrow escape. We were delivered,
Like a lamb out of the very jaws of a beast of prey: God has not given us as a prey to their teeth, intimating that they had no power over God’s people but what was given them from above. They could not be a prey to their teeth unless God gave them up, and therefore they were rescued, because God would not suffer them to be ruined.
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