Daily Devotional Friday Faith | September 18, 2026
It’s Friday and time for your daily devotional. Psalm 124 is a Song of Ascents also attributed to David. In it, he gives thanksgiving to God. David faced many battles during his reign, yet God fought for him, subduing his enemies. In today’s daily devotional, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is your Deliverer in times of trouble.
God’s Protection
Verses 1 and 2 begin with the phrase, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.” At the beginning of David’s reign, the Philistine army waged war against Israel. They sought victory over David after shattering Saul’s kingdom in battle. They wanted to ensure Israel wouldn’t rise again. David acknowledges that Israel won this battle only because the Lord was on their side.
In verse 3, David recounts, “Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath rose up against us.” The Philistines had an army that covered the earth like sand on the seashore so as to swallow them like quicksand. But they were no match for God. In your daily devotional, the trouble you face doesn’t intimidate God. He strikes down enemy forces that wage war against you.
Enemy of Your Soul
In verse 4, “Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul.” Water is a symbol of destructive force throughout the Bible, as David declares in Psalm 18:16, “He drew me out of many waters.” In Lamentations 3:54, Jeremiah cries, “The waters flowed over my head,” signifying the peril he felt from imminent danger. Verse 5 says, “Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.”
More than just a political battle, this was a war for Israel’s very soul. The enemy wants to bind God’s people, turning up the fire seven times hotter to destroy them completely. In this daily devotional, Satan is the enemy of your soul because he wants to crush you spiritually, separating you from God.
God’s Power Arises
David rejoices in verse 6: “Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.” David praises God for keeping them from being devoured by their enemy. He compares the Philistine army to a ferocious beast with grinding teeth. God’s power cracked the enemy’s jawbone. In your daily devotional, when your faith is in God, you’re no prey for the enemy who’s under your feet. Jesus won the battle, Satan is defeated, and the greater One lives in you.
Breaks Every Chain
In verse 4, David joyfully proclaims, “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.” Birds are beautiful in flight as they flit, flutter, and soar through the sky. Yet they’re frail creatures, as they’re small and helpless, compared to the fowlers whose goal is to entrap them.
David compares Israel to a bird caught in a fowler’s trap. Fowlers have many ways of trapping birds, just as Satan cunningly devises ways to ensnare God’s people. Yet God miraculously broke the fowler’s trap, rescuing His people from danger. In this daily devotional, Psalm 91:3 promises, “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler.”
Give Thanks to Your God Who Delivers You
In Friday’s daily devotional, David exclaims in verse 8, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” As the pilgrims lifted their voices in praise to God, Creator of the Universe, lift your voice. In today’s daily devotional, give thanks to God who delivers you from all your troubles.
