Psalms 124:2-3. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
The word "quick" here means "living." Before we were dead, they would have swallowed us up, for the anger of men against God’s people is always exceedingly great. They called the Master of the house "Beelzebub", so they are not likely to be very warmly affected towards his disciples. Suppose that we had been given up to the devices of wicked men, where should we have been? My brethren, a man may live so circumspectly that, outwardly, he may be without fault; yet he may wake up, come morning, and find his character blasted, and it may remain so for years, for the tongue of slander is full of all manner of villainy; and, often, the more pure the alabaster of a man’s character may be, the more black are the filthy spots which the world makes upon it. Be not too much cast down, O ye children of the living God, when ye are dishonoured among men, for so was it with the Lord God himself, who was slandered in the garden of Eden! Expect not, therefore, that you will escape the serpent’s venom.
Psalms 124:2-3. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
The word "quick" here means "living." Before we were dead, they would have swallowed us up, for the anger of men against God’s people is always exceedingly great. They called the Master of the house "Beelzebub", so they are not likely to be very warmly affected towards his disciples. Suppose that we had been given up to the devices of wicked men, where should we have been? My brethren, a man may live so circumspectly that, outwardly, he may be without fault; yet he may wake up, come morning, and find his character blasted, and it may remain so for years, for the tongue of slander is full of all manner of villainy; and, often, the more pure the alabaster of a man’s character may be, the more black are the filthy spots which the world makes upon it. Be not too much cast down, O ye children of the living God, when ye are dishonoured among men, for so was it with the Lord God himself, who was slandered in the garden of Eden! Expect not, therefore, that you will escape the serpent’s venom.